TY - JOUR A1 - Stein, L. A1 - Wang, Cui A1 - Förster, C. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Heinze, K. T1 - Bulky ligands protect molecular ruby from oxygen quenching N2 - Chromium(III) complexes can show phosphorescence from the spin-flip excited doublet states 2E/2T1 in the near-infrared with high photoluminescence quantum yields and extremely long lifetimes in the absence of dioxygen. The prototype molecular ruby, [Cr(ddpd)2]3+ (ddpd = N,N’-dimethyl-N,N’-dipyridine-2-ylpyridine-2,6-diamine), has a photoluminescence quantum yield and a luminescence lifetime of 13.7% and 1.1 ms in deaerated acetonitrile, respectively. However, its luminescence is strongly quenched by 3O2 via an efficient Dexter-type energy transfer process. To enable luminescence applications of molecular rubies in solution under aerobic conditions, we explored the potential of sterically demanding ddpd ligands to shield the chromium(III) center from O2 using steady state and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The structures of the novel complexes with sterically demanding ligands were investigated by single crystal X-ray diffraction and quantum chemically by density functional theory calculations. The O2 sensitivity of the photoluminescence was derived from absolutely measured photoluminescence quantum yields and excited state lifetimes under inert and aerobic conditions and by Stern–Volmer analyses of these data. Optimal sterically shielded chromium(III) complexes revealed photoluminescence quantum yields of up to 5.1% and excited state lifetimes of 518 μs in air-saturated acetonitrile, underlining the large potential of this ligand design approach to broaden the applicability of highly emissive chromium(III) complexes. KW - Fluorescence KW - Synthesis KW - Production KW - Optical spectroscopy KW - Ligand KW - Photophysics KW - Cr(III) KW - Mechanism KW - NIR KW - Sensor KW - Oxygen PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-570807 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d2dt02950b VL - 51 IS - 46 SP - 17664 EP - 17670 PB - The Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-57080 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Scholtz, Lena A1 - Tavernaro, Isabella A1 - Eckert, J. G. A1 - Lutowski, Marc A1 - Geißler, Daniel A1 - Hertwig, Andreas A1 - Hidde, Gundula A1 - Bigall, N. C. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Influence of nanoparticle encapsulation and encoding on the surface chemistry of polymer carrier beads N2 - Surface-functionalized polymer beads encoded with molecular luminophores and nanocrystalline emitters such as semiconductor nanocrystals, often referred to as quantum dots (QDs), or magnetic nanoparticles are broadly used in the life sciences as reporters and carrier beads. Many of these applications require a profound knowledge of the chemical nature and total number of their surface functional groups (FGs), that control bead charge, colloidal stability, hydrophobicity, and the interaction with the environment and biological systems. For bioanalytical applications, also the number of groups accessible for the subsequent functionalization with, e.g., biomolecules or targeting ligands is relevant. In this study, we explore the influence of QD encoding on the amount of carboxylic acid (COOH) surface FGs of 2 μm polystyrene microparticles (PSMPs). This is done for frequently employed oleic acid and oleylamine stabilized, luminescent core/shell CdSe QDs and two commonly used encoding procedures. This included QD addition during bead formation by a thermally induced polymerization reaction and a post synthetic swelling procedure. The accessible number of COOH groups on the surface of QD-encoded and pristine beads was quantified by two colorimetric assays, utilizing differently sized reporters and electrostatic and covalent interactions. The results were compared to the total number of FGs obtained by a conductometric titration and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). In addition, a comparison of the impact of QD and dye encoding on the bead surface chemistry was performed. Our results demonstrate the influence of QD encoding and the QD-encoding strategy on the number of surface FG that is ascribed to an interaction of the QDs with the carboxylic acid groups on the bead surface. These findings are of considerable relevance for applications of nanoparticle-encoded beads and safe-by-design concepts for nanomaterials. KW - Optical spectroscopy KW - Particle KW - Optical assay KW - IR spectroscopy KW - Fluorescence KW - Quantum yield KW - Quality assurance KW - Nano KW - Synthesis KW - Surface chemistry KW - Quantification KW - Method KW - Conductometry PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-581502 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38518-7 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 13 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Springer Nature CY - London AN - OPUS4-58150 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Fiedler, Saskia A1 - Frenzel, Florian A1 - Würth, Christian A1 - Tavernaro, Isabella A1 - Grüne, M. A1 - Schweizer, S. A1 - Engel, A. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Interlaboratory Comparison on Absolute Photoluminescence Quantum Yield Measurements of Solid Light Converting Phosphors with Three Commercial Integrating Sphere Setups N2 - Scattering luminescent materials dispersed in liquid and solid matrices and luminescent powders are increasingly relevant for fundamental research and industry. Examples are luminescent nano- and microparticles and phosphors of different compositions in various matrices or incorporated into ceramics with applications in energy conversion, solid-state lighting, medical diagnostics, and security barcoding. The key parameter to characterize the performance of these materials is the photoluminescence/fluorescence quantum yield (Φf), i.e., the number of emitted photons per number of absorbed photons. To identify and quantify the sources of uncertainty of absolute measurements of Φf of scattering samples, the first interlaboratory comparison (ILC) of three laboratories from academia and industry was performed by following identical measurement protocols. Thereby, two types ofcommercial stand-alone integrating sphere setups with different illumination and detection geometries were utilized for measuring the Φf of transparent and scattering dye solutions and solid phosphors, namely, YAG:Ce optoceramics of varying surface roughness, used as converter materials for blue light emitting diodes. Special emphasis was dedicated to the influence of the measurement geometry, the optical properties of the blank utilized to determine the number of photons of the incident excitation light absorbed by the sample, and the sample-specific surface roughness. While the Φf values of the liquid samples matched between instruments, Φf measurements of the optoceramics with different blanks revealed substantial differences. The ILC results underline the importance of the measurement geometry, sample position, and blank for reliable Φf data of scattering the YAG:Ce optoceramics, with the blank’s optical properties accounting for uncertainties exceeding 20%. KW - Nano KW - Fluorescence KW - Reference material KW - Luminescence KW - Quantitative spectroscopy KW - Particle KW - Quantum yield KW - Quality assurance KW - Phosphor KW - Converter material KW - Lifetime KW - Interlaboratory comparison KW - Method KW - Uncertainty PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-600945 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.4c00372 SN - 0003-2700 SP - 6730 EP - 6737 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-60094 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - 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 - Tavernaro, Isabella A1 - Sander, P. C. A1 - Andresen, Elina A1 - Schedler, U. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Expanding the Toolbox of Simple, Cost-Efficient, and Automatable Methods for Quantifying Surface Functional Groups on Nanoparticles� Potentiometric Titration N2 - Measuring surface functional groups (FGs) on nanomaterials (NMs) is essential for designing dispersible and stable NMs with tailored and predictable functionality. FG screening and quantification also plays a critical role for subsequent processing steps, NM long-term stability, quality control of NM production, and risk assessment studies and enables the implementation of sustainable and safe(r)-by-design concepts. This calls for simple and cost-efficient methods for broadly utilized FGs that can be ideally automated to speed up FG screening, monitoring, and quantification. To expand our NM surface analysis toolbox, focusing on simple methods and broadly available, cost-efficient instrumentation, we explored a NM-adapted pH titration method with potentiometric and optical readout for measuring the total number of (de)protonable FGs on representatively chosen commercial and custom-made aminated silica nanoparticles (SiO2 NPs). The accuracy and robustness of our stepwise optimized workflows was assessed by several operators in two laboratories and method validation was done by cross-comparison with two analytical methods relying on different signal generation principles. This included traceable, chemo-selective quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (qNMR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), providing the amounts of amino silanes released by particle dissolution and the total mass of the surface coatings. A comparison of the potentiometric titration results with the reporter-specific amounts of surface amino FGs determined with the previously automated fluorescamine (Fluram) assay highlights the importance of determining both quantities for surface-functionalized NMs. In the future, combined NM surface analysis with optical assays and pH titration will simplify quality control of NM production processes and stability studies and can yield large data sets for NM grouping that facilitates further developments in regulation and standardization. KW - Quality assurance KW - Fluorescence KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - Synthesis KW - Characterization KW - Advanced material KW - Surface KW - Standardization KW - Reference material KW - Functional group KW - Quantification KW - Coating KW - Automation KW - Potentiometry KW - Method KW - Validation KW - Optical assay KW - Fluram KW - Fluorescamine KW - qNMR KW - Comparison KW - ILC PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-642371 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.5c00062 SN - 2694-250X SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-64237 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Richter, Maria A1 - Güttler, Arne A1 - Pauli, Jutta A1 - Vogel, K. A1 - Homann, Christian A1 - Würth, Christian A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Extending certified spectral fluorescence standards for the calibration and performance validation of fluorescence instruments to the NIR—closing the gap from 750 to 940 nm with two novel NIR dyes N2 - Fluorescence techniques such as fluorescence spectroscopy, microfluorometry, and fluorescence microscopy, providing spectral, intensity, polarization, and lifetime information, are amongst the most broadly utilized analytical methods in the life and materials sciences. However, the measured fluorescence data contain sample- and instrument-specific contributions, which hamper their comparability across instruments and laboratories. Comparable, instrument-independent fluorescence data require the determination of the fluorescence instrument’s wavelength-dependent spectral responsivity, also termed emission correction curve, for the same instrument settings as those used for the fluorescence measurements as a prerequisite for the subsequent correction of the measured instrument-specific data. Such a spectral correction is essential for the performance comparison of different fluorescent labels and reporters, quantitative fluorescence measurements, the determination of the fluorescence quantum yield, and the spectroscopic measure for the fluorescence efficiency of a fluorophore. Simple-to-use tools for obtaining emission correction curves are chromophore-based reference materials (RMs), referred to as fluorescence standards, with precisely known, preferably certified instrument-independent fluorescence spectra. However, for the increasingly used near-infrared (NIR) wavelength region >700 nm, at present, no spectral fluorescence standards are available. To close this gap, we developed two novel spectral fluorescence standards, BAM F007 and BAM-F009, with broad emission bands from about 580 to 940 nm in ethanolic solution. These liquid fluorescence standards currently under certification, which will be released in 2025, will expand the wavelength range of the already available certified Calibration Kit BAM F001b-F005b from about 300–730 to 940 nm. In this research article, we will detail the criteria utilized for dye and matrix selection and the homogeneity and stability tests accompanying dye certification as well as the calculation of the wavelength-dependent uncertainty budgets of the emission spectra BAM F007 and BAM-F009, determined with the traceably calibrated BAM reference spectrofluorometer. These fluorescence standards can provide the basis for comparable fluorescence measurements in the ultraviolet, visible, and NIR for the fluorescence community. KW - Quality assurance KW - Reference material KW - Fluorescence KW - Dye KW - Traceability KW - Metrology KW - Calibration KW - Reference data KW - Reference product KW - Digital certificate KW - NIR KW - Instrument performance validation PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-626317 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-024-05723-w SN - 1618-2650 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-62631 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Deumer, J. A1 - Andresen, Elina A1 - Gollwitzer, C. A1 - Schürmann, R. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Adding More Shape to Nanoscale Reference Materials-LiYF4:Yb,Tm Bipyramids as Standards for Sizing Methods and Particle Number Concentration N2 - The increasing industrial use of nanomaterials calls for the reliable characterization of their physicochemical key properties like size, size distribution, shape, and surface chemistry, and test and reference materials (RMs) with sizes and shapes, closely matching real-world nonspheric nano-objects. An efficient strategy to minimize efforts in producing nanoscale RMs (nanoRMs) for establishing, validating, and standardizing methods for characterizing nanomaterials are multimethod nanoRMs. Ideal candidates are lanthanide-based, multicolor luminescent, and chemically inert nanoparticles (NPs) like upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), which can be prepared in different sizes, shapes, and chemical composition with various surface coatings. This makes UCNPs interesting candidates as standards not only for sizing methods, but also for element-analytical methods like laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), quantitative bioimaging methods like X-ray fluorescence computed tomography (XFCT), and luminescence methods and correlative measurements. Here, we explore the potential of two monodisperse LiYF4:Yb,Tm bipyramids with peak-to-peak distances of (43 ± 2) nm and (29 ± 2) nm as size standards for small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and tools for establishing and validating the sophisticated simulations required for the analysis of SAXS data derived from dispersions of nonspheric nano-objects. These SAXS studies are supplemented by two-dimensional (2D)-transmission electron microscopy measurements of the UCNP bipyramids. Additionally, the particle number concentration of cyclohexane dispersions of these UCNP bipyramids is determined by absolute SAXS measurements, complemented by gravimetry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). This approach enables traceable particle number concentration measurements of ligand-capped nonspheric particles with unknown chemical composition. KW - Fluorescence KW - Upconversion nanoparticles KW - SAXS KW - Particle number concentration KW - Reference material KW - Traceability KW - Quality assurance KW - Quantum yield KW - Spectroscopy KW - Synthesis KW - Quantification KW - NanoRM KW - Nano KW - Particle KW - Bipyramid KW - Reference data KW - Simulation PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-617940 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.4c03641 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - ACS Publications AN - OPUS4-61794 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 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-465765 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-35137-5 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 - JOUR A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Carl, F. A1 - Grauel, Bettina A1 - Pons, Monica A1 - Würth, Christian A1 - Haase, M. T1 - LiYF4:Yb/LiYF4 and LiYF4:Yb,Er/LiYF4 core/shell nanocrystals with luminescence decay times similar to YLF laser crystals and the upconversion quantum yield of the Yb,Er doped nanocrystals N2 - We developed a procedure to prepare luminescent LiYF4:Yb/LiYF4 and LiYF4:Yb,Er/LiYF4 core/shell nanocrystals with a size of approximately 40 nm revealing luminescence decay times of the dopant ions that approach those of high-quality laser crystals of LiYF4:Yb (Yb:YLF) and LiYF4:Yb,Er (Yb,Er:YLF) with identical doping concentrations. As the luminescence decay times of Yb3+ and Er3+ are known to be very sensitive to the presence of quenchers, the long decay times of the core/shell nanocrystals indicate a very low number of defects in the core particles and at the core/shell interfaces. This improvement in the performance was achieved by introducing two important modifications in the commonly used oleic acid based synthesis. First, the shell was prepared via anewly developed method characterized by a very low nucleation rate for particles of pure LiYF4 shell material. Second, anhydrous acetates were used as precursors and additional drying steps were applied to reduce the incorporation of OH− in the crystal lattice, known to quench the emission of Yb3+ ions. Excitation power density (P)-dependent absolute measurements of the upconversion luminescence quantum yield (Φ,UC) of LiYF4:Yb,Er/LiYF4 core/shell particles reveal a maximum value of 1.25% at P of 180 W·cm−2. Although lower than the values reported for NaYF4:18%Yb,2%Er core/shell nanocrystals with comparable sizes, these Φ, UC values are the highest reported so far for LiYF4:18%Yb,2%Er/LiYF4 nanocrystals without additional dopants. Further improvements May nevertheless be possible by optimizing the dopant concentrations in the LiYF4 nanocrystals. KW - Nano KW - Crystal KW - Quantum yield KW - LiYF4 KW - Synthesis KW - Lifetime KW - Fluorescence KW - NIR KW - Photoluminescence KW - Lanthanide KW - Upconversion nanoparticle KW - Nanomaterial PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-515395 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-3116-y SN - 1998-0124 VL - 14 IS - 3 SP - 797 EP - 806 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-51539 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Krappe, Alexander R. A1 - Mayer, Jacob C. A1 - Zhang, Wuai A1 - Filla, Lina M. A1 - Ligorio, Giovanni A1 - Hermerschmidt, Felix A1 - Eitelhuber, Larissa S. A1 - Güttler, Arne A1 - Weber, Manuela A1 - Paulus, Beate A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - List-Kratochvil, Emil J.W. A1 - Eigler, Siegfried T1 - Highly Emissive Hexa-peri-benzocoronene-fluoranthene Hybrid as Easily Processable and Stable OLED Material N2 - We report the synthesis of a fluorescent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon dye with a “symmetry-broken” core, derived from the related hexa-peri-benzocoronene (HBC) core with fluoranthene subunit. The fluorophore is composed of a pure Carbon skeleton without heteroatoms and exhibits remarkable photo luminescence properties with a photoluminescence Quantum yield (PLQY) of up to 67% in toluene, exceeding that of theparent HBC by a factor of 30. The single crystal X-ray structure reveals the distorted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon structure, which is responsible for the optoelectronic properties, as supported by density functional theory calculations. We show that the new fluorescent dye can be readily used for the fabrication of organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) without extensive optimization, whereby solubility in a variety of solvents and successful film formation are decisive. KW - Quantum Yield KW - OLED KW - Fluorescence KW - Synthesis PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-631298 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202500742 SN - 1521-3765 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc AN - OPUS4-63129 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -