TY - JOUR A1 - Scholtz, Lena A1 - Eckert, J. G. A1 - Elahi, T. A1 - Lübkemann, F. A1 - Hübner, Oskar A1 - Bigall, N. C. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Luminescence encoding of polymer microbeads with organic dyes and semiconductor quantum dots during polymerization N2 - Luminescence-encoded microbeads are important tools for many applications in the life and material sciences that utilize luminescence detection as well as multiplexing and barcoding strategies. The preparation of such beads often involves the staining of premanufactured beads with molecular luminophores using simple swelling procedures or surface functionalization with layer-by-layer (LbL) techniques. Alternatively, these luminophores are sterically incorporated during the polymerization reaction yielding the polymer beads. The favorable optical properties of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), which present broadly excitable, size-tunable, narrow emission bands and low photobleaching sensitivity, triggered the preparation of beads stained with QDs. However, the colloidal nature and the surface chemistry of these QDs, which largely controls their luminescence properties, introduce new challenges to bead encoding that have been barely systematically assessed. To establish a straightforward approach for the bead encoding with QDs with minimized loss in luminescence, we systematically assessed the incorporation of oleic acid/oleylamine-stabilized CdSe/CdS-core/shell-QDs into 0.5–2.5 μm-sized polystyrene (PS) microspheres by a simple dispersion polymerization synthesis that was first optimized with the organic dye Nile Red. Parameters addressed for the preparation of luminophore-encoded beads include the use of a polymer-compatible ligand such as benzyldimethyloctadecylammonium chloride (OBDAC) for the QDs, and crosslinking to prevent luminophore leakage. The physico-chemical and optical properties of the resulting beads were investigated with electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, optical spectroscopy, and fluorescence microscopy. Particle size distribution, fluorescence quantum yield of the encapsulated QDs, and QD leaking stability were used as measures for bead quality. The derived optimized bead encoding procedure enables the reproducible preparation of bright PS microbeads encoded with organic dyes as well as with CdSe/CdS-QDs. Although these beads show a reduced photoluminescence quantum yield compared to the initially very strongly luminescent QDs, with values of about 35%, their photoluminescence quantum yield is nevertheless still moderate. KW - Polymerization KW - Quantum dots KW - Microbeads KW - Fluorescence PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-553430 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-16065-x SN - 2045-2322 VL - 12 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Nature Publishing Group CY - London AN - OPUS4-55343 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Scholtz, Lena T1 - Luminescence Encoding of Polymer Microbeads during Polymerization N2 - Differently sized, luminescent polymer beads encoded with QDs were prepared with a simple, optimized procedure. The optical properties of the resulting particles were studied to ensure sufficient fluorescence and to evaluate the influence of the polymerization on QD fluorescence. T2 - 84th Prague Meeting on Macromolecules - Frontiers of Polymer Colloids CY - Prague, Czech Republic DA - 24.07.2022 KW - Polymerization KW - Fluorescence KW - Quantum dots KW - Microbeads PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-55447 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Scholtz, Lena T1 - Luminescent, nanoparticle-loaded polymer microparticles - comparing synthesis routes N2 - Our comparison showed that the route used for the synthesis of luminescent, NP-loaded PSMPs can play a significant role for the luminescence properties, as well as the number of accessible SFGs, and hence subsequent functionalization. This should be considered for future applications. T2 - Bunsen-Tagung 2023 CY - Berlin, Germany DA - 05.06.2023 KW - Fluorescence KW - Polymerization KW - Microbeads KW - Quantum dots KW - Comparison PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57628 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Scholtz, Lena T1 - Luminescence encoding of polymer microbeads with nanocrystals during polymerization N2 - The Goal & Motivation - Spherical polymer beads - Controlled size in the low µm range - Narrow size distribution - Homogeneous encoding with molecular and nanoscale luminophores (dyes , QDs, platelets etc.) - Sufficient fluorescence - Easy, accessible procedure T2 - GrK Nanohybrid Conference CY - Hamburg, Germany DA - 04.10.2022 KW - Polymerization KW - Nanocrystals KW - Fluorescence KW - Microbeads PY - 2022 AN - OPUS4-56028 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Scholtz, Lena T1 - Luminescence Encoding of Polymer Microbeads during Polymerization N2 - Luminescent polymer microbeads are applied in bead-based platforms for biomolecule binding interactions, and the encoding of these beads is important for the realization of optically distinguishable barcodes. While dye- encoded beads often suffer from photobleaching and spectral crosstalk due to the relatively broad dye emission band, quantum dot (QD)-encoded beads absorb in a very broad wavelength range and reveal narrow emission bands, which enables simultaneous excitation of beads stained with differently colored QDs. To address existing limitations of QD encoding, we have explored simple and effective approaches to homogeneously stain polymer particles and identify suitable polymerization reactions and QD surface ligands that tackle these challenges. T2 - Bad Honnef Physics School 2021 CY - Bad Honnef, Germany DA - 18.07.2021 KW - Polymerization KW - Quantum dots KW - Encoding KW - Microbeads KW - Luminescence PY - 2021 AN - OPUS4-53038 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Scholtz, Lena T1 - Luminescent polymer microbeads - Why and how? N2 - Pitch Talk about the synthesis and applications of polymer microbeads encoded with (luminescent) nanoparticles. T2 - JCF Frühjahrssymposium 2023 CY - Gießen, Germany DA - 21.03.2023 KW - Fluorescence KW - Microbeads KW - Nanocrystals KW - Polymerization PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-57260 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -