TY - JOUR A1 - Madeja, B. A1 - Gebauer, D. A1 - Marsiske, M. R. A1 - Ott, A. A1 - Rückel, M. A1 - Rosenberg, R. A1 - Baken, A. A1 - Stawski, Tomasz M. A1 - Fernandez-Martinez, A. A1 - Van Driessche, A.E.S. A1 - Cölfen, H. A1 - Kellermeier, M. T1 - New insights into the nucleation of portlandite and the effects of polymeric additives N2 - The crystallization of calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2, CH, portlandite) is a key process during the early stages of cement hydration. In the present work, we have revisited the formation of this mineral through nucleation and growth from supersaturated aqueous solutions, in the light of the currently emerging picture of multistage “non-classical” crystallization. To that end, we developed a titration-based assay, in which stock solutions of both relevant ions are added simultaneously into a reservoir, where supersaturation increases slowly at constant stoichiometry until nucleation occurs. This procedure allows both pre- and early post-nucleation phenomena to be analyzed quantitatively. Complementarily, the early stages of portlandite mineralization were probed by various advanced characterization techniques, including cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM), in-situ small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of high-energy X-ray scattering (HEXS) data, and analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC). The experimental data show that the formation of calcium hydroxide starts with the association of ions into complexes and clusters, which subsequently coalesce to form amorphous nanoparticles – much like what has been observed in the case of calcium carbonate and other prominent minerals. Subsequently, these particles aggregate and build networks, which eventually transform into hexagonal Ca(OH)2 crystals. The presence of a soluble polycarboxylate – as a known inhibitor of portlandite crystallization – does not change the main characteristics of this multistep nucleation pathway, but it proved capable of significantly extending the lifetime of the amorphous intermediate phase and thus delaying the transition to the final crystalline phase. Our observations confirm the notion that “non-classical” crystallization is a much more common phenomenon than initially believed – and that, for minerals forming in aqueous environments, it may actually be the rule rather than the exception. KW - General Materials Science KW - Building and Construction PY - 2023 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2023.107258 SN - 0008-8846 VL - 173 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-58162 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Menero-Valdés, P. A1 - Chronakis, Michail Ioannis A1 - Fernández, B. A1 - Quarles Jr., C. D. A1 - González-Iglesias, H. A1 - Meermann, Björn A1 - Pereiro, R. T1 - Single Cell–ICP–ToF-MS for the Multiplexed Determination of Proteins: Evaluation of the Cellular Stress Response N2 - An automated and straightforward detection and data treatment strategy for the determination of the protein relative concentration in individual human cells by single cell–inductively coupled plasma–time-of-flight mass spectrometry (sc-ICP-ToF-MS) is proposed. Metal nanocluster (NC)-labeled specific antibodies for the target proteins were employed, and ruthenium red (RR) staining, which binds to the cells surface, was used to determine the number of cell events as well as to evaluate the relative volume of the cells. As a proof of concept, the expression of hepcidin, metallothionein-2, and ferroportin employing specific antibodies labeled with IrNCs, PtNCs, and AuNCs, respectively, was investigated by sc-ICP-ToF-MS in human ARPE-19 cells. Taking into account that ARPE-19 cells are spherical in suspension and RR binds to the surface of the cells, the Ru intensity was related to the cell volume (i.e., the cell volume is directly proportional to (Ru intensity)3/2), making it possible to determine not only the mass of the target proteins in each individual cell but also the relative concentration. The proposed approach is of particular interest in comparing cell cultures subjected to different supplementations. ARPE-19 cell cultures under two stress conditions were compared: a hyperglycemic model and an oxidative stress model. The comparison of the control with treated cells shows not only the mass of analyzed species but also the relative changes in the cell volume and concentration of target proteins, clearly allowing the identification of subpopulations under the respective treatment. KW - Peptides and Proteins KW - Immunology KW - Metals PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-581630 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.3c02558 VL - 95 IS - 35 SP - 13322 EP - 13329 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-58163 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hendriks, L. A1 - Brunjes, R. A1 - Taskula, S. A1 - Kocic, J. A1 - Hattendorf, B. A1 - Bland, G. A1 - Lowry, G. A1 - Bolea-Fernandez, E. A1 - Vanhaecke, F. A1 - Wang, J. A1 - Baalousha, M. A1 - von der Au, Marcus A1 - Meermann, Björn A1 - Holbrook, T. A1 - Wagner, S. A1 - Harycki, S. A1 - Gundlach-Graham, A. A1 - von der Kammer, F. T1 - Results of an interlaboratory comparison for characterization of Pt nanoparticles using single-particle ICP-TOFMS N2 - This study describes an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) among nine (9) laboratories to evaluate and validate the standard operation procedure (SOP) for single-particle (sp) ICP-TOFMS developed within the context of the Horizon 2020 project ACEnano. The ILC was based on the characterization of two different Pt nanoparticle (NP) suspensions in terms of particle mass, particle number concentration, and isotopic composition. The two Pt NP suspensions were measured using icpTOF instruments (TOFWERK AG, Switzerland). Two Pt NP samples were characterized and mass equivalent spherical sizes (MESSs) of 40.4 ± 7 nm and 58.8 ± 8 nm were obtained, respectively. MESSs showed <16% relative standard deviation (RSD) among all participating labs and <4% RSD after exclusion of the two outliers. A good agreement was achieved between the different participating laboratories regarding particle mass, but the particle number concentration results were more scattered, with <53% RSD among all laboratories, which is consistent with results from previous ILC studies conducted using ICP-MS instrumentation equipped with a sequential mass spectrometer. Additionally, the capabilities of sp-ICP-TOFMS to determine masses on a particle basis are discussed with respect to the potential for particle density determination. Finally, because quasi-simultaneous multi-isotope and multielement determinations are a strength of ICP-TOFMS instrumentation, the precision and trueness of isotope ratio determinations were assessed. The average of 1000 measured particles yielded a precision of below ±1% for intensity ratios of the most abundant Pt isotopes, i.e. 194Pt and 195Pt, while the accuracy of isotope ratios with the lower abundant isotopes was limited by counting statistics. KW - ILC KW - spICP-MS KW - PtNP KW - Nanopartikel PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-580353 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d3nr00435j SN - 2040-3364 VL - 15 IS - 26 SP - 11268 EP - 11279 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-58035 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -