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The basics of absorption spectroscopy (termed also photometry) will be presented with focus on transparent solutions of different molecular and nanocrystalline absorbers and the ultraviolet (UV), visible (vis), and near-infrared (NIR) spectral region. Thereby, also typical sources of uncertainty will be addressed. Subsequently, several examples for typical applications of absorption measurements in the life and material sciences will be briefly shown ranging from aggregation studies and dye labeling densities of biomolecules (dye-to-biomolecule ratios) over optical assays for thiol and protein quantification to the optical determination of the size of semiconductor nanocrystals using size curves.
In summary, we report a highly modular solid TTA-UC system comprising of a crystalline, thermally stable PCN222(Pd) MOF with CA-coated MOF channels and with a DPA annihilator embedded in a solution-like environment in the MOF channels. This solid material displays blue upconverted delayed emission with a luminescence lifetime of 373 us, a threshold value of 329 mW*cm-2 and a triplet–triplet energy transfer efficiency of 82%. This optical application adds another facet to the versatile chemistry of PCN-222 MOFs. The design concept is also applicable to other TTA-UC pairs and enables tuning of the UCL color, for example, by replacing DPA with other dyes as exemplarily shown for 2,5,8,11-tetra-tert-butyl-perylene, that yields UCL at 450 nm. Current work aims to reduce the oxygen sensitivity and to increase the retention of the trapped annihilators in organic environments, for example, by tuning the chain length of the carboxylic acid and by coating the MOF surface. In addition, the TTA-UC efficiency will be further enhanced by reducing the reabsorption of the UC emission caused by Pd(TCPP) and by optimizing the sensitizer/annihilator interface.
Current trends in materials and life sciences are flanked by the need to push detection limits to single molecules or single cells, enable the characterization of increasingly complex matrices or sophisticated nanostructures, speed up the time of analysis, reduce instrument complexity and costs, and improve the reliability of data. This requires suitable analytical tools such as spectroscopic, separation and imaging techniques, mass spectrometry, and hyphenated techniques as well as sensors and their adaptation to application-specific challenges in the environmental, food, consumer product, health sector, nanotechnology, and bioanalysis. Increasing concerns about health threatening known or emerging pollutants in drinking water, consumer products, and food and about the safety of nanomaterials led to a new awareness of the importance of analytical sciences. Another important driver in this direction is the increasing demand by legislation, particularly in view of the 17 sustainable development goals by the United Nations addressing clean energy, industry, and innovation, sustainable cities, clean water, and responsible consumption and production. In this respect, also the development of analytical methods that enable the characterization of material flows in production processes and support recycling concepts of precious raw materials becomes more and more relevant. In the future, this will provide the basis for greener production in the chemical industry utilizing recycled or sustainable starting materials.
This makes analytical chemistry an essential player in terms of the circular economy helping to increase the sustainability of production processes. In the life sciences sector, products based on proteins, such as therapeutic and diagnostic antibodies, increase in importance. These increasingly biotechnologically produced functional biomolecules pose a high level of complexity of matrix and structural features that can be met only by highly advanced methods for separation, characterization, and detection. In addition, metrological traceability and target definition are still significant challenges for the future, particularly in the life sciences.
However, innovative reference materials as required for the health and food sector and the characterization of advanced materials can only be developed when suitable analytical protocols are available. The so-called reproducibility crisis in sciences underlines the importance of improved measures of quality control for all kinds of measurements and material characterization. This calls for thorough method validation concepts, suitable reference materials, and regular interlaboratory comparisons of measurements as well as better training of scientists in analytical sciences.
The important contribution of analytical sciences to these developments is highlighted by a broad collection of research papers, trend articles, and critical reviews from these different application fields. Special emphasis is dedicated to often-overlooked quality assurance and reference materials.
We demonstrate the potential of time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy for the straightforward assessment and in situ monitoring of the stability of upconversion nanocrystals (UCNPs). Therefore, we prepared hexagonal NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+ UCNPs with various coatings with a focus on phosphonate ligands of different valency, using different ligand exchange procedures, and studied their dissolution behaviour in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) dispersions at 20 °C and 37 °C with various analytical methods. The amount of the released UCNPs constituting fluoride ions was quantified by potentiometry using a Fluoride ion-sensitive electrode and particle disintegration was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy studies of the differently aged UCNPs. In parallel, the luminescence features of the UCNPs were measured with special emphasis on the lifetime of the sensitizer emission to demonstrate its suitability as Screening parameter for UCNP stability and changes in particle composition. The excellent correlation between the changes in luminescence lifetime and fluoride concentration highlights the potential of our luminescence lifetime method for UCNP stability screening and thereby indirect monitoring of the release of potentially hazardous fluoride ions during uptake and dissolution in biological systems. Additionally, the developed in situ optical method was used to distinguish the dissolution dynamics of differently sized and differently coated UCNPs.
The characterization of the optical properties of photoluminescent systems, that scatter, like dispersions of nanoparticles with sizes exceeding about 25 nm or solid nanophosphors is of increasing importance for many applications in the life and material sciences. Examples present nanoscale optical reporters and dye-doped microparticles for bioimaging, fluorescence assays or DNA sequencing as well as nanocrystalline emitters like semiconductor quantum dots and rods or lanthanide-based nanophosphors embedded into solid matrices for solid state lighting, display technologies, or barcoding/security applications. The assessment and comparison of material performance as well as the development of rational design strategies for improved systems require spectroscopic tools, which enable the determination of the signal-relevant optical properties like photoluminescence quantum yields and brightness values.
This encouraged us to built up an integrating sphere setup enabling absolute measurements of photoluminescence spectra and quantum yields of transparent and scattering photoluminescent dispersions and solid samples in different measurement geometries, i.e., direct and indirect illumination and the combination of both geometries and perform first measurements with selected emitters. Here, the design of this setup is presented and first recommendations concerning suitable measurement geometries are given.
Multiplexed encoding schemes of nano- and micrometer sized particles with fluorescent dyes or quantum dots (QDs) and their optical detection, are of increasing interest for applications in the life sciences, for example in flow cytometry. Almost all strategies utilizing fluorescence focus on spectrally distinguishable emission bands or colors and different intensity levels as fluorescence codes. The fluorescence parameter lifetime has been, however, barely exploited. In this work the goal is to perform multiplexing with encoding fluorophores with different fluorescence lifetimes (LTs). In comparison to the spectral multiplexing strategies this has the advantage, that the different fluorescence LT codes can be measured with the excitation and emission wavelength, thus reducing instrument costs. Moreover, LTs should not depend on emitter concentration. Unlike organic dyes, the LTs of which are typically < 10 ns, the fluorescence LTs of ternary semiconductor QDs that represent a “green” alternative to conventional Cd-containing QDs are in the range of several hundred ns, independent of oxygen concentration, and can be tuned to a certain extent by chemical composition and surface chemistry. This present a time region that can be barely covered by other emitters that have either much shorter or longer lifetimes. In this project, different encoding strategies will be assessed and the encoded particles will be then used for fluorescence assays for the analysis of several targets in parallel. Therefor the encoded particles will be functionalized with different target-specific bioligands and read out with a specifically designed flow cytometer enabling time-resolved fluorescence detection. With this instrument, the particles will be discriminated by their fluorescence LTs In one detection channel while the analytes will be quantified by fluorescence labels in a second channel in the intensity domain.
Introduction. Comparing different emitter classes and rationally designing the next generation of molecular and nanoscale probes for bioimaging applications require accurate and quantitative methods for the measurement of the key parameter photoluminescence quantum yield f.1 f equals the number of emitted per number of absorbed photons. This is particularly relevant for increasingly used fluorescence imaging in the short wave-infrared region (SWIR) ≥ 900 nm providing deeper penetration depths, a better image resolution, and an improved signal-to-noise or tumor-to-background ratio.2, 3 However, spectroscopic measurements in the SWIR are more challenging and require specific calibrations and standards.
Accurate and quantitative photoluminescence measurements are mandatory for the comparison of different emitter classes and the rational design of the next generation of molecular and nanoscale reporters as well as for most applications relying on their luminescence features in the life and material sciences and nanobiophotonics. In the following, procedures for the determination of the spectroscopic key parameter photoluminescence quantum yield, i.e., the number of emitted per absorbed photons, in the UV/vis/NIR/SWIR are presented including pitfalls and achievable uncertainties and material-specific effects related to certain emitter classes are addressed. Special emphasis is dedicated to luminescent nanocrystals.
A brief perspective of BAM on advanced materials is presented including examples for nanomaterials and other systems presenting advanced materials with special emphasis on characterization methods used in different division of BAM for the determination of functional or safety parameters of such materials. In this respect, also ongoing activities of the capacity building project nanoplatform of BAM aiming at the development of nanometer-sized reference materials are briefly summarized.
Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) relies on the activation of 10B by thermal neutrons, which results in small highly energetic particle emission inducing cancer cells damage. However, in order to overcome the limits of the currently used BNCT agents, it is necessary to design new systems, which can specifically accumulate and deliver a sufficient amount of 10B in tumors. In this study, we designed a 10B-BSH-containing aza-BODIPY (aza-SWIR-BSH). It enabled the efficient vectorization of clinically used 10B-BSH to the tumor, resulting in higher therapeutic activity than the 10B-BSH alone.