TY - JOUR A1 - Kage, Daniel A1 - Fischer, Linn A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Thiele, T. A1 - Schedler, U. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Close spectroscopic look at dye-stained polymer microbeads N2 - Dye-stained micrometer-sized polymer beads are important tools in the life sciences with applications in biomedical, biochemical, and clinical research. Here, bead-based assays are increasingly used, for example, in DNA sequencing and the detection of autoimmune diseases or pathogenic microorganisms. Moreover, stained beads are employed as calibration tools for fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry methods with increasing complexity. To address the requirements concerning the relevant fluorescence features, the spectroscopic properties of representative polymer beads with diameters ranging from about 1 to 10 μm stained with varying concentrations of rhodamine 6G were systematically assessed. The observed dependence of the spectral properties, fluorescence decay kinetics, and fluorescence quantum yields on bead size and dye loading concentration is attributed to different fluorescence characteristics of fluorophores located in the particle core and near-surface dye molecules. Supported by the fluorescence anisotropy measurements, the origin of the observed alteration of fluorescence features is ascribed to a combination of excitation energy transfer and polarity-related effects that are especially pronounced at the interface of the bead and the surrounding medium. The results of our studies underline the need to carefully control and optimize all Parameters that can affect the fluorescence properties of the dye-stained beads. KW - Fluorophore KW - Polymer particles KW - Photophysics KW - Life sciences KW - Standards PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b02546 SN - 1932-7447 VL - 122 IS - 24 SP - 12782 EP - 12791 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-45453 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Abbandonato, Gerardo T1 - Determination of quantum yields of semiconductor nanocrystals at the single emitter level via fluorescence correlation spectroscopy N2 - Comparing the photoluminescence (PL) properties of ensembles of nanocrystals like semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) with single particle studies is of increasing interest for many applications of These materials as reporters in bioimaging studies performed under very dilute conditions or even at the single particle level. Particularly relevant is here the PL quantum yield (ΦF), which determines the signal size together with the reporter’s molar extinction coefficient and is a direct measure for nanocrystal quality, especially for the inorganic surface passivation shell and its tightness, which can be correlated also with nanocrystal stability and the possible release of heavy metal ions. Exemplarily for red and green emitting CdTe nanocrystals, we present a method for the determination of ΦF of nanoparticle dispersions at ultralow concentration compared to cuvette measurements using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), a single molecule method, and compared to molecular dyes with closely matching spectral properties and known ΦF. Our results underline the potential of this approach, provided that material-inherent limitations like ligand- and QD-specific aggregation affecting particle diffusion and QD drawbacks such as their complex and power-dependent blinking behavior are properly considered as shown here. KW - Semiconductor nanocrystal KW - Quantum dot KW - Quantum yield KW - Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy FCS KW - Single molecule PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7nr09332b SN - 2040-3364 SN - 2040-3372 VL - 10 IS - 15 SP - 7147 EP - 7154 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-44894 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Wegmann, Marc A1 - Hannemann, Mandy A1 - Somma, Valentina A1 - Jochum, Tobias A1 - Niehaus, Jan A1 - Roggenbuck, Dirk A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - NanoGenotox - Automatable determination of genotoxicity of nanoparticles with DNA-based optical assays N2 - The overall interest in nanotoxicity, triggered by the increasing use of nanomaterials in the material and life sciences, and the synthesis of an ever increasing number of new functional nanoparticles calls for standardized test procedures and for efficient approaches to screen the potential genotoxicity of these materials. Aiming at the development of fast and easy to use, automated microscopic methods for the determination of the genotoxicity of different types of nanoparticles, we assess the potential of the fluorometric γH2AX assay for this purpose. This assay, which can be run on an automated microscopic detection system, relies on the detection of DNA double strand breaks (DSB) as a sign for genotoxicity. Here, we provide first results obtained with broadly used nanomaterials like CdSe/CdS and InP/ZnS quantum dots as well as iron oxide, gold, and polymer particles of different surface chemistry with previously tested colloidal stability and different cell lines like Hep-2 and 8E11 cells, which reveal a dependence of the genotoxicity on the chemical composition as well as the surface chemistry of these nanomaterials. These studies will be also used to establish nanomaterials as positive and negative genotoxicity controls or standards for assay performance validation for users of this fluorometric genotoxicity assay. In the future, after proper validation, this microscopic platform technology will be expanded to other typical toxicity assays. T2 - Nanoworkshop 2018 CY - PTB Berlin-Adlershof, Germany DA - 14.05.2018 KW - Qdots KW - Surface functions KW - Quantification KW - Nanogenotoxicity PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-45126 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nirmalananthan-Budau, Nithiya A1 - Behnke, Thomas A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Kage, Daniel A1 - Gers-Panther, Charlotte F. A1 - Frank, Walter A1 - Müller, Thomas J. J. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Crystallization and Aggregation-Induced Emission in a Series of Pyrrolidinylvinylquinoxaline Derivatives N2 - Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) has been meanwhile observed for many dye classes and particularly for fluorophores containing propeller-like groups. Herein, we report on the AIE characteristics of a series of four hydrophobic pyrrolidinylvinylquinoxaline (PVQ) derivatives with phenyl, pyrrolyl, indolyl, and methoxythienyl substituents used to systematically vary the torsion angle between this substituent at the quinoxaline C2 position and the planar PVQ moiety. These molecules, which are accessible via four- or five-component one-pot syntheses, were spectroscopically studied in organic solvents and solvent−water mixtures, as dye aggregates, solids, and entrapped in polystyrene particles (PSP). Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence measurements revealed a strong fluorescence enhancement for all dyes in ethanol−water mixtures of high water content, accompanying the formation of dye aggregates with sizes of a few hundred nm, overcoming polarity and H-bonding-induced fluorescence quenching of the chargetransfer-type emission of these PVQ dyes. The size and shape of these dye aggregates and the size of the AIE effect are controlled by the water content and the substituent-dependent torsion angle that influences the nucleation process and the packing of the molecules during aggregation. Staining of 1 μm-sized carboxy-functionalized PSP with the PVQ dyes resulted also in a considerable increase in the fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime, reflecting the combined influence of the restricted molecular motion and the reduced polarity of the dye microenvironment. KW - Spectroscopy KW - AIE KW - Aggregates KW - Nanoparticle PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b01425 SN - 1932-7447 N1 - Geburtsname von Nirmalananthan-Budau, Nithiya: Nirmalananthan, N. - Birth name of Nirmalananthan-Budau, Nithiya: Nirmalananthan, N. VL - 122 IS - 20 SP - 11119 EP - 11127 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-45176 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kage, Daniel A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Wittkamp, M. A1 - Ameskamp, J. A1 - Göhde, W. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Luminescence lifetime encoding in time-domain flow cytometry N2 - Time-resolved flow cytometry represents an alternative to commonly applied spectral or intensity multiplexing in bioanalytics. At present, the vast majority of the reports on this topic focuses on phase-domain techniques and specific applications. In this report, we present a flow cytometry platform with time-resolved detection based on a compact setup and straightforward time-Domain measurements utilizing lifetime-encoded beads with lifetimes in the nanosecond range. We provide general assessment of time-domain flow cytometry and discuss the concept of this platform to address achievable resolution limits, data analysis, and requirements on suitable encoding dyes. Experimental data are complemented by numerical calculations on photon count numbers and impact of noise and measurement time on the obtained lifetime values. KW - Flow cytometry KW - Fluorescence KW - Life sciences KW - Lifetime encoding KW - Polymer particles PY - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-465765 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 8 IS - 1 SP - 16715, 1 EP - 11 PB - Nature CY - London AN - OPUS4-46576 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Pauli, Jutta A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Fluorescence intensity and quantum yield reference materials for standardization of fluorescence-based measurements N2 - Luminescence techniques are amongst the most commonly used analytical methods in life and material sciences due to their high sensitivity, nondestructive character, and easy instrumentation suitable for miniaturization. Photoluminescence signals are, however, affected by wavelength-, polarization-, and time-dependent instrument-related effects. Thus, at the core of standardization approaches for all fluorescence-based techniques are evaluated fluorescence standards for the consideration of instrument-specific spectral and intensity distortions of measured signals and for instrument performance validation (IPV). Here, we summarize the research of BAM division 1.2 on development of liquid and solid fluorescence standards for various application-relevant fluorescence parameters and techniques. The portfolio of BAM fluorescence reference materials presently consists of: i) a Spectral Fluorescence Standard Kit, i.e., a set of liquid fluorescence standards with certified normalized corrected emission spectra, for the determination of a broad variety of fluorescence parameters ii) a ready-to-use, glass-based multi-emitter fluorescence standard for IPV and the determination of instrument-to-instrument variations iii) specially adapted calibration tools and validation concepts for microarray-based platforms used in molecular diagnostics and food safety control iv) quantum yield (Φf) standards for relative determination of the key performance parameter Φf of fluorescent materials, which can be also used for the evaluation of the performance of absolute, standard-free methods utilizing integrating sphere setups or spectrometer accessories. These materials, that will eventually cover the ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared spectral region, are currently under certification. This toolbox of method-adapted reference materials can perfectly complement existing fluorescence standards. These easy-to-use, reference materials can pave the way to traceable fluorescence measurements to a radiometric scale like the spectral radiance or spectral photon radiance for all users of fluorescence techniques in material sciences and analysis, as well as environmental monitoring and biotechnology. They are particularly useful for customers working in strongly regulated areas like medical diagnostics or pharmaceutical research, where certified standards in conjunction with validated standard operating procedures are mandatory. T2 - International Symposium on Biological and Environmental Reference Materials BERM-15 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 23.09.2018 KW - Reference materials KW - Fluorescence standards PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-47140 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Preiss, J. A1 - Kage, Daniel A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Martínez, T. J. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Presselt, M. T1 - Ab initio prediction of fluorescence lifetimes involving solvent environments by means of COSMO and vibrational broadening N2 - The fluorescence lifetime is a key property of fluorophores that can be utilized for microenvironment probing, analyte sensing, and multiplexing as well as barcoding applications. For the rational design of lifetime probes and barcodes, theoretical methods have been developed to enable the ab initio prediction of this parameter, which depends strongly on interactions with solvent molecules and other chemical species in the emitters' immediate environment. In this work, we investigate how a conductor-like screening model (COSMO) can account for variations in fluorescence lifetimes that are caused by such fluorophore−solvent interactions. Therefore, we calculate vibrationally broadened fluorescence spectra using the nuclear ensemble method to obtain distorted molecular geometries to sample the electronic transitions with time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The influence of the solvent on fluorescence lifetimes is accounted for with COSMO. For example, for 4-hydroxythiazole fluorophore containing different heteroatoms and acidic and basic moieties in aprotic and protic solvents of varying polarity, this approach was compared to experimentally determined lifetimes in the same solvents. Our results demonstrate a good correlation between theoretically predicted and experimentally measured fluorescence lifetimes except for the polar solvents Ethanol and acetonitrile that can specifically interact with the heteroatoms and the carboxylic acid of the thiazole derivative. KW - Fluorescence lifetime KW - Ab initio calculation KW - COSMO KW - Conductor-like screening model PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpca.8b08886 SN - 1089-5639 SN - 1520-5215 VL - 122 IS - 51 SP - 9813 EP - 9820 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-47177 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grunert, B. A1 - Saatz, Jessica A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Appler, F. A1 - Lubjuhn, Dominik A1 - Jakubowski, Norbert A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Briel, A. T1 - Multifunctional rare-earth element nanocrystals for cell labeling and multimodal imaging N2 - In this work, we describe a simple solvothermal route for the synthesis of Eu3+-doped gadolinium orthovanadate nanocrystals (Eu:GdVO4−PAA) functionalized with poly(acrylic)acid (PAA), that are applicable as cell labeling probes for multimodal cellular imaging. The Eu3+ doping of the vanadate matrix provides optical functionality, due to red photoluminescence after illumination with UV light. The Gd3+ ions of the nanocrystals reduce the T1 relaxation time of surrounding water protons, allowing these nanocrystals to act as a positive MRI contrast agent with a r1 relaxivity of 1.97 mM−1 s−1. Low background levels of Eu3+, Gd3+, and V5+ in biological systems make them an excellent label for elemental microscopy by Laser Ablation (LA)-ICP-MS. Synthesis resulted in polycrystalline nanocrystals with a hydrodynamic diameter of 55 nm and a crystal size of 36.7 nm, which were further characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The multifunctional nanocrystals were subsequently used for intracellular labeling of both human adipose-derived stem cells (MSCs) and A549 (adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial) cells. KW - Bioimaging KW - Nanoparticle KW - Multimodal KW - Lanthanide PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.8b00495 SN - 2373-9878 VL - 4 IS - 10 SP - 3578 EP - 3587 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington, USA AN - OPUS4-46244 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -