TY - JOUR A1 - Hernández-García, María Amparo A1 - Rurack, Knut A1 - Bell, Jérémy T1 - Rapid fabrication of optical elements for sensing applications using a standard SLA printer N2 - The demand for compact, high-performance optical components has driven the development of increasingly sophisticated and miniaturized optical elements, often requiring complex and costly fabrication methods. In this study, we propose a cost-effective and accessible methodology for the fabrication of lenses and free-form optics using a commercially available stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer. A systematic characterisation of six transparent photopolymer resins was conducted in terms of their spectroscopic, optical, and morphological properties, i.e., surface and dimensional properties. The evaluation encompassed parameters such as transmittance, autofluorescence, refractive index, and surface roughness. A straightforward yet resilient printing and post-treatment protocol was formulated, facilitating the fabrication of optical components with over 80% transmittance, minimal intrinsic fluorescence, and surface quality that is compatible with exacting optical applications. The fabricated components demonstrated excellent dimensional fidelity to digital designs and high reproducibility. To demonstrate the versatility of this approach, aspherical, miniaturized, and freeform lenses were designed and integrated into three fluorogenic sensing systems, including oil (strip-based) and chlorine (microfluidic-based) detection platforms, as well as a smartphone-based SARS-CoV-2 biosensor. The integration of customized 3D-printed optics has been demonstrated to enhance signal collection and readout performance, thereby highlighting the potential of this approach to democratize the rapid prototyping and deployment of miniaturized optical systems. This work represents a significant advancement in the field of additive manufacturing, particularly in relation to the development of functional photonic devices. Furthermore, it opens new prospects for sensor applications in biosensing, microfluidics, imaging, and integrated optics. KW - 3D-printing KW - Free-form KW - Prototyping KW - Optical resin KW - Surface finishing KW - Fluorescence KW - Sensor PY - 2026 DO - https://doi.org/10.37188/lam.2026.024 VL - 7 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - Light Publishing Group CY - Changchun AN - OPUS4-65555 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Descalzo, Ana B. A1 - Ashokkumar, Pichandi A1 - Shen, Z. A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - On the Aggregation Behaviour and Spectroscopic Properties of Alkylated and Annelated BoronDipyrromethene (BODIPY) Dyes in Aqueous Solution N2 - The tendency of boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes to associate in water is well known, and usually a cause for inferior fluorescence properties. Synthetic efforts to chemically improve BODIPYs’ water solubility and minimize this problem have been numerous in the past. However, a deeper understanding of the phenomena responsible for fluorescence quenching is still required. Commonly, the spectroscopic behaviour in aqueous media has been attributed to aggregate or excimer formation, with such works often centring on a single BODIPY family. Herein, we provide an integrating discussion including very diverse types of BODIPY dyes. Our studies revealed that even subtle structural changes can distinctly affect the association behaviour of the fluorophores in water, involving different photophysical processes. The palette of behaviour found ranges from unperturbed emission, to the formation of H or J aggregates and excimers, to the involvement of tightly bound, preformed excimers. These results are a first step to a more generalized understanding of spectroscopic properties vs. structure, facilitating future molecular design of BODIPYs, especially as probes for biological applications. KW - Aggregates KW - BODIPY KW - Excimers KW - Fluorescence KW - Photophysics PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-497771 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/cptc.201900235 SN - 2367-0932 VL - 4 IS - 2 SP - 120 EP - 131 PB - WILEY-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-49777 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Liu, H. A1 - Song, W. A1 - Gröninger, Delia A1 - Zhang, L. A1 - Lu, Y. A1 - Chan, K. S. A1 - Zhou, Z. A1 - Rurack, Knut A1 - Shen, Z. T1 - Real-time monitoring of newly acidified organelles during autophagy enabled by reaction-based BODIPY dyes N2 - Real-time monitoring of newly acidified organelles during autophagy in living cells is highly desirable for a better understanding of intracellular degradative processes. Herein, we describe a reaction-based boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dye containing strongly electron-withdrawing diethyl 2-cyanoacrylate groups at the α-positions. The probe exhibits intense red fluorescence in acidic organelles or the acidified cytosol while negligible fluorescence in other regions of the cell. The underlying mechanism is a nucleophilic reaction at the central meso-carbon of the indacene core, resulting in the loss of π-conjugation entailed by dramatic spectroscopic changes of more than 200 nm between its colorless, non-fluorescent leuco-BODIPY form and its red and brightly emitting form. The reversible transformation between red fluorescent BODIPY and leuco-BODIPY along with negligible cytotoxicity qualifies such dyes for rapid and direct intracellular lysosome imaging and cytosolic acidosis detection simultaneously without any washing step, enabling the real-time monitoring of newly acidified organelles during autophagy. KW - Autophagy KW - BODIPY KW - Fluorescence KW - Lysosome KW - Real-time imaging PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-498358 UR - https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-019-0682-1 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-019-0682-1 SN - 23993642 VL - 2 SP - 442 PB - Nature Research CY - London AN - OPUS4-49835 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gotor, Raúl A1 - Bell, Jérémy A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Tailored fluorescent solvatochromic test strips for quantitative on-site detection of gasoline fuel adulteration N2 - Gasoline adulteration is a frequent problem world-wide, because of the chance of quick, maximized profits. However, addition of cheaper ethanol or hydrocarbons like kerosene does not only result in economic damage but also poses problems for vehicles and the environment. To enable law enforcement forces, customers or enterprises to uncover such a fraudulent activity directly upon suspicion and without the need to organize for sampling and laboratory analysis, we developed a simple strip-based chemical test. Key to the favorable performance was the dedicated materials tailoring, which led to test strips that consisted of a cellulose support coated with silica, passivated with hexamethyldisilazane and functionalized covalently with a molecular probe. The probe fluoresces brightly across a broad solvent polarity range, enabling reliable quantitative measurements and data analysis with a conventional smartphone. The assays showed high reproducibility and accuracy, allowing not only for the detection of gasoline adulteration but also for the on-site monitoring of the quality of commercial E10 gasoline. KW - Gasoline KW - Adulteration KW - Test strips KW - Benzin KW - Teststreifen KW - Fluorescence KW - Cellulose KW - Zellulose KW - Fluoreszenz PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-479231 UR - https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/tc/c8tc04818e DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/C8TC04818E SN - 2050-7526 VL - 7 IS - 8 SP - 2250 EP - 2256 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - London, UK AN - OPUS4-47923 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bartelmeß, Jürgen A1 - Valderrey, Virginia A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Development of a “Turn-on” Fluorescent Probe-Based Sensing System for Hydrogen Sulfide in Liquid and Gas Phase N2 - A “turn-on” fluorescence sensing system based on a BODIPY-cobaloxime complex for the detection of H2S in liquid and gas phase was developed. To that aim, two cobaloxime complexes bearing an axial pyridyl-BODIPY ligand were initially evaluated as sensitive fluorescent HS− indicators in aqueous solution. The sensing mechanism involves the selective substitution of the BODIPY ligand by the HS− anion at the cobalt center, which is accompanied by a strong fluorescence enhancement. The selection of a complex with an ideal stability and reactivity profile toward HS− relied on the optimal interaction between the cobalt metal-center and two different pyridyl BODIPY ligands. Loading the best performing BODIPY-cobaloxime complex onto a polymeric hydrogel membrane allowed us to study the selectivity of the probe for HS− against different anions and cysteine. Successful detection of H2S by the fluorescent “light-up” membrane was not only accomplished for surface water but could also be demonstrated for relevant H2S concentrations in gas phase. KW - Sulfide sensing KW - Fluorescence KW - BODIPYs KW - Cobaloxime complex KW - Gas sensing PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-492186 DO - https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2019.00641 SN - 2296-2646 VL - 7 SP - Art. Nr. 641 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne AN - OPUS4-49218 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Bell, Jérémy A1 - Tillo, Adam A1 - Chauhan, Vraj P. A1 - Bartelmeß, Jürgen A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Microfluidic analytical tool coupling a fluorescent molecular probe and a micro-hydrocyclone for the detection of water chlorination level N2 - Chlorination of pool water and wastewater, in food and pharmaceutical production, as well as in pesticide and paper manufacturing is a routinely used technique. However, the amount of chlorine in water must be strictly adjusted, to ensure enough concentration to kill pathogenic bacteria and viruses, while preventing too high concentrations inducing negative effects on human health. As an indicator, a molecular fluorescent probe based on a BODIPY structure was designed. This indicator exhibits a sensitive and selective fluorescence response upon increasing concentrations of hypochlorite in aqueous solvent mixtures. Real-time analyses became possible after the integration of this fluorescent indicator into newly designed 2D & 3D microfluidic chips incorporating a passive sinusoidal mixer and a micro-hydrocyclone, respectively. A comparison of the two microfluidic systems, including their ability to prevent accumulation or circulation of microbubbles, has shown excellent fluidic behaviour for the micro-hydrocyclone device. This system was distinctly more robust against gas bubbles, showed a higher signal gain and allowed to halve the limit of detection to 0.02 mg L–1. The use of the 3D system to quantify the chlorine content of pool water samples for sensitive and quantitative chlorine monitoring has been demonstrated. T2 - Konferenz CY - Ioannina, Greece DA - 22.09.2019 KW - Chlorine KW - Fluorescence KW - Microfluidics KW - Water KW - Chlor KW - Fluoreszenz KW - Mikrofluidik KW - Wasser PY - 2019 UR - https://media.conferre.gr/index.php/photos-videos/ima2019 AN - OPUS4-49130 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tillo, Adam A1 - Bartelmeß, Jürgen A1 - Chauhan, Vraj P. A1 - Bell, Jérémy A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Microfluidic Device for the Determination of Water Chlorination Levels Combining a Fluorescent meso-Enamine Boron Dipyrromethene Probe and a Microhydrocyclone for Gas Bubble Separation N2 - Chlorination procedures are commonly applied in swimming pool water and wastewater treatment, yet also in food, pharmaceutical, and paper production. The amount of chlorine in water needs to be strictly controlled to ensure efficient killing of pathogens but avoid the induction of negative health effects. Miniaturized microfluidic fluorescence sensors are an appealing approach here when aiming at online or at-site measurements. Two meso-enamine-substituted boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes were found to exhibit favorable indication properties, their reaction with hypochlorite leading to strong fluorescence enhancement. Real-time assays became possible after integration of these fluorescent probes with designed two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) microfluidic chips, incorporating a passive sinusoidal mixer and a microhydrocyclone, respectively. A comparison of the two microfluidic systems, including their abilities to prevent accumulation or circulation of microbubbles produced by the chemical indication reaction, showed excellent fluidic behavior for the microhydrocyclone-based device. After coupling to a miniaturized optical reader for fluorescence detection, the 2D microfluidic system showed a promising detection range of 0.04−0.5 mg L−1 while still being prone to bubble-induced fluctuations and suffering from considerably low signal gain. The microhydrocyclone-based system was distinctly more robust against gas bubbles, showed a higher signal gain, and allowed us to halve the limit of detection to 0.02 mg L−1. The use of the 3D system to quantify the chlorine content of swimming pool water samples for sensitive and quantitative chlorine monitoring was demonstrated. KW - Chlorine KW - BODIPY KW - Fluorescence KW - Micro-Hydrocyclone KW - Microfluidic Chip PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.9b03039 SN - 0003-2700 VL - 91 IS - 20 SP - 12980 EP - 12987 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-49393 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gotor, Raúl A1 - Tiebe, Carlo A1 - Schlischka, Jörg A1 - Bell, Jérémy A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Detection of adulterated diesel using fluorescent test strips and smartphone readout N2 - The fluorescence properties of three molecular rotors, related to 4-dimethylamino-4-nitrostilbene (4-DNS), are studied versus different diesel/kerosene blends. In nonviscous solvents, these compounds can populate a twisted intramolecular charge transfer state which deactivates nonradiatively, successfully suppressing fluorescence emission. Solution experiments with diesel/kerosene blends showed a good linear correlation between the fluorescence intensity of the probe molecules and the diesel fraction of the blend. The dyes have been immobilized on paper, retaining their fluorescence behavior, i.e., negligible emission in the presence of nonviscous organic solvents and increasing fluorescence when the environment is increasingly viscous. When the impregnated paper is devised as a test strip, the latter is compatible with a newly designed smartphone reader system, which allows in-the-field measurements. The method can safely detect the presence of kerosene in diesel at ≥7%, which competes favorably with current standard methods for the detection of diesel adulteration. KW - Fuel adulteration KW - Diesel KW - Fluorescence KW - Test strip KW - Molecular rotor KW - Smartphone PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.7b01538 SN - 0887-0624 VL - 31 IS - 11 SP - 11594 EP - 11600 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, D.C. AN - OPUS4-43103 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Costa, Elena A1 - Climent Terol, Estela A1 - Ast, S. A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Canning, J. A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Development of a lateral flow test for rapid pyrethroid detection using antibody-gated indicator-releasing hybrid materials N2 - The employment of type-I pyrethroids for airplane disinfection in recent years underlines the necessity to develop sensing schemes for the rapid detection of these pesticides directly at the point-of-use. Antibody-gated indicator-releasing materials were thus developed and implemented with test strips for lateral-flow assay-based analysis employing a smartphone for readout. Besides a proper matching of pore sizes and gating macromolecules, the functionalization of both the material's outer surface as well as the strips with PEG chains enhanced system performance. This simple assay allowed for the detection of permethrin as a target molecule at concentrations down to the lower ppb level in less than 5 minutes. KW - Lateral flow test KW - Gated hybrid material KW - Fluorescence KW - Smartphone readout device KW - Pyrethroid KW - Pesticide KW - Insecticide KW - SBA-15 KW - Permethrin PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d0an00319k SN - 0003-2654 SN - 1364-5528 VL - 145 IS - 10 SP - 3490 EP - 3494 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-50756 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Climent Terol, Estela A1 - Biyikal, Mustafa A1 - Gröninger, Delia A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Martínez Mánez, R. A1 - Rurack, Knut ED - Climent Terol, Estela T1 - Multiplexed Detection of Analytes on Single Test Strips with Antibody-Gated Indicator-Releasing Mesoporous Nanoparticles N2 - Rapid testing methods for the use directly at apointof need are expected to unfold their true potential especiallywhen offering adequate capabilities for the simultaneousmeasurement of multiple analytes of interest. Considering theunique modularity,high sensitivity,and selectivity of antibody-gated indicator delivery (gAID) systems,amultiplexed assayfor three small-molecule explosives (TATP, TNT,PETN) wasthus developed, allowing to detect the analytes simultaneouslywith asingle test strip at lower ppb concentrations in the liquidphase in < 5min using afluorescence reader or asmartphonefor readout. While the TNT and PETN systems were newlydeveloped here,all the three systems also tolerated harshermatrices than buffered aqueous model solutions.Besidesasingle-track strip,the outstanding modularity of the hybridbiosensor materials in combination with strip-patterningtechnologies allowed us to obtain amultichannel strip inastraightforwardmanner,offering comparable analyticalperformance while allowing to be tailored even more to theusersneed. KW - Multiplexing KW - Explosives detection KW - Gated materials KW - Fluorescence PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-518424 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202009000 SN - 1433-7851 SN - 1521-3773 VL - 59 IS - 52 SP - 23862 EP - 23869 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-51842 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -