Energy transfer in nucleic acid-dye complexes

Energy and exciton transfer in DNA-acridine orange complexes after dye laser excitation have been investigated. The energy transfer from the DNA-bases to the dye molecules and the exciton transfer along the DNA chain depend on the base composition and sequence of the DNA and the exciting wavelength.     

Polarization and power characteristics of pulsed dye lasers with transverse pumping

Starting from the classical theory on molecular luminescence in liquids, rate equation for two-polarization-mode laser oscillation under transverse pumping with intense excitation have been set forth neglecting the influence of orientational relaxation of the dye molecules. Hence, the laser output power and polarization under different configurations have been obtained. The results show that the dye laser is partially polarized even when the pump beam is unpolarized and no polarizing elements exist in the cavity. If we define a reference plane consisting of the axes of the pump beam and the dye laser, the laser system has to adopt the plane perpendicular to the reference plane as the polarization direction in order to yield a highly efficient, linearly polarized laser output. Experiments on a copper-vapor laser pumped dye laser verified these analytical results.     

Models of DNA-dye-complexes: Energy transfer and molecular structures as evaluated by laser excitation

Energy transfer in DNA-dye-complexes after excitation in the UV down to 220 nm by means of a tunable laser was investigated. DNA of different base composition and polynucleotides were compared. The dyes proflavine, acridine orange and ethidium bromide were used. The energy transfer from DNA-bases to dye molecules was measured in dependence of the excitation wavelength and the base composition of the DNA. Models of the energy transfer from DNA to dye and of the molecular structures of the DNA-dye-complex (intercalation) could be deduced.     

Femtosecond laser synthesized nanohybrid materials for bioapplications

Hybrid nanomaterials were synthesized by adopting femtosecond laser ablation of a ZnO target in pure ethanol. Dye molecules were grafted onto the ZnO nanoparticles by mixing colloidal ZnO-ethanol solution prepared by laser ablation to Tetramethylrhodamine B isothiocyante, or to Rhodamine B solutions. Strongly facetted nanohybrid particles were observed with an average size of 15 nm, by HRTEM measurements. From photoluminescence spectroscopy of the nanohybrids after single and multiphoton excitations, we observed energy transfer from the ZnO nanoparticles towards the attached dye molecules. Moreover, IR excitation spectra of the hybrid nanomaterials reveal the emission of the grafted dye via two photon absorption of the ZnO.     

Spectroscopic and lasing properties of Xanthene dyes encapsulated in silica and polymeric matrices

The photo-physical properties of Xanthene dyes: Basic Rhodamine Yellow (BRY), Rhodamine590perchlorate (R590p), SulforhodamineB (SRB) doped in tetramethylorthosilicate (TMOS) and poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA) are observed. The various parameters viz. full-width at half-maxima (FWHM), peak emission wavelength, quantum yield and excited state lifetime at different concentrations ranging from ∼0.05 to ∼1 mM of the dye under excitation by Copper Vapor Laser (CVL) of high repetition rate (∼5.6 kHz) of are investigated. In order to identify photostability in dyes, normalized photostability has been studied and found that silica gel samples containing dye are more stable than that of polymeric samples. This has been further understood in terms of number density of unbleached dye molecules that infers that photobleaching of dye molecules is not prominent at higher concentrations in glassy solid matrices. Pump intensity dependent optical gain of the samples has also been reported and efforts have been made to study the efficiency of solid-state laser samples in a cavity for the performance of the dye laser.     

合成双分子膜三元体系的激发态能量转移

在４ （４’ 癸氧基 ４ 氧基联苯）丁基三甲基溴化铵双分子膜体系内,通过静电相互作用使达旦黄、荧光黄和四苯基卟啉磺酸阴离子键合在囊泡表面;研究了达旦黄给体通过荧光黄传递到四苯基卟啉磺酸阴离子受体的三元激发态能量转移。能量转移的结果改善了光的输出,扩展了光波的输出范围。     

Fourier transform measurement of two-photon excitation spectra: applications to microscopy and optimal control

We report a novel Fourier transform method for measuring two-photon excitation spectra. We demonstrate this method using simple dye molecules and discuss its applications in two-photon fluorescence microscopy and optimal control. This method facilitates an intuitive interpretation of recent control experiments in terms of tuning the nonlinear spectrum of the exciting laser source.     

Study of the protoporphyrin luminescence under selective laser excitation

The structural luminescence spectra of protoporphyrin IX solid solutions in ethanol and hydrochloric acid were obtained under selective laser excitation in the region of the inhomogeneouly broadened pure electronic and vibronic bands at T = 3.8 K. The dependence of the excitation selectivity on the excitation frequency was investigated. The vibrational frequencies of protoporphyrin IX were obtained in the ground and excited electronic states when the excitation frequency has been scanned in the region of pure electronic and vibronic bands, respectively. A universal apparatus is described for the investigation of the absorption and luminescence spectra of polyatomic molecules in the temperature range from 3.5 to 300 K under the dye laser excitation tunable in the spectral region 265–365 nm, 435–730 nm, detection of spectra in the region 300–900 nm with a polychromator and silicon intensified image detector and processing of the spectral information with an optical spectrum analyser controlled with a microcomputer.     

Investigation of the spontaneous emission rate of perylene dye molecules encapsulated into three-dimensional nanofibers via FLIM method

The decay dynamics of perylene dye molecules encapsulated in polymer nanofibers produced by electrospinning of polymethyl methacrylate are investigated using a confocal fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy technique. Time-resolved experiments show that the fluorescence lifetime of perylene dye molecules is enhanced when the dye molecules are encapsulated in a three-dimensional photonic environment. It is hard to produce a sustainable host with exactly the same dimensions all the time during fabrication to accommodate dye molecules for enhancement of spontaneous emission rate. The electrospinning method allows us to have a control over fiber diameter. It is observed that the wavelength of monomer excitation of perylene dye molecules is too short to cause enhancement within nanofiber photonic environment of 330 nm diameters. However, when these nanofibers are doped with more concentrated perylene, in addition to monomer excitation, an excimer excitation is generated. This causes observation of the Purcell effect in the three-dimensional nanocylindrical photonic fiber geometry.     

燃烧产物组成激光诱导荧光光谱的测量

对激光诱导荧光（LIF）光谱技术在燃烧过程中的应用进行研究，介绍测量燃烧过程中常见自由基OH和NO的LIF光谱的实验方案，以及采用激光诱导荧光光谱技术测量小分子荧光光谱的方法，利用YAG激光器、染料激光器、CO2激光器、光谱仪、ICCD等设备对燃烧产物中常见小分子自由基OH和NO进行了测量，从实验中得到了自由基OH和NO的荧光光谱。实验结果表明，荧光光谱与激发波长无关，但是激发波长改变后，荧光强度因离开最佳波长而有所下降，这符合分子荧光光谱的特征。与其他光谱技术相比，激光诱导荧光光谱技术具有极高的选择性和灵敏度。     

Photobleaching on Photonic Crystal Enhanced Fluorescence Surfaces

The effect of resonant fluorescent enhancement from a photonic crystal surface upon the fluorescent photobleaching rate of Cyanine-5 labeled protein has been investigated. We show that the enhanced excitation mechanism for photonic crystal enhanced fluorescence, in which the device surface resonantly couples light from an excitation laser, accelerates photobleaching in proportion to the coupling efficiency of the laser to the photonic crystal. We also show that the enhanced extraction mechanism, in which the photonic crystal directs emitted photons approximately normal to the surface, does not play a role in the rate of photobleaching. We show that the photobleaching rate of dye molecules on the photonic crystal surface is accelerated by 30x compared to an ordinary glass