TY - JOUR A1 - Weigert, Florian A1 - Müller, A. A1 - Häusler, I. A1 - Geißler, Daniel A1 - Skroblin, D. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Combining HR‑TEM and XPS to elucidate the core–shell structure of ultrabright CdSe/CdS semiconductor quantum dots N2 - Controlling thickness and tightness of surface passivation shells is crucial for many applications of core–shell nanoparticles (NP). Usually, to determine shell thickness, core and core/shell particle are measured individually requiring the availability of both nanoobjects. This is often not fulfilled for functional nanomaterials such as many photoluminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QD) used for bioimaging, solid state lighting, and display technologies as the core does not show the applicationrelevant functionality like a high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield, calling for a whole nanoobject approach. By combining high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), a novel whole nanoobject approach is developed representatively for an ultrabright oleic acid-stabilized, thick shell CdSe/CdS QD with a PL quantum yield close to unity. The size of this spectroscopically assessed QD, is in the range of the information depth of usual laboratory XPS. Information on particle size and monodispersity were validated with dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and compared to data derived from optical measurements. In addition to demonstrating the potential of this novel whole nanoobject approach for determining architectures of small nanoparticles, the presented results also highlight challenges faced by different sizing and structural analysis methods and method-inherent uncertainties. KW - Photoluminescence KW - Single particle KW - Microscopy KW - Particle architecture KW - Thickness KW - SAXS KW - Shell KW - XPS KW - TEM KW - Semiconductor KW - Quantum dot KW - Photophysics KW - Quantum yield PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517911 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77530-z VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - 20712 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-51791 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Knigge, Xenia A1 - Andresen, Elina A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Cant, D.J.H. A1 - Shard, A.G. A1 - Clifford, C.A. T1 - Composition, thickness, and homogeneity of the coating of core–shell nanoparticles—possibilities, limits, and challenges of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy N2 - Core–shell nanoparticles have attracted much attention in recent years due to their unique properties and their increasing importance in many technological and consumer products. However, the chemistry of nanoparticles is still rarely investigated in comparison to their size and morphology. In this review, the possibilities, limits, and challenges of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for obtaining more insights into the composition, thickness, and homogeneity of nanoparticle coatings are discussed with four examples: CdSe/CdS quantum dots with a thick coating and a small core; NaYF4-based upconverting nanoparticles with a large Yb-doped core and a thin Er-doped coating; and two types of polymer nanoparticles with a poly(tetrafluoroethylene) core with either a poly(methyl methacrylate) or polystyrene coating. Different approaches for calculating the thickness of the coating are presented, like a simple numerical modelling or a more complex simulation of the photoelectron peaks. Additionally, modelling of the XPS background for the investigation of coating is discussed. Furthermore, the new possibilities to measure with varying excitation energies or with hard-energy X-ray sources (hard-energy X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) are described. A discussion about the sources of uncertainty for the determination of the thickness of the coating completes this review. KW - X-ray spectroscopy KW - Nanoparticles KW - Spectroscopy / Instrumentation KW - Spectroscopy / Theory PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-548305 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-022-04057-9 VL - 414 IS - 15 SP - 4331 EP - 4345 PB - SpringerNature AN - OPUS4-54830 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Junge, Florian A1 - Wittwer, Philipp A1 - Sommerfeld, Thomas A1 - Gehrenkemper, Lennart A1 - Zoister, Christian A1 - Nickl, Philip A1 - Koch, Matthias A1 - Meermann, Björn A1 - Haag, Rainer T1 - Adsorber Charge Dominates over Hydrophobic or Fluorophilic Functionalization in Influencing Adsorption of PFCA onto Polystyrene Resins N2 - A systematic series of industrial-relevant polystyrene-based anion exchange resins that are functionalized with hydro- or fluorocarbon chains are compared regarding their adsorption behavior toward perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCA) in respect to their charge, chain length, and type of chain. The results clearly show the dominance of electrostatic interactions in the adsorption process as uncharged adsorber materials showed no adsorption at all. In contrast, the charged adsorber materials showed in general a PFCA removal of 80% to 30% over the experiment depending on effluent fraction. Unexpectedly, for perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA) the highest removal rate is found with consistently >90%. Despite observing significant benefits in the adsorption of PFCA for fluoroalkylated adsorbers in comparison to their non-fluorinated counterparts, this effect of fluoroalkylation is comparatively small and can not be clearly attributed to fluorophilic interactions between the fluoroalkyl chains. These findings help clarifying that the introduction of fluorocarbon moieties in adsorber materials is not necessary in order to remove fluorocarbon molecules from the environment. KW - PFAS KW - Remediation KW - Adsorption KW - Fluorophilic interactions PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-601883 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.202400199 SN - 2196-7350 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - John Wiley & Sons CY - Hoboken, New Jersey, USA AN - OPUS4-60188 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mangarova, Dilyana B. A1 - Kaufmann, Jan Ole A1 - Brangsch, Julia A1 - Kader, Avan A1 - Möckel, Jana A1 - Heyl, Jennifer L. A1 - Verlemann, Christine A1 - Adams, Lisa C. A1 - Ludwig, Antje A1 - Reimann, Carolin A1 - Poller, Wolfram C. A1 - Niehaus, Peter A1 - Karst, Uwe A1 - Taupitz, Matthias A1 - Hamm, Bernd A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Makowski, Marcus R. T1 - ADAMTS4-Specific MR Peptide Probe for the Assessment of Atherosclerotic Plaque Burden in a Mouse Model N2 - Introduction Atherosclerosis is the underlying cause of multiple cardiovascular pathologies. The present-day clinical imaging modalities do not offer sufficient information on plaque composition or rupture risk. A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 4 (ADAMTS4) is a strongly upregulated proteoglycan-cleaving enzyme that is specific to cardiovascular diseases, inter alia, atherosclerosis. Materials and Methods Male apolipoprotein E-deficient mice received a high-fat diet for 2 (n = 11) or 4 months (n = 11). Additionally, a group (n = 11) receiving pravastatin by drinking water for 4 months alongside the high-fat diet was examined. The control group (n = 10) consisted of C57BL/6J mice on standard chow. Molecular magnetic resonance imaging was performed prior to and after administration of the gadolinium (Gd)-based ADAMTS4-specific probe, followed by ex vivo analyses of the aortic arch, brachiocephalic arteries, and carotid arteries. A P value <0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. Results With advancing atherosclerosis, a significant increase in the contrast-to-noise ratio was measured after intravenous application of the probe (mean precontrast = 2.25; mean postcontrast = 11.47, P < 0.001 in the 4-month group). The pravastatin group presented decreased ADAMTS4 expression. A strong correlation between ADAMTS4 content measured via immunofluorescence staining and an increase in the contrast-to-noise ratio was detected (R2 = 0.69). Microdissection analysis revealed that ADAMTS4 gene expression in the plaque area was significantly greater than that in the arterial wall of a control mouse (P < 0.001). Laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry confirmed strong colocalization of areas positive for ADAMTS4 and Gd. Conclusions Magnetic resonance imaging using an ADAMTS4-specific agent is a promising method for characterizing atherosclerotic plaques and could improve plaque assessment in the diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis. N2 - Einleitung Atherosklerose ist die Ursache für zahlreiche Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen. Die derzeitigen klinischen Bildgebungsverfahren liefern keine ausreichenden Informationen über die Zusammensetzung von Plaques oder das Risiko einer Ruptur. A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase with Thrombospondin Motifs 4 (ADAMTS4) ist ein stark hochreguliertes Proteoglykan-spaltendes Enzym, das unter anderem bei Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen wie Atherosklerose spezifisch auftritt. Materialien und Methoden Männliche Apolipoprotein-E-defiziente Mäuse erhielten 2 (n = 11) oder 4 Monate lang (n = 11) eine fettreiche Ernährung. Zusätzlich wurde eine Gruppe (n = 11) untersucht, die 4 Monate lang neben der fettreichen Ernährung Pravastatin über das Trinkwasser erhielt. Die Kontrollgruppe (n = 10) bestand aus C57BL/6J-Mäusen, die mit Standardfutter ernährt wurden. Vor und nach der Verabreichung der gadolinium (Gd)-basierten ADAMTS4-spezifischen Sonde wurde eine molekulare Magnetresonanztomographie durchgeführt, gefolgt von Ex-vivo-Analysen des Aortenbogens, der Arteria brachiocephalica und der Arteria carotis. Ein P-Wert < 0,05 wurde als statistisch signifikanter Unterschied gewertet. Ergebnisse Mit fortschreitender Atherosklerose wurde nach intravenöser Anwendung der Sonde ein signifikanter Anstieg des Kontrast-Rausch-Verhältnisses gemessen (Mittelwert vor Kontrastmittelgabe = 2,25; Mittelwert nach Kontrastmittelgabe = 11,47, P < 0,001 in der 4-Monats-Gruppe). Die Pravastatin-Gruppe zeigte eine verminderte ADAMTS4-Expression. Es wurde eine starke Korrelation zwischen dem mittels Immunfluoreszenzfärbung gemessenen ADAMTS4-Gehalt und einem Anstieg des Kontrast-Rausch-Verhältnisses festgestellt (R2 = 0,69). Die Mikrodissektionsanalyse ergab, dass die ADAMTS4-Genexpression im Plaque-Bereich signifikant höher war als in der Arterienwand einer Kontrollmaus (P < 0,001). Laserablation-induktiv gekoppelte Plasma-Massenspektrometrie bestätigte eine starke Kolokalisierung von ADAMTS4- und Gd-positiven Bereichen. Schlussfolgerungen Die Magnetresonanztomographie mit einem ADAMTS4-spezifischen Kontrastmittel ist eine vielversprechende Methode zur Charakterisierung atherosklerotischer Plaques und könnte die Plaquebewertung in der Diagnose und Behandlung von Atherosklerose verbessern. KW - Peptide Aptamer KW - MRI Probe KW - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) KW - Peptide libraries KW - Laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry KW - ICP MS KW - Imaging PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-635832 DO - https://doi.org/10.1097/RLI.0000000000001152 SN - 1536-0210 VL - 60 IS - 8 SP - 499 EP - 507 PB - Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) CY - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA AN - OPUS4-63583 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Döring, Sarah A1 - Konthur, Zoltán A1 - Weller, Michael G. A1 - Jaeger, Carsten A1 - Reinders, Yvonne T1 - Challenges and Insights in Absolute Quantification of Recombinant Therapeutic Antibodies by Mass Spectrometry: An Introductory Review N2 - This review describes mass spectrometry (MS)-based approaches for the absolute quantification of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), focusing on technical challenges in sample treatment and calibration. Therapeutic mAbs are crucial for treating cancer and inflammatory, infectious, and autoimmune diseases. We trace their development from hybridoma technology and the first murine mAbs in 1975 to today’s chimeric and fully human mAbs. With increasing commercial relevance, the absolute quantification of mAbs, traceable to an international standard system of units (SI units), has attracted attention from science, industry, and national metrology institutes (NMIs). Quantification of proteotypic peptides after enzymatic digestion using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) has emerged as the most viable strategy, though methods targeting intact mAbs are still being explored. We review peptide-based quantification, focusing on critical experimental steps like denaturation, reduction, alkylation, choice of digestion enzyme, and selection of signature peptides. Challenges in amino acid analysis (AAA) for quantifying pure mAbs and peptide calibrators, along with software tools for targeted MS data analysis, are also discussed. Short explanations within each chapter provide newcomers with an overview of the field’s challenges. We conclude that, despite recent progress, further efforts are needed to overcome the many technical hurdles along the quantification workflow and discuss the prospects of developing standardized protocols and certified reference materials (CRMs) for this goal. We also suggest future applications of newer technologies for absolute mAb quantification. KW - Monoclonal antibody KW - Therapeutic antibodies KW - Mass spectrometry KW - Liquid chromatography KW - Absolute quantification KW - Metrology KW - Traceability KW - Certified reference material PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-623707 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/antib14010003 SN - 2073-4468 VL - 14 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 26 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz AN - OPUS4-62370 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bosc-Bierne, Gaby A1 - Weller, Michael G. T1 - Investigation of impurities in peptide pools T1 - Untersuchung von Verunreinigungen in Peptidpools N2 - Peptide pools are important research tools in different biomedical fields. They consist of a complex mixture of defined peptides, which places high demands on the production and quality control of these products. Previously it has been shown that the combination of UHPLC with high-resolution mass-spectrometry (HRMS) is a fast and powerful method to confirm the relative concentration and the structural identity of all peptides expected to be in the pool. In this work, the additional information contained in the UV chromatograms and mass spectra is used to search for impurities due to synthesis by-products and degradation during storage and transportation and to identify possible analytical artifacts. It was shown that most impurities are only present in trace amounts and can be considered uncritical for most applications. The most frequent and perhaps unexpected impurities were homo- and heterodimers caused by the free cysteines contained in these peptide pools. Furthermore, pyroglutamate and aspartimide formation, deamidation, methionine oxidation, and amino acid deletions could be found. This list is not intended to be comprehensive, but rather a brief guide to quickly identify impurities and, in the long term, to suggest possible changes in the composition of the peptide pools to avoid such impurities by design or by special precautions. N2 - Peptidpools sind wichtige Forschungsinstrumente in verschiedenen biomedizinischen Bereichen. Sie bestehen aus einer komplexen Mischung definierter Peptide, was hohe Anforderungen an die Herstellung und Qualitätskontrolle dieser Produkte stellt. In der Vergangenheit wurde gezeigt, dass die Kombination von UHPLC mit hochauflösender Massenspektrometrie (HRMS) eine schnelle und leistungsfähige Methode zur Bestätigung der relativen Konzentration und der strukturellen Identität aller Peptide ist, die in dem Pool erwartet werden. In dieser Arbeit werden die zusätzlichen Informationen, die in den UV-Chromatogrammen und Massenspektren enthalten sind, genutzt, um nach Verunreinigungen zu suchen, die auf Nebenprodukte der Synthese und den Abbau während der Lagerung und des Transports zurückzuführen sind, und um mögliche analytische Artefakte zu identifizieren. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass die meisten Verunreinigungen nur in Spuren vorhanden sind und für die meisten Anwendungen als unkritisch angesehen werden können. Die häufigsten und vielleicht unerwartetsten Verunreinigungen waren Homo- und Heterodimere, die durch die in diesen Peptidpools enthaltenen freien Cysteine verursacht werden. Außerdem wurden Pyroglutamat- und Aspartimidbildung, Deamidierung, Methioninoxidation und Aminosäuredeletionen festgestellt. Diese Liste erhebt keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit, sondern ist eher ein kurzer Leitfaden, um Verunreinigungen schnell zu identifizieren und langfristig mögliche Änderungen in der Zusammensetzung der Peptidpools vorzuschlagen, um solche Verunreinigungen durch Design oder besondere Vorsichtsmaßnahmen zu vermeiden. KW - Synthetic peptides KW - Degradation KW - Synthetic artifacts KW - Peptide losses KW - Stability of peptides KW - Disulfide dimers KW - Cysteine dimers KW - Isomers KW - Cysteine alkylation PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-626987 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/separations12020036 SN - 2297-8739 VL - 12 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - MDPI AG CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-62698 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bhattacharya, Biswajit A1 - Michalchuk, Adam A1 - Silbernagl, Dorothee A1 - Rautenberg, Max A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Feiler, Torvid A1 - Reimann, K. A1 - Ghalgaoui, A. A1 - Sturm, Heinz A1 - Paulus, B. A1 - Emmerling, Franziska T1 - A Mechanistic Perspective on Plastically Flexible Coordination Polymers N2 - Mechanical flexibility in single crystals of covalently bound materials is a fascinating and poorly understood phenomenon. We present here the first example of a plastically flexible one-dimensional (1D) coordination polymer. The compound [Zn(m-Cl)2(3,5-dichloropyridine)2]n is flexible over two crystallographic faces. Remarkably, the single crystal remains intact when bent to 1808. A combination of microscopy, diffraction, and spectroscopic studies have been used to probe the structural response of the crystal lattice to mechanical bending. Deformation of the covalent polymer chains does not appear to be responsible for the observed macroscopic bending. Instead, our results suggest that mechanical bending occurs by displacement of the coordination polymer chains. Based on experimental and theoretical evidence, we propose a new model for mechanical flexibility in 1D coordination polymers. Moreover, our calculations propose a cause of the different mechanical properties of this compound and a structurally similar elastic material KW - Coordination polymer KW - Flexible crystals KW - Mechanical properties KW - Plastic deformation PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-504755 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201914798 VL - 59 IS - 14 SP - 5557 EP - 5561 PB - Wiley-VCH AN - OPUS4-50475 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zänker, Steffen A1 - Scholz, G. A1 - Marquardt, Julien A1 - Emmerling, Franziska T1 - Structural changes in Ba-compounds of different hardness induced by high-energy ball milling – evidenced by 137Ba NMR and X-ray powder diffraction N2 - Changes in the global bulk and local structures, of three different barium compounds (BaZrO3, BaF2, and BaFCl),were induced by mechanical milling and followed using X-ray powder diffraction (PXRD), subsequent microstructure analysis, and 137Ba solid state NMR spectroscopy. Harder materials like BaZrO3 experience significantly higher structural changes upon milling than softer materials like BaF2. Moreover, soft materials with layered structures, like BaFCl, show a pronounced structural change during the milling process. By combining PXRD and solid state NMR, detailed information on the changes to the global and local structures were obtained, which are of interest for mechanochemical synthesis, mechanically treated catalysts or ionic conductors. KW - Mechanochemistry KW - X-ray diffraction KW - Solid state NMR PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-547397 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/zaac.202200026 SN - 0044-2313 VL - 648 IS - 10 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-54739 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gugin, Nikita A1 - Villajos Collado, José Antonio A1 - Feldmann, Ines A1 - Emmerling, Franziska T1 - Mix and wait – a relaxed way for synthesizing ZIF-8 N2 - Herein we report the synthesis of a zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8) by an easy “mix and wait” procedure. In a closed vial, without any interference, the mixture of 2-methylimidazole and basic zinc carbonate assembles into the crystalline product with approx. 90% conversion after 70 h. The reaction exhibits sigmoidal kinetics due to the self-generated water which accelerates the reaction. KW - In-situ analysis KW - Mechanochemistry KW - MOF KW - Synthesis KW - ZIF-8 PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-546841 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA00740A VL - 12 SP - 8940 EP - 8944 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-54684 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Miliūtė, Aistė A1 - Bustamante, Joana A1 - Karafiludis, Stephanos A1 - Zöllner, Moritz A1 - Eddah, Mustapha A1 - Emmerling, Franziska A1 - Mieller, Björn A1 - George, Janine A1 - Stawski, Tomasz M. T1 - Synthesis and phase purity of the negative thermal expansion material ZrV2O7 N2 - Synthesis of pure, homogeneous, and reproducible materials is key for the comprehensive understanding, design, and tailoring of material properties. In this study, we focus on the synthesis of ZrV2O7, a material known for its negative thermal expansion properties. We investigate the influence of solid-state and wet chemistry synthesis methods on the purity and homogeneity of ZrV2O7 samples. Our findings indicate that different synthesis methods significantly impact the material's characteristics. The solid-state reaction provided high-purity material through extended milling time and repeated calcination cycles, while the sol-gel reaction enabled a “near-atomic” level of mixing and, therefore, homogenous phase-pure ZrV2O7. We confirmed purity via X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy, highlighting differences between phase-pure and multiphase ceramics. These analytical techniques allowed us to distinguish subtle differences in the structure of the material. Based on ab initio simulated phonon data, we were able to interpret the Raman spectra and visualise Raman active atom vibrations. We show that phase purity enables the unbiased characterisation of material properties such as negative thermal expansion. KW - NTE KW - Sol-gel KW - Solid-state KW - Ab-initio KW - XRD KW - Raman PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-624013 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d4tc04095c SN - 2050-7534 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-62401 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -