TY - JOUR
A1 - Wang, Cui
A1 - Ebel, Kenny
A1 - Heinze, Katja
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Bald, Ilko
T1 - Quantum Yield of DNA Strand Breaks under Photoexcitation of a Molecular Ruby
N2 - Photodynamic therapy (PDT) used for treating cancer relies on the generation of highly reactive oxygen species, for example, singlet oxygen 1O2, by light-induced excitation of a photosensitizer (PS) in the presence of molecular oxygen, inducing DNA damage in close proximity of the PS. Although many precious metal complexes have been explored as PS for PDT and received clinical approval, only recently, the potential of photoactive complexes of nonnoble metals as PS has been discovered. Using the DNA origami technology that can absolutely quantify DNA strand break cross sections, we assessed the potential of the luminescent transition metal complex [Cr(ddpd)2]3+ (ddpd=N,N’-dimethyl-N,N’-dipyridine-2-ylpyridine-2,6-diamine) to damage DNA in an air-saturated aqueous environment upon UV/Vis illumination. The quantum yield for strand breakage, that is, the ratio of DNA strand breaks to the number of absorbed photons, was determined to 1–4%, indicating efficient transformation of photons into DNA strand breaks by [Cr(ddpd)2]3+.
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Synthesis
KW - Production
KW - Optical spectroscopy
KW - Ligand
KW - Photophysics
KW - Cr(III)
KW - Mechanism
KW - NIR
KW - PDT
KW - Singlet oxygen
KW - DNA
KW - Origami
KW - Quantum yield
PY - 2023
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-573631
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202203719
SP - 1
EP - 7
AN - OPUS4-57363
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
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 - Homann, Christian
A1 - Peeters, Régis
A1 - Mirmajidi, Hana
A1 - Berg, Jessica
A1 - Fay, Michael
A1 - Rodrigues, Lucas Carvalho Veloso
A1 - Radicchi, Eros
A1 - Jain, Akhil
A1 - Speghini, Adolfo
A1 - Hemmer, Eva
T1 - Rapid microwave-assisted synthesis of morphology-controlled luminescent lanthanide-doped Gd2O2S nanostructures
N2 - Gadolinium oxysulfide (Gd2O2S) is an attractive material of demonstrated suitability for a variety of imaging applications, leveraging its magnetic, scintillating, and luminescent properties, particularly when doped with optically active lanthanide ions (Ln3+). For many of these applications, control over size and morphology at the nanoscale is crucial. This study demonstrates the rapid microwave-assisted Synthesis of colloidal Ln2O2S (Ln = Gd and dopants Yb, Er, Tb) nanostructures in as little as 20 min. Structural characterization using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, as well as Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), including elemental mapping via energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), unveiled the key role of elemental sulphur (S8) in the reaction mixtures for materials growth. By systematically varying the Ln-to-S ratio from 1 : 0.5 to 1 : 15, controlled morphologies ranging from triangular nanoplatelets to berry- and flower-like shapes were achieved. Doping with Er3+/Yb3+ endowed the nano-triangles with upconverting and near-infrared emitting properties. Tb3+-doped Gd2O2S exhibited the characteristic green Tb3+ emission under UV excitation, while also showing X-ray excited optical luminescence (XEOL), rendering the material interesting as a potential nano-scintillator.
KW - Upconversion
KW - Microwave-assisted synthesis
KW - Synthesis
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - NIR
KW - XRD
KW - X-ray fluoressence
KW - Morphology control
KW - Raman
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-647907
DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TC01646K
SN - 2050-7526
VL - 13
IS - 35
SP - 18492
EP - 18507
PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
AN - OPUS4-64790
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Prakash, Swayam
A1 - Bell, Jérémy
A1 - Rurack, Knut
T1 - Rapid Onsite Detection of Fecal Contamination in Water Using a Portable Fluorometric Assay
N2 - Fecal pollution in water poses significant health risks, especially when contaminated sources are used for drinking and food production. Traditional water quality testing methods are expensive, slow, and require skilled personnel, limiting their accessibility. This work addresses these issues by developing a portable fluorometric assay for the detection of the fecal indicator pigment urobilin (UB). The assay uses silane-functionalized glass fiber strips impregnated with zinc chloride, providing a ‘drop-&-detect’ approach with enhanced fluorescence response mediated by the unique complexation properties of ZnCl2 and UB. This approach allows for the detection of UB at sub-nanomolar concentrations in less than 1 min using a 3D-printed setup with miniaturized optical components powered by a smartphone with its camera as a detector. The results validated with a benchtop fluorometer show the effectiveness of this method. The successful application of this userfriendly, rapid, and sensitive assay to real water samples from three rivers and the influx and efflux of a wastewater treatment plant advances field-based water quality monitoring, meets the WHO’s ASSURED criteria, and supports progress toward the global clean water and sanitation goals.
KW - Fecal pigment
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Signal amplification
KW - Surface chemistry
KW - Water quality testing
PY - 2026
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-655543
DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acssensors.5c03922
SN - 2379-3694
VL - 11
SP - 1
EP - 9
PB - American Chemical Society
CY - Washington, D.C.
AN - OPUS4-65554
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Sun, Yijuan
A1 - Pérez-Padilla, Víctor
A1 - Valderrey, Virginia
A1 - Bell, Jérémy
A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia
A1 - Rurack, Knut
T1 - Ratiometric detection of perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids using dual fluorescent nanoparticles and a miniaturised microfluidic platform
N2 - The widespread contamination of soil and water with perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) has caused considerable societal and scientific concern. Legislative measures and an increased need for remediation require effective on-site analytical methods for PFAS management. Here we report on the development of a green-fluorescent guanidine-BODIPY indicator monomer incorporated into a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the selective detection of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). Complexation of PFOA by the indicator, which is mediated by concerted protonation-induced ion pairing-assisted hydrogen bonding, significantly enhances fluorescence in polar organic solvents. The MIP forms as a thin layer on silica nanoparticles doped with tris(bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chloride, which provides an orange emission signal as internal reference, resulting in low measurement uncertainties. Using a liquid-liquid extraction protocol, this assay enables the direct detection of PFOA in environmental water samples and achieves a detection limit of 0.11 µM. Integration into an opto-microfluidic system enables a compact and user-friendly system for detecting PFOA in less than 15 minutes.
KW - PFAS
KW - Molecular imprinting
KW - Microfluidics
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Onsite assay
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-650270
DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66872-9
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 16
IS - 1
SP - 1
EP - 16
PB - Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AN - OPUS4-65027
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Sun, Yijuan
A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia
A1 - Valderrey, Virginia
A1 - Bhattacharya, Biswajit
A1 - Rurack, Knut
T1 - Ratiometric Molecularly Imprinted Particle Probes for Reliable Fluorescence Signaling of Carboxylate-Containing Molecules
N2 - In addition to sensitivity, selectivity, and portability, chemical sensing systems must generate reliable signals and offer modular configurability to address various small molecule targets, particularly in environmental applications. We present a versatile, modular strategy utilizing ratiometric molecularly imprinted particle probes based on BODIPY indicators and dyes for recognition and internal referencing. Our approach employs polystyrene core particles doped with a red fluorescent BODIPY as an internal standard, providing built-in reference for environmental influences. A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) recognition shell, incorporating a green-fluorescent BODIPY indicator monomer with a thiourea binding site for carboxylate containing analytes, is grafted from the core particles in the presence of the analyte as the template. The dual-fluorescent MIP probe detects fexofenadine as the model analyte with a change in green emission signal referenced against a stable red signal, achieving a detection limit of 0.13 μM and a broad dynamic range from 0.16 μM to 1.2 mM, with good discrimination against other antibiotics in acetonitrile. By selecting a versatile dye scaffold and recognition element, this approach can be extended to other carboxylate-containing analytes and/or wavelength combinations, potentially serving as a robust multiplexing platform.
KW - Core-shell particles
KW - Molecular imprinting
KW - Pharmaceutical contaminants
KW - Self-referenced measurements
KW - Fluorescence
PY - 2024
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-609385
DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c09990
SP - 1
EP - 13
PB - American Chemical Society (ACS)
AN - OPUS4-60938
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Zavoiura, O.
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Seitz, O.
T1 - Reactive Quantum Dot-Based FRET Systems
N2 - Oligonucleotide-templated reactions (OTRs) between two reactive hybridization probes allow for the detection of a DNA or RNA of interest by exploiting the target molecule as a catalyst of chemical reactions.
The product of such a reaction commonly exhibits distinct fluorescence properties and can be detected by the means of fluorescence spectroscopy. The vast majority of OTR systems utilize organic dyes as fluorescent reporters. However, the use of brighter emitters, such as semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), has potential to improve the sensitivity of detection by providing brighter signals and permitting the use of probes at very low concentrations. Here we report an RNA-templated reaction between two fluorescently labeled peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-based probes, which proceeds on the surface of a QD. The QD-Bound PNA probe bears a cysteine functionality, while the other PNA is functionalized with an organic dye as a thioester. OTR between these probes proceeds through a transfer of the organic dye to the QD and can be conveniently monitored via fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from the QD to the Cy5. The reaction was performed in a conventional fluorescence microplate reader and permits the detection of RNA in the picomolar range.
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Nano
KW - Particle quantum dot
KW - FRET
KW - Assay
KW - Sensor
KW - RNA-templated reactions
KW - Bioconjugation
KW - Synthesis
KW - Dye
KW - Click chemistry
KW - Peptide nucleic acid
KW - Quantum dots
KW - RNA
KW - Fluorescence spectroscopy
PY - 2020
DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0243-0_11
VL - 2105
SP - 187
EP - 198
PB - Springer Sience+Business Media
AN - OPUS4-50553
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Li, Q.
A1 - Shinde, S.
A1 - Grasso, G.
A1 - Caroli, A.
A1 - Abouhany, R.
A1 - Lanzillotta, M.
A1 - Pan, G.
A1 - Wan, Wei
A1 - Rurack, Knut
A1 - Sellergren, B.
T1 - Selective detection of phospholipids using molecularly imprinted fluorescent sensory core-shell particles
N2 - Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive sphingo-lipid with a broad range of activities coupled to its role in G-protein coupled receptor signalling. Monitoring of both intra and extra cellular levels of this lipid is challenging due to its low abundance and lack of robust affinity assays or sensors. We here report on fluorescent sensory core-shell molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) particles responsive to near physiologically relevant levels of S1P and the S1P receptor modulator fingolimod phosphate (FP) in spiked human serum samples. Imprinting was achieved using the tetrabutylammonium (TBA) salt of FP or phosphatidic acid (DPPA·Na) as templates in combination with a polymerizable nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD)-urea monomer with the dual role of capturing the phospho-anion and signalling its presence. The monomers were grafted from ca 300 nm RAFT-modified silica core particles using ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as crosslinker resulting in 10–20 nm thick shells displaying selective fluorescence response to the targeted lipids S1P and DPPA in aqueous buffered media. Potential use of the sensory particles for monitoring S1P in serum was demonstrated on spiked serum samples, proving a linear range of 18–60 μM and a detection limit of 5.6 μM, a value in the same range as the plasma concentration of the biomarker.
KW - Molecularly imprinted polymers
KW - Phospholipids
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Dye monomers
PY - 2020
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-509485
DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-66802-3
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 10
IS - 1
SP - 9924
PB - Nature Research
CY - London
AN - OPUS4-50948
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Biesen, L.
A1 - Nirmalananthan-Budau, Nithiya
A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Müller, T. J. J.
T1 - Solid-State Emissive Aroyl-S,N-Ketene Acetals with Tunable
N2 - N-Benzyl aroyl-S,N-ketene acetals can be readily synthesized by condensation of aroyl chlorides and N-Benzyl 2-methyl benzothiazolium salts in good to excellent yields, yielding a library of 35 chromophores with bright solid-state emission and aggregation-induced emission characteristics.
Varying the substituent from electron-donating to electronwithdrawing enables the tuning of the solid-state emission Color from deep blue to red.
KW - Nano
KW - Nanoparticle
KW - Photoluminescence
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Quantum yield
KW - Photophysics
KW - Lifetime
KW - Sensor
KW - dye
KW - Enhancement
KW - Particle
KW - Polarity
KW - AIE
KW - Aggregation
KW - Aggregation-induced emission
KW - Solid state emission
PY - 2020
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-509072
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201916396
VL - 59
IS - 25
SP - 10037
EP - 10041
PB - Wiley Online Libary
AN - OPUS4-50907
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Auxillos, J.
A1 - Crouigneau, R.
A1 - Li, Y.-F.
A1 - Dai, Y.
A1 - Stigliani, A.
A1 - Tavernaro, Isabella
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Sandelin, A.
A1 - Marie, R.
A1 - Pedersen, S. F.
T1 - Spatially resolved analysis of microenvironmental gradient impact on cancer cell phenotypes
N2 - Despite the physiological and pathophysiological significance of microenvironmental gradients, e.g., for diseases such as cancer, tools for generating such gradients and analyzing their impact are lacking. Here, we present an integrated microfluidic-based workflow that mimics extracellular pH gradients characteristic of solid tumors while enabling high-resolution live imaging of, e.g., cell motility and chemotaxis, and preserving the capacity to capture the spatial transcriptome. Our microfluidic device generates a pH gradient that can be rapidly controlled to mimic spatiotemporal microenvironmental changes over cancer cells embedded in a 3D matrix. The device can be reopened allowing immunofluorescence analysis of selected phenotypes, as well as the transfer of cells and matrix to a Visium slide for spatially resolved analysis of transcriptional changes across the pH gradient. This workflow is easily adaptable to other gradients and multiple cell types and can therefore prove invaluable for integrated analysis of roles of microenvironmental gradients in biology.
KW - Bioimaging
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Cell
KW - Cancer
KW - Method
KW - Microfluids
KW - Model
KW - Calibration
KW - Sensor
KW - Ph
KW - Probe
KW - Workflow
PY - 2024
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-604631
DO - https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adn3448
VL - 19
IS - 18
SP - 1
EP - 17
AN - OPUS4-60463
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -