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- 1.9 Chemische und optische Sensorik (71) (entfernen)
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Glyphosate (GPS) is the most widely used pesticide in the world whose use increased dramatically after the introduction of genetically modified crops engineered to resist its herbicidal action during application. In recent years, there have been growing concerns over its toxicity following its classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a probable carcinogen as well as reports of its ecotoxicological effects. This resulted in increased efforts to develop quick and sensitive detection methods.
In this work, molecular imprinting was combined with direct fluorescence detection of GPS by improving its solubility in organic solvents using tetrabutylammonium (TBA+) and tetrahexylammonium (THA+) as counterions. To achieve fluorescence detection, a fluorescent crosslinker containing urea binding motifs was used as a probe for GPS-TBA and GPS-THA salts in chloroform, generating stable complexes through hydrogen bond formation. The GPS/fluorescent dye complexes were imprinted into 2–3 nm molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) shells on the surface of sub-micron silica particles. Thus, the MIP binding behavior could be easily evaluated by fluorescence titrations in suspension to monitor the spectral changes upon addition of the GPS analytes. While MIPs prepared with GPS-TBA and GPS-THA both displayed satisfactory imprinting following titration with the corresponding analytes in chloroform, GPS-THA MIPs displayed better selectivity against competing molecules. Moreover, the THA+ counterion was found to be a more powerful phase transfer agent than TBA+, enabling the direct fluorescence detection and quantification of GPS in water in a biphasic assay. A limit of detection of 1.45 µM and a linear range of 5–55 µM, which matches well with WHO guidelines for the acceptable daily intake of GPS in water (5.32 µM), have been obtained. The assay can be further optimized to allow miniaturization into microfluidic devices and shows potential for on-field applications by untrained personnel.
This study presents a practical procedure to give access to more information by tilting the sample holder and hence allowing images of a single particle to be recorded at different orientations under the same view angle. From the analysis of these images, extended information on surface roughness of the particle can be extracted. Thus, instead of obtaining 2D information from a single SEM image, three-dimensional (3D) information is obtained from 2D projections recorded at different particle orientations.
This study describes the motion of magnetizable particles of spherical shape with radius at most of 1 μm, also referred to as microbeads, immersed in a liquid under laminar flow conditions in a microfluidic channel. An external magnetic field is applied in part of the system such that it permeates the channel and is characterized by a spatially varying magnetic field, i.e., the gradient of the magnetic field is nonzero. The beads are superparamagnetic; hence they can reach high level of magnetization in the presence of a magnetic field, and this magnetization disappears when the field is zero. Therein lies the attractiveness of these microbeads and the potential for applications because their motion can be controlled using an external magnetic field. The motion is governed by several factors, including the magnetic force acting on microbeads (particles), the drag force due to viscosity, the interaction between particles and the fluid, as well as the interaction between particles themselves. For a single particle case, the trajectory of the motion is determined by balancing the drag and magnetic forces acting on the particle, a calculation that in general requires numerical integration. For a system consisting of an ensemble of interacting particles, several regimes of motion dominated by one of the factors are identified. Of particular interest are the systems dominated by the large number of particles in the ensemble, i.e., high particle concentration, in which cases the wake influences the flow downstream. This effect is qualitatively investigated by considering the Navier-Stokes equation with and without the magnetic force contribution.
Analytical assays that can be used outside of a dedicated laboratory environment have received unprecedented attention all around the globe during the last one and a half years, in which the world was struggling with and trying to contain the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. However, besides their current prominence in the field of medical diagnostics, rapid tests and assays have also become increasingly important in other areas ranging from food and feed via security and forensics to environmental management. The advantage is obvious: taking the assay to the sample instead of bringing the sample to the laboratory minimizes the time between first suspicion and first decision taking. Especially today, where mobile communication devices with powerful computing capabilities and onboard cameras are omnipresent, the majority of the global population possesses the basic skills of operating a powerful detector, ready at their fingertips. The stage is thus set for a much broader use of analytical measurements in terms of prognostics and prevention.
Today, however, tests for single parameters are still prevailing, whether it is a SARS-CoV-2 biomarker, the glucose level in blood or the concentration of lead in a water sample. Also, for industrial use, many mobile analytical systems still target a single parameter, and several separate runs or tests have to be used even if one wants to screen for only a small number of key parameters. Current challenges in the field thus lie with the development of low-number multiplexing strategies while allowing for robust, reliable, fast, and user-friendly operation and while still reaching the required sensitivities.
This lecture will give an overview of various generic approaches developed in BAM’s Chemical and Optical Sensing Division over the years to address these challenges. In particular, it will highlight how the combination of supramolecular (bio)chemistry, luminescence detection, hybrid (nano)materials and device miniaturization can result in powerful (bio)analytical assays that can be used at a point-of-need. Selected examples will introduce key aspects of such systems like tailored signaling mechanisms and recognition elements, materials functionalization and device integration, including hybrid mesoporous nanomaterials, gated indicator release systems, molecularly imprinted polymers, microfluidic devices, test strips and smartphone-based analysis.
The reversible analyte-induced switching between a colourless leuco form of a dye and its coloured all-π-conjugated form is one of the oldest concepts in probe- or indicator-based optical analysis,1 constituting so-called “one-color indicators”.2 In contrast to colour changes in the visible region, for which usually a bond-forming or a non-covalent interaction between a functional group on an indicator and an analyte is responsible, the extraordinarily large shifts of 150–250 nm seen for leuco-to-all-π-conjugated transformation are only possible when the reaction takes place directly at a site that is an intrinsic part of a dye’s π-system; the classic case are triphenylmethane dyes.3 Despite its obvious potential, this approach has not been a very popular area of scientific research for decades, perhaps because it is much more difficult to implement selectivity than by modifying terminal functional groups. However, in recent years, reaction-based fluorescence probes have attracted increasing attention by virtue of their superior sensitivity.4,5
Nowadays, rhodamines and fluoresceins are by far the most prominent groups of reaction-based indicators.5 They are usually switched between a colourless and non-fluorescent and a greenish-yellowish absorbing and yellowish-reddish emitting form. Typically, the coloured and fluorescent form is ionic, while the colourless form is neutral, reactions having mainly be designed to occur at the end groups of the xanthenoid π-system. BODIPY dyes, with their favourable spectroscopic and chemical properties as well as facile wavelength tunability features have only very recently been explored into this direction.6,7 Reaction at the core dipyrrin framework of these dyes led to strong colour and fluorescence modulations with potential applications in materials sciences6 and cell imaging.7 The present contribution will highlight the mechanisms at play and the sensing performance realized so far, and will compare core-reactive approaches to reaction-based signalling that involves π-extension of BODIPYs.8,9
Type-I pyrethroids are frequently used for disinfection purposes on airplanes from and to tropical areas. The WHO (Word Health Organization) defines “disinfection” as the procedure whereby health measures are taken to control or kill the insect vectors of human diseases including dengue, yellow fever and malaria.1 Due to this, a new effective and rapid method for pyrethroids analysis directly in the plane is needed.
To detect type-I pyrethroids, gated materials are constructed for the purpose of finely tuning the movement of a cargo from voids of a mesoporous inorganic support to a solution, in response to a predefined stimulus.2 Antibodies are bound to specific functional groups grafted on the support’s surface with the two-fold aim of closing the mesopores and working as biological receptors for the target compounds.2 A specific opening mechanism, activated selectively in presence of pyrethroids as analytes, is able to control the release of an indicator dye previously loaded inside the inorganic support. As only few molecules of pyrethroids are necessary to open a pore and release a large amount of dyes, the system shows an intrinsic signal amplification quantified as a fluorescence emission intensity.3
Different mesoporous silica supports (from nano- and microparticles to platelets and short fibers) were synthetized, characterized and functionalized following different capping strategies. In this contribution, we will compare the temporal response behaviour of the optimized gated materials to verify if the respective delivery systems are properly closed and how fast they can be opened in presence of the analytes. Our results indicate that the trends of the kinetics observed in solution show a better control of the closing/opening mechanism when the epitope region of the antibody (around 10 nm) properly fits the pore size of the carriers.
Because the incorporation of an antibody-gated dye-delivery system with a conventional test-strip-based lateral-flow assay allows for the detection of analytes down to the ppb level in an easy-to-operate manner and an overall assay time of 2–5 min, which is fast for a biochemical test,3 we carried out first model studies for a lateral flow test assay on membranes, using a smartphone setup for read-out.
The microbial contamination of fuels by fungi or bacteria presents risks such as corrosion and fuel system fouling, which can produce critical problems in refineries and distribution systems and has a significant economic impact at every phase of the process. Many factors have been cited as responsible for microbial growth, like the presence of water in the storage tanks. Indeed, only 1 % water in a storage system is enough for the growth of microorganisms like bacteria or yeasts, as well as for the development of fungal biomass at the oil/water interface.1
In this work, a rapid test for the accurate determination of genomic DNA from aqueous fuel extracts is presented. The detection is based on the employment of polystyrene-mesoporous silica core-shell particles, on which modified fluorescent molecular beacons are covalently grafted. Those beacons incorporate in the hairpin loop a target sequence highly conserved in all bacteria, corresponding to a fragment of the 16S ribosomal RNA subunit. The designed single-stranded molecular beacon contained fluorescein as an internal indicator and a quencher in its proximity when not hybridized. Upon hybridization in presence of the target sequence, the indicator and the quencher are spatially separated, resulting in fluorescence enhancement. To perform the assay the designed particles were disposed on different glass fiber strips to try to achieve a portable and sensitive rapid test. Assays showed that presence of genomic DNA extracts from bacteria down to 50–70 μg L-1 induces a fluorescence response. The optical read-out was adapted for on-site monitoring by adapting a 3D-printed case on a conventional smartphone, taking advantages of the CMOS detector sensitivity.2 Such embedded assembly allowed to detect genomic DNA in aqueous extracts down to the mg L-1 range and presents an interesting step toward on-site monitoring of fuel contamination.
Laser metal deposition is a rapidly evolving method for additive manufacturing that combines high performance and simplified production routine. Quality of production depends on instrumental design and operational parameters that require constant control during the process. In this work, feasibility of using optical spectroscopy as a control method is studied via modeling and experimentally. A simplified thermal model is developed based on the time-dependent diffusion-conduction heat equation and geometrical light collection into detection optics. Intense light emitted by a laser-heated spot moving across a sample surface is collected and processed to yield the temperature and other temperature-related parameters. In a presence of surface defects the temperature field is distorted in a specific manner that depends on a shape and size of the defect. Optical signals produced by such the distorted temperature fields are simulated and verified experimentally using a 3D metal printer and a sample with artificially carved defects. Three quantities are tested as possible metrics for process monitoring: temperature, integral intensity, and correlation coefficient. The shapes of the simulated signals qualitatively agree with the experimental signals; this allows a cautious inference that optical spectroscopy is capable of detecting a defect and, possibly, predicting its character, e.g. inner or protruding.
Processes of laser induced oxidation of metals are typically studied in the framework of heterogeneous chemical reactions occurring on the irradiated surface, which lead to the formation of dense oxide films deposited on it. Such technology has many applications like color-laser marking technology and laser recording on thin metal films for creation of diffractive optical elements . Under the conditions of strong laser ablation, another oxidation mechanism becomes possible: evaporated atoms react with oxygen in a surrounding atmosphere and the products of such reaction are redeposited back onto the substrate. The chemical and phase composition of such deposited layer, its density, morphology and structure depend on the conditions of laser ablation. By varying these conditions, the main properties of such coating can be controlled that is important for some potential application (for example in biomedicine).
In our report we present the study of the processes of redeposition of oxides structure under the conditions of multipulse nanosecond laser ablation of titanium (Grade 2) in air atmosphere at normal conditions. Our experiments show that titanium-implants with such deposited oxide layer have increased biocompatibility.
Modelling of chemical reaction in laser-induced plasma coupled with experimental methods of plasma optical emission spectroscopy allows us to determine the types of main chemical reactions in laser plasma as well as it influences on the plume dynamics and vapor condensation kinetics. As a result, we propose the general physical picture of reverse deposition of oxides structure under the condition of strong nanosecond laser ablation. The formation of the titanium oxide precipitate is explained not only by collisions in the plasma, but also by the chemical interaction of titanium and oxygen, which leads to the formation of а low pressure area near the substrate and additionally stimulates the reverse deposition of oxides. We expect, similar processes are valid not only for titanium but also for other metals and, possibly, semiconductors.
A particle roughness analysis tool, based on electron microscopy (EM) images. The influence of various parameters on the calculated roughness was also investigated: the setting of the proper threshold, accelerating voltage, etc. The samples were gradually tilted to extend imaging information of more than only one projection. Furthermore, the measurement uncertainty of the profile roughness of particles associated to various orientations was estimated.