TY - JOUR
A1 - Kromer, C.
A1 - Schwibbert, Karin
A1 - Gadicherla, A. K.
A1 - Thiele, Dorothea
A1 - Nirmalananthan-Budau, Nithiya
A1 - Laux, P.
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Luch, A.
A1 - Tschiche, H. R.
T1 - Monitoring and imaging pH in biofilms utilizing a fluorescent polymeric nanosensor
N2 - Biofilms are ubiquitous in nature and in the man-made environment. Given their harmful effects on human health, an in-depth understanding of biofilms and the monitoring of their formation and growth are important. Particularly relevant for many metabolic processes and survival strategies of biofilms is their extracellular pH. However, most conventional techniques are not suited for minimally invasive pH measurements of living biofilms. Here, a fluorescent nanosensor is presented for ratiometric measurements of pH in biofilms in the range of pH 4.5–9.5 using confocal laser scanning microscopy. The nanosensor consists of biocompatible polystyrene nanoparticles loaded with pH-inert dye Nile Red and is surface functionalized with a pH-responsive fluorescein dye. Its performance was validated by fluorometrically monitoring the time-dependent changes in pH in E. coli biofilms after glucose inoculation at 37 °C and 4 °C. This revealed a temperature-dependent decrease in pH over a 4-h period caused by the acidifying glucose metabolism of E. coli. These studies demonstrate the applicability of this nanosensor to characterize the chemical microenvironment in biofilms with fluorescence methods.
KW - Dye
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Signal enhancement
KW - Sensor
KW - Quantum yield
KW - Synthesis
KW - Nanoparticle
KW - Nano
KW - Polymer
KW - Ph
KW - Biofilm
KW - MIC
KW - Corrosion
KW - Microorganism
KW - Bacteria
PY - 2022
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-550751
DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-13518-1
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 12
IS - 1
SP - 1
EP - 10
PB - Nature Publishing Group
CY - London
AN - OPUS4-55075
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Reiber, T.
A1 - Hübner, Oskar
A1 - Dose, C.
A1 - Yushchenko, D. A.
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
T1 - Fluorophore multimerization on a PEG backbone as a concept for signal amplification and lifetime modulation
N2 - Fluorescent labels have strongly contributed to many advancements in bioanalysis, molecular biology, molecular imaging, and medical diagnostics. Despite a large toolbox of molecular and nanoscale fluorophores to choose from, there is still a need for brighter labels, e.g., for flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy, that are preferably of molecular nature. This requires versatile concepts for fluorophore multimerization, which involves the shielding of dyes from other chromophores and possible quenchers in their neighborhood. In addition, to increase the number of readout parameters for fluorescence microscopy and eventually also flow cytometry, control and tuning of the labels’ fluorescence lifetimes is desired. Searching for bright multi-chromophoric or multimeric labels, we developed PEGylated dyes bearing functional groups for their bioconjugation and explored their spectroscopic properties and photostability in comparison to those of the respective monomeric dyes for two exemplarily chosen fluorophores excitable at 488 nm. Subsequently, these dyes were conjugated with anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 immunoglobulins to obtain fluorescent conjugates suitable for the labeling of cells and beads. Finally, the suitability of these novel labels for fluorescence lifetime imaging and target discrimination based upon lifetime measurements was assessed. Based upon the results of our spectroscopic studies including measurements of fluorescence quantum yields (QY) and fluorescence decay kinetics we could demonstrate the absence of significant dye-dye interactions and self-quenching in these multimeric labels. Moreover, in a first fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) study, we could show the future potential of this multimerization concept for lifetime discrimination and multiplexing.
KW - Imaging
KW - Quantum yield
KW - Quality assurance
KW - Antibody
KW - Conjugate
KW - Cell
KW - FLIM
KW - PEG
KW - Flow cytometry
KW - Lifetime
KW - Energy transfer
KW - Quantitative spectroscopy
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Dye
KW - Amplification
KW - Microscopy
PY - 2024
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-602197
DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-62548-4
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 14
IS - 1
SP - 1
EP - 11
AN - OPUS4-60219
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 - Frenzel, F.
A1 - Fiedler, S.
A1 - Bardan, A.
A1 - Güttler, Arne
A1 - Würth, Christian
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
T1 - Influence of Measurement Geometry and Blank on Absolute Measurements of Photoluminescence Quantum Yields of Scattering Luminescent Films
N2 - For a series of 500 μm-thick polyurethane films containing different concentrations of luminescent and scattering YAG:Ce microparticles, we systematically explored and quantified pitfalls of absolute measurements of photoluminescence quantum yields (Φf) for often employed integrating sphere (IS) geometries, where the sample is placed either on a sample holder at the bottom of the IS surface or mounted in the IS center. Thereby, the influence of detection and illumination geometry and sample position was examined using blanks with various scattering properties for measuring the number of photons absorbed by the sample. Our results reveal that (i) setup configurations where the scattering sample is mounted in the IS center and (ii) transparent blanks can introduce systematic errors in absolute Φf measurements.
For strongly scattering, luminescent samples, this can result in either an under- or overestimation of the absorbed photon flux and hence an under- or overestimation of Φf. The size of these uncertainties depends on the scattering properties of the sample and instrument parameters, such as sample position, IS size, wavelength-dependent reflectivity of the IS surface coating, and port configuration. For accurate and reliable absolute Φf measurements, we recommend (i) a blank with scattering properties closely matching those of the sample to realize similar distributions of the diffusely scattered excitation photons within the IS, and (ii) a sufficiently high sample absorption at the excitation wavelength. For IS setups with center-mounted samples, measurement geometries should be utilized that prevent the loss of excitation photons by reflections from the sample out of the IS.
KW - Quality assurance
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - Quantum yield
KW - Characterization
KW - Silica
KW - Scattering
KW - Uncertainty
KW - Film
KW - Pphosphor
KW - YAG:Ce
KW - LED
KW - Converter material
KW - Solid material
KW - Polymer
KW - Composite material
KW - Advanced material
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-638304
DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.4c06726
SN - 1520-6882
SP - 1
EP - 8
PB - ACS Publications
AN - OPUS4-63830
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - GEN
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Richter, Maria
A1 - Güttler, Arne
A1 - Pauli, Jutta
A1 - Vogel, K.
A1 - Homann, Christian
A1 - Würth, Christian
T1 - Extending Certified Spectral Fluorescence Standards for the Calibration and Performance Validation of Fluorescence Instruments to the NIR – Closing the Gap from 750 nm to 940 nm with Two Novel NIR Dyes
N2 - Fluorescence methods provide spectral, intensity, polarization, and lifetime information, which contain sample- and instrument-specific contributions. Fluorescence data, comparable across instruments and laboratories, require validated calibration procedures and certified fluorescence standards.
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
SP - 1
EP - 4
PB - Springer Nature
CY - London
AN - OPUS4-62739
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Wasternack, J.
A1 - Schröder, H. V.
A1 - Witte, J. F.
A1 - Ilisson, M.
A1 - Hupatz, H.
A1 - Hille, J. F.
A1 - Gaedke, M.
A1 - Valkonen, A. M.
A1 - Sobottka, S.
A1 - Krappe, A.
A1 - Schubert, M.
A1 - Paulus, B.
A1 - Rissanen, K.
A1 - Sarkar, B.
A1 - Eigler, S.
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Schalley, C. A.
T1 - Switchable protection and exposure of a sensitive squaraine dye within a redox active rotaxane
N2 - In nature,molecular environments in proteins can sterically protect and stabilize reactive species such as organic radicals through non-covalent interactions.Here, wereport a near-infrared fluorescent rotaxane in which the stabilization of a chemically labile squaraine fluorophore by the coordination of a tetralactam macrocycle can be controlled chemically and electrochemically. The rotaxane can be switched between two co-conformations inwhich thewheel either stabilizes or exposes the fluorophore. Coordination by the wheel affects the squaraine’s stability across four redox states and renders the radical anion significantly more stable—by a factor of 6.7—than without protection by a mechanically bonded wheel. Furthermore, the fluorescence properties can be tuned by the redox reactions in a stepwise manner. Mechanically interlockedmolecules provide an excellent scaffold to stabilize and selectively expose reactive species in a co-conformational switching process controlled by external stimuli.
