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Calibration-Free Chemical Process and Quality Control Units as Enablers for Modular Production
(2021)
Modular chemical production is a tangible translation of the digital transformation of the process industry for specialty chemicals. In particular, it enables the speeding-up of process development and thus a quicker time to market by flexibly connecting and orchestrating standardised physical modules and bringing them to life (i.e., parameterising them) with digitally accumulated process knowledge.
We focus on the specific challenges of chemical process and quality control, which in its current form is not well suited for modular production and provide possible approaches and examples of the change towards direct analytical methods, analytical model transfer or machine-supported processes.
Between Aromatic and Quinoid Structure: A Symmetrical UV to Vis/NIR Benzothiadiazole Redox Switch
(2020)
Reversibly switching the light absorption of organic molecules by redox processes is of interest for applications in sensors, light harvesting, smart materials, and medical diagnostics. This work presents a symmetrical benzothiadiazole (BTD) derivative with a high fluorescence quantum yield in solution and in the crystalline state and shows by spectroelectrochemical analysis that reversible switching of UV absorption in the neutral state, to broadband Vis/NIR absorption in the 1st oxidized state, to sharp band Vis absorption in the 2nd oxidized state, is possible.
For the one-electron oxidized species, formation of a delocalized radical is confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroelectrochemistry. Furthermore, our results reveal an increasing quinoidal distortion upon the 1st and 2nd oxidation, which can be used as the leitmotif for the development of BTD based redox switches.
Background:
Molecular-MRI is a promising imaging modality for the assessment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) represents a new therapeutic tool for AAA-treatment, since pro-inflammatory cytokines are key-mediators of inflammation. This study investigates the potential of molecular-MRI to evaluate therapeutic effects of an anti-IL-1β-therapy on AAA-formation in a mouse-model.
Methods:
Osmotic-minipumps were implanted in apolipoprotein-deficient-mice (N = 27). One group (Ang-II+01BSUR group, n = 9) was infused with angiotensin-II (Ang-II) for 4 weeks and received an anti-murine IL-1β-antibody (01BSUR) 3 times. One group (Ang-II-group, n = 9) was infused with Ang-II for 4 weeks but received no treatment. Control-group (n = 9) was infused with saline and received no treatment. MR-imaging was performed using an elastin-specific gadolinium-based-probe (0.2 mmol/kg).
Results:
Mice of the Ang-II+01BSUR-group showed a lower aortic-diameter compared to mice of the Ang-II-group and control mice (p < 0.05). Using the elastin-specific-probe, a significant decrease in elastin-destruction was observed in mice of the Ang-II+01BSUR-group. In vivo MR-measurements correlated well with histopathology (y = 0.34x-13.81, R2 = 0.84, p < 0.05), ICP-MS (y = 0.02x+2.39; R2 = 0.81, p < 0.05) and LA-ICP-MS. Immunofluorescence and western-blotting confirmed a reduced IL-1β-expression.
Conclusions:
Molecular-MRI enables the early visualization and quantification of the anti-inflammatory-effects of an IL-1β-inhibitor in a mouse-model of AAAs. Responders and non-responders could be identified early after the initiation of the therapy using molecular-MRI.
CMOS-Compatible Silicon Photonic Sensor for Refractive Index Sensing Using Local Back-Side Release
(2020)
Silicon photonic sensors are promising candidates for lab-on-a-chip solutions with versatile applications and scalable production prospects using complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication methods. However, the widespread use has been hindered because the sensing area adjoins optical and electrical components making packaging and sensor handling challenging. In this work, a local back-side release of the photonic sensor is employed, enabling a separation of the sensing area from the rest of the chip. This approach allows preserving the compatibility of photonic integrated circuits in the front-end of line and metal interconnects in the back-end of line. The sensor is based on a micro-ring resonator and is fabricated on wafer-level using a CMOS technology. We revealed a ring resonator sensitivity for homogeneous sensing of 106 nm/RIU.
Environmental pollutants like fine particulate matter can cause adverse health effects through oxidative stress and inflammation. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) such as peroxynitrite can chemically modify proteins, but the effects of such modifications on the immune system and human health are not well understood. In the course of inflammatory processes, the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) can sense damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Here, we investigate how the TLR4 response and pro-inflammatory potential of the proteinous DAMPs α-Synuclein (α-Syn), heat shock protein 60 (HSP60), and high-mobility-group box 1 protein (HMGB1), which are relevant in neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, changes upon chemical modification with peroxynitrite.
For the peroxynitrite-modified proteins, we found a strongly enhanced activation of TLR4 and the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB in stable reporter cell lines as well as increased mRNA expression and secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-8 in human monocytes (THP-1). This enhanced activation of innate immunity via TLR4 is mediated by covalent chemical modifications of the studied DAMPs.
Our results show that proteinous DAMPs modified by peroxynitrite more potently amplify inflammation via TLR4 activation than the native DAMPs, and provide first evidence that such modifications can directly enhance innate immune responses via a defined receptor. These findings suggest that environmental pollutants and related ROS/RNS may play a role in promoting acute and chronic inflammatory disorders by structurally modifying the body's own DAMPs. This may have important consequences for chronic neurodegenerative, cardiovascular or gastrointestinal diseases that are prevalent in modern societies, and calls for action, to improve air quality and climate in the Anthropocene.
Antibody-gated indicator delivery (gAID) systems based on mesoporous silica nano- and microparticle scaffolds are a promising class of materials for the sensitive chemical detection of small-molecule analytes in simple test formats such as lateral flow assays (LFAs) or microfluidic chips. Their architecture is reminiscent of drug delivery systems, only that reporter molecules instead of drugs are stored in the voids of a porous host particle. In addition, the pores are closed with macromolecular “caps” through a tailored “gatekeeping” recognition chemistry so that the caps are opened when an analyte has reacted with a “gatekeeper”. The subsequent uncapping leads to a release of a large number of indicator molecules, endowing the system with signal amplification features. Particular benefits of such systems are their modularity and adaptability. With the example of the immunochemical detection of type-I pyrethroids by fluorescent dye-releasing gAID systems, the influence of several tuning modes on the optimisation of such hybrid sensory materials is introduced here. In particular, different mesoporous silica supports (from nano- and microparticles to platelets and short fibres), different functionalisation routes and different loading sequences were assessed. The materials’ performances were evaluated by studying their temporal response behaviour and detection sensitivity, including the tightness of pore closure (through the amount of blank release in the absence of analyte) and the release kinetics. Our results indicate that the better the paratope-accommodating Fab region of the antibody “cap” fits into the host material's pore opening, the better the closing/opening mechanism can be controlled. Because such materials are well-suited for LFAs, performance assessment included a test-strip format besides conventional assays in suspension. In combination with dyes as indicators and smartphones for read-out, simple analytical tests for use by untrained personnel directly at a point-of-need such as an aeroplane cabin can be devised, allowing for sensitivities down to the μg kg−1 range in <5 min with case-required selectivities.
The theory of a new calibration approach for obtaining absolute isotope ratios of multi-isotopic elements without the use of any standard has been developed. The calibration approach basically uses the difference in the instrumental isotope fractionation of two different types of mass spectrometers, leading to two different fractionation lines in a three-isotope diagram. When measuring the same sample with both mass spectrometers, the different fractionation lines have one point in common: this is the ‘true’ logarithmized isotope ratio pair of the sample. Thus, the intersection of both fractionation lines provides us with the absolute isotope ratios of the sample. This theory has been tested in practice by measuring Cd and of Pb isotope ratios in the certified reference materials BAM-I012 and NIST SRM981 by thermal ionization mass spectrometry and by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry while varying the ionization conditions for both mass spectrometers. With this experiment, the theory could be verified, and absolute isotope ratios were obtained, which were metrologically compatible with the certified isotope ratios. The so-obtained absolute isotope ratios are biased by − 0.5% in average, which should be improved with further developments of the method. This calibration approach is universal, as it can be applied to all elements with three or more isotopes and it is not limited to the type of mass spectrometers applied; it can be applied as well to secondary ion mass spectrometry or others. Additionally, this approach provides information on the fractionation process itself via the triple-isotope fractionation exponent θ.
To demonstrate the potential of time-resolved flow cytometry (FCM) for bioanalysis, clinical diagnostics, and optically encoded bead-based assays, we performed a proof-of-principle study to detect biomolecular interactions utilizing fluorescence lifetime (LT)-encoded micron-sized polymer beads bearing target-specific bioligands and a recently developed prototype lifetime flow cytometer (LT-FCM setup). This instrument is equipped with a single excitation light source and different fluorescence detectors, one operated in the photon-counting mode for time-resolved measurements of fluorescence decays and three detectors for conventional intensity measurements in different spectral windows. First, discrimination of bead-bound biomolecules was demonstrated in the time domain exemplarily for two targets, Streptavidin (SAv) and the tumor marker human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). In a second step, the determination of biomolecule concentration levels was addressed representatively for the inflammation-related biomarker tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) utilizing fluorescence intensity measurements in a second channel of the LT-FCM instrument. Our results underline the applicability of LT-FCM in the time domain for measurements of biomolecular interactions in suspension assays. In the future, the combination of spectral and LT encoding and multiplexing and the expansion of the time scale from the lower nanosecond range to the longer nanosecond and the microsecond region is expected to provide many distinguishable codes. This enables an increasing degree of multiplexing which could be attractive for high throughput screening applications.
We studied the dissolution behavior of β NaYF4:Yb(20%), Er(2%) UCNP of two different sizes in biologically relevant media i.e., water (neutral pH), phosphate buffered saline (PBS), and Dulbecco’s modified Eagle medium (DMEM) at different temperatures and particle concentrations. Special emphasis was dedicated to assess the influence of different surface functionalizations, particularly the potential of mesoporous and microporous silica shells of different thicknesses for UCNP stabilization and protection. Dissolution was quantified electrochemically using a fluoride ion selective electrode (ISE) and by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). In addition, dissolution was monitored fluorometrically. These experiments revealed that a thick microporous silica shell drastically decreased dissolution. Our results also underline the critical influence of the chemical composition of the aqueous environment on UCNP dissolution. In DMEM, we observed the formation of a layer of adsorbed molecules on the UCNP surface that protected the UCNP from dissolution and enhanced their fluorescence. Examination of this layer by X ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and mass spectrometry (MS) suggested that mainly phenylalanine, lysine, and glucose are adsorbed from DMEM. These findings should be considered in the future for cellular toxicity studies with UCNP and other nanoparticles and the design of new biocompatible surface coatings.
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.