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Dye
KW - Sensor
KW - Quantum yield
KW - Spectroscopy
KW - Photophysics
KW - Synthesis
KW - Squaraine
KW - Switch
KW - Redox-active
KW - Rotaxane
PY - 2024
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-614959
DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-024-01312-1
VL - 7
SP - 1
EP - 11
AN - OPUS4-61495
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - CONF
A1 - Biyikal, Mustafa
T1 - Development of a handheld device for the trace detection of explosives
N2 - This presentation introduces a new explosives trace detector (ETD), a handheld device developed by True Detection Systems (TDS). Addressing the limitations of current handheld detectors—such as unreliable measurements and cumbersome operation— the new ETD XT-1 integrates advanced sensor technology, including a Lab-on-a-Chip, to deliver high sensitivity and accuracy. Capable of detecting trace levels of substances like TNT, TATP, and ammonium nitrate, the device offers rapid, user-friendly detection through AI/ML-enhanced algorithms. These algorithms enable precise substance identification by analyzing absorption and desorption rates, significantly reducing false positives. The XT-1 has broad applications in security, hazardous material detection, and environmental monitoring.
T2 - Photonics Days Berlin Brandenburg
CY - Berlin, Germany
DA - 09.10.2024
KW - Explosives
KW - Trace detection
KW - Handheld device
KW - Lab-on-a-chip
KW - Fluorescence
PY - 2024
AN - OPUS4-61433
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 - Billimoria, K.
A1 - Diaz Fernandez, Y. A.
A1 - Andresen, Elina
A1 - Sorzabal-Bellido, I.
A1 - Huelga-Suarez, G.
A1 - Bartczak, D.
A1 - Ortiz de Solórzano, C.
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Goenaga Infante, H.
T1 - The potential of bioprinting for preparation of nanoparticle-based calibration standards for LA-ICP-ToF-MS quantitative imaging
N2 - This paper discusses the feasibility of a novel strategy based on the combination of bioprinting nano-doping technology and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis for the preparation and characterization of gelatin- based multi-element calibration standards suitable for quantitative imaging. To achieve this, lanthanide up-conversion nanoparticles were added to a gelatin matrix to produce the bioprinted calibration standards. The features of this bioprinting approach were com- pared with manual cryosectioning standard preparation, in terms of throughput, between batch repeatability and elemental signal homogeneity at 5 μm spatial resolution. By using bioprinting, the between batch variability for three independent standards of the same concentration of 89 Y (range 0–600 mg/kg) was reduced to 5% compared to up to 27% for cryosectioning. On this basis, the relative standard deviation ( RSD ) obtained between three independent calibration slopes measured within 1 day also reduced from 16% (using cryosectioning ) to 5% (using bioprinting), supporting the use of a single standard preparation replicate for each of the concentrations to achieve good calibration performance using bioprinting. This helped reduce the analysis time by approximately 3-fold. With cryosectioning each standard was prepared and sectioned individually, whereas using bio-printing it was possible to have up to six different standards printed simultaneously, reducing the preparation time from approximately 2 h to under 20 min (by approxi- mately 6-fold). The bio-printed calibration standards were found stable for a period of 2 months when stored at ambient temperature and in the dark.
KW - Environmental analysis
KW - LA-ICP-MS
KW - Lanthanide
KW - Tag
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Nanoparticles
KW - Reference material
KW - Quality assurance
KW - 3D-printing
KW - Synthesis
KW - Production
KW - Multimodal
PY - 2022
DO - https://doi.org/10.1093/mtomcs/mfac088
SN - 1756-591X
VL - 14
IS - 12
SP - 1
EP - 9
PB - Oxford University Press
CY - Oxford
AN - OPUS4-57018
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - CONF
A1 - Wegner, Karl David
T1 - Luminescent Quantum dots – the next-generation nano light bulbs
N2 - Fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots (QDs), enabled many advancements in biotechnology, photovoltaics, photocatalysis, quantum computing and display devices. The high versatility of this nanomaterial is based on their unique size-tunable photoluminescence properties, which can be adjusted from the visible to the near-infrared range. In contrast to other nanomaterials, QDs made the transition from a laboratory curiosity to the utilization in commercial products, like the QLED television screen or in smartphone displays. The best investigated QDs are composed of heavy metals like cadmium or lead, which is not the best choice in terms of toxicity and environmental pollution. A more promising material is Indium Phosphide (InP), which is also currently used by Samsung, Sony and co. in the QLED displays.
In this contribution, I would like to give you a sneak peek behind the curtains of nanomaterial synthesis and show how this material is produced, how to stabilize their structural properties, and assess their toxicity in environmentally relevant conditions. Furthermore, I would like to present a synthesis method to accomplish the last open challenge in display technology of a blue luminescent LED based on QDs by introducing a new element to the InP QDs.
T2 - The Berlin Postdoc Day
CY - Berlin, Germany
DA - 03.11.2022
KW - InP
KW - Quantum dots
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Aging
KW - Doping
KW - Nanomaterial
KW - Cytotoxicity
PY - 2022
AN - OPUS4-56194
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - GEN
A1 - Scholtz, Lena
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
T1 - Behind the Paper - Dual color pH probes made from silica and polystyrene nanoparticles and their performance in cell studies
N2 - In this contribution we highlight the importance of comparison for scientific research while developing a new, functional pH sensor system, and the valuable insights this can provide.
KW - Dye
KW - Optical Spectroscopy
KW - pH probe
KW - Silica and Polystyrene Particles
KW - Nano
KW - Surface groups
KW - Safe-by-Design
KW - Cell studies
KW - Sensors
KW - Particle Synthesis
KW - Fluorescence
PY - 2023
UR - https://communities.springernature.com/posts/dual-color-ph-probes-made-from-silica-and-polystyrene-nanoparticles-and-their-performance-in-cell-studies
SP - 1
EP - 2
PB - Springer Nature
CY - London
AN - OPUS4-59150
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Wen, Keqing
A1 - Gorbushina, Anna
A1 - Schwibbert, Karin
A1 - Bell, Jérémy
T1 - Microfluidic platform with precisely controlled hydrodynamic parameters and integrated features for generation of microvortices to accurately form and monitor biofilms in flow
N2 - Microorganisms often live in habitats characterized by fluid flow, and their adhesion to surfaces in industrial systems or clinical settings may lead to pipe clogging, microbially influenced corrosion, material deterioration, food spoilage, infections, and human illness. Here, a novel microfluidic platform was developed to investigate biofilm formation under precisely controlled (i) cell concentration, (ii) temperature, and (iii) flow conditions. The developed platform central unit is a single-channel microfluidic flow cell designed to ensure ultrahomogeneous flow and condition in its central area, where features, e.g., with trapping properties, can be incorporated. In comparison to static and macroflow chamber assays for biofilm studies, microfluidic chips allow in situ monitoring of biofilm formation under various flow regimes and have better environment control and smaller sample requirements. Flow simulations and experiments with fluorescent particles were used to simulate bacteria flow in the platform cell for calculating flow velocity and direction at the microscale level. The combination of flow analysis and fluorescent strain injection in the cell showed that microtraps placed at the center of the channel were efficient in capturing bacteria at determined positions and to study how flow conditions, especially microvortices, can affect biofilm formation. The microfluidic platform exhibited improved performances in terms of homogeneity and robustness for in vitro biofilm formation. We anticipate the presented platform to be suitable for broad, versatile, and high-throughput biofilm studies at the microscale level.
KW - Topographical pattern
KW - E. coli
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Bacteria trapping
KW - Particle velocimetry
PY - 2024
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-610450
DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c00101
SN - 2373-9878
VL - 10
IS - 7
SP - 4626
EP - 4634
PB - ACS Publ.
CY - Washington, DC
AN - OPUS4-61045
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 - Oskoei, Párástu
A1 - Afonso, Rúben
A1 - Bastos, Verónica
A1 - Nogueira, João
A1 - Keller, Lisa-Marie
A1 - Andresen, Elina
A1 - Saleh, Maysoon I.
A1 - Rühle, Bastian
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
A1 - Daniel-da-Silva, Ana L.
A1 - Oliveira, Helena
T1 - Upconversion Nanoparticles with Mesoporous Silica Coatings for Doxorubicin Targeted Delivery to Melanoma Cells
N2 - Melanoma is one of the most aggressive skin cancers and requires innovative therapeutic strategies to overcome the limitations of conventional therapies. In this work, upconversion nanoparticles coated with mesoporous silica and functionalized with folic acid (UCNP@mSiO2-FA) were developed as a targeted nanocarrier system for the delivery of doxorubicin (DOX). The UCNPs were synthesized via thermal decomposition, coated with mesoporous silica shells, and functionalized with folic acid (FA) to enable receptor-mediated targeting. DOX was then loaded into the mesoporous silica coating by adsorption, yielding UCNP@mSiO2-FA-DOX. The different UCNPs were characterized for size, composition, colloidal stability, and loading and release of DOX. This comprehensive physicochemical characterization confirmed a high DOX loading efficiency and a slightly increased drug release under acidic conditions, mimicking the tumour microenvironment. In vitro assays using four melanoma cell lines (A375, B16-F10, MNT-1, and SK-MEL-28) revealed an excellent biocompatibility of UCNP@mSiO2-FA and a significantly higher cytotoxicity of UCNP@mSiO2-FA-DOX compared to unloaded UCNPs, in a dose-dependent manner. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated G2/M phase arrest after treatment with UCNP@mSiO2-FA-DOX, confirming its antiproliferative effect. Overall, UCNP@mSiO2-FA-DOX represents a promising nanoplatform for targeted melanoma therapy, combining active tumour targeting and enhanced anticancer efficacy.
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Synthesis
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - Silica
KW - Cell
KW - Uptake
KW - Drug
KW - Characterization
KW - DOX
KW - Imaging
KW - Toxicity
KW - Release
KW - pH
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-653596
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31010074
SN - 1420-3049
VL - 31
IS - 1
SP - 1
EP - 18
PB - MDPI AG
AN - OPUS4-65359
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - CONF
A1 - Wen, Keqing
A1 - Gorbushina, Anna
A1 - Schwibbert, Karin
A1 - Bell, Jérémy
T1 - A microfluidic platform for monitoring biofilm formation in flow under defined hydrodynamic conditions
N2 - Bacterial adhesion on surfaces of medical, water and food applications may lead to infections, water or food spoilage and human illness. In comparison to traditional static and macro flow chamber assays for biofilm formation studies, microfluidic chips allow in situ monitoring of biofilm formation under various flow regimes, have better environment control and smaller sample requirements.
In this work, a novel microfluidic platform is developed to investigate biofilm adhesion under precisely controlled bacteria concentration, temperature, and flow conditions. This platform central unit is a single-inlet microfluidic flow cell with a 5 mm wide chamber designed and tested to achieve ultra-homogenous flow in the central area of chamber. Within this area, defined microstructures are integrated that will disturb the homogeneity of the flow, thus changing bacterial adhesion pattern.
Here we present the monitoring of bacterial biofilm formation in a microfluidic chip equipped with a microstructure known as micro-trap. This feature is based on a 3D bacteria trap designed by Di Giacomo et al. and successfully used to sequester motile bacteria.
At first, fluorescent particles similar in size to Escherichia coli (E. coli) are used to simulate bacteria flow inside the flow cell and at the micro-trap. The turbulences induced by the trap are analyzed by imaging and particle tracking velocimetry (PTV). Secondly, the model strain E. coli TG1, ideal and well described for biofilm studies, is used to analyze biofilm formation in the micro-trap. Therefore, a stable fluorescent strain E. coli TG1-MRE-Tn7-141 is constructed by using Tn7 transposon mutagenesis according to the method described by Schlechter et al. Sequestering of E. coli cells within the micro-trap was followed using epifluorescence microscopy.
The novel microfluidic platform shows great potential for assessment of bacterial adhesion under various flow regimes. The performance of structural feature with respect to the generation of turbulences that promote or reduce bacterial adhesion can be systematically examined.
The combination of flow analysis and fluorescent strain injection into the microfluidic chip shows that the micro-trap is useful for capturing bacteria at defined positions and to study how flow conditions, especially micro-turbulences, can affect biofilm formation. It represents a powerful and versatile tool for studying the relation between topography and bacteria adhesion.
T2 - International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences
CY - Katowice, Poland
DA - 15.10.2023
KW - Biofilm
KW - E. coli
KW - Microfluidics
KW - Velocimetry
KW - Fluorescence
PY - 2023
AN - OPUS4-59593
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - JOUR
A1 - Prakash, Swayam
A1 - Mishra, Ashok Kumar
T1 - Facile Fluorometric Detection of Faecal Pigments: Challenges and Solutions Concerning Water Quality Testing
N2 - AbstractDetection and monitoring of faecal contaminants in water is an important component of water quality testing protocol worldwide. However, a systematic overview of the faecal indicator paradigm, including its fundamentals and challenges in analytical applications, is missing. In particular, with respect to the advantages of using faecal indication pigments (FIP) over faecal indication bacteria (FIB). This discussion is based on two FIPs, Urobilin (UB) and Stercobilin (SB), which can enable rapid and real‐time indication of faecal contaminants in ground/surface water. Novel strategies for enhancing sensitive fluorescence‐based techniques for trace concentration detection have been discussed in detail, with specific reference to understanding their physicochemical properties, photophysics, metal‐ligand complexation, molecular aggregations, thermodynamics, fluorescence response and matrix interferences in aqueous media or environmental samples. The insights provided in this perspective article could inspire procedures by avoiding ambiguities and misinterpretations.
KW - Faecal contamination
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Metal complexes
KW - Water analysis
KW - Optical and chemical sensing
KW - Spectroscopy
PY - 2025
DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/asia.202401750
SN - 1861-471X
SP - 1
EP - 8
PB - Wiley VHC-Verlag
AN - OPUS4-63082
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -
TY - CONF
A1 - Rurack, Knut
T1 - Advanced Onsite Analysis for Point-of-Need Applications: Innovations for Robust, Reliable, and User-Friendly Detection
N2 - The advancement of portable analytical assays has transformed onsite analysis in several areas, including food safety, environmental monitoring and forensics. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has fueled a need for rapid, onsite solutions that enable immediate decision making without the need for and use of laboratory infrastructure. The integration of mobile devices with advanced cameras and significant computing power improves the accessibility and usability of these tests. However, many current methods are limited to the detection of single parameters. The next challenge is to develop robust multiplexed assays that can analyze multiple parameters simultaneously with high sensitivity. In this lecture, innovative approaches developed at BAM will be presented with a focus on supramolecular chemistry, luminescence detection, nanomaterials and miniaturization of devices. Examples will include mesoporous nanomaterials, gated indicator systems, imprinted polymers, microfluidic devices, test strips and smartphone-based analytical tools, focusing on two use cases, i.e., the detection of contaminants in surface waters and immunoanalytical explosives detection.
T2 - International Conference on Emergin Trends in Materials Chemistry
CY - Coimbatore, India
DA - 03.04.2025
KW - Onsite analysis
KW - Rapid tests
KW - Mobile devices
KW - Supramolecular chemistry
KW - Fluorescence
PY - 2025
AN - OPUS4-65434
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 - 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 - Kossatz, Philipp
A1 - Mezhov, Alexander
A1 - Andresen, Elina
A1 - Prinz, Carsten
A1 - Schmidt, Wolfram
A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute
T1 - Assessing the Applicability of Lanthanide-Based Upconverting Nanoparticles for Optically Monitoring Cement Hydration and Tagging Building Materials
N2 - Chemically stable, lanthanide-based photon upconversion micro- and nanoparticles (UCNPs) with their characteristic multicolor emission bands in the ultraviolet (UV), visible (vis), near-infrared (NIR), and short-wave infrared (SWIR) arepromising optical reporters and barcoding tags. To assess the applicability of UCNPs for the monitoring of early stage cement hydration processes and as authentication tags for cementitious materials, we screened the evolution of the luminescence of Selfmade core-only NaYF4:Yb,Er UCNPs and commercial μm-sized Y2O2S:Yb,Er particles during the first stages of cement hydration, which largely determines the future properties of the hardened material. Parameters explored from the UCNP side included particle size, morphology, surface chemistry or coating, luminescence properties, and concentration in different cement mixtures. From the cement side, the influence of the mineral composition of the cement matrix was representatively examined for ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and its constituents tricalcium aluminate (C3A), tricalcium silicate (C3S), and gypsum at different water to cement ratios. Based on reflection and luminescence measurements, enabling online monitoring, which were complemented by XRD and isothermal heat-flow calorimetric measurements to determine whether the incorporation of these particles could impair cement hydration processes, well suited lanthanide particle reporters could be identified as well as application conditions. In addition, thereby the reporter influence on cement hydration kinetics could be minimized while still preserving a high level of information content. The best performance for the luminescence probing of changes during early stage cement hydration processes was observed for 25 nm-sized oleate (OA)-coated UCNPs added in a concentration of 0.1 wt %. Higher UCNP amounts of 1.0 wt % delayed cement hydration processes size- and surface coatingspecifically in the first 24 h. Subsequent luminescence stability screening studies performed over a period of about one year support the applicability of UCNPs as optical authentication tags for construction materials.
KW - Quality assurance
KW - Fluorescence
KW - Nano
KW - Particle
KW - Synthesis
KW - Quantum yield
KW - NIR
KW - Mechanism
KW - Characterization
KW - XRD
KW - Calorimetry
KW - Advanced material
KW - Cement
KW - Monitoring
KW - Surface
KW - Size
KW - Lifetime
KW - Barcode
KW - Lanthanide
KW - Upconversion
KW - Encoding
KW - Method
PY - 2025
UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-638318
DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c02236
SN - 2470-1343
VL - 10
IS - 29
SP - 31587
EP - 31599
PB - ACS Publications
CY - Washington, DC
AN - OPUS4-63831
LA - eng
AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany
ER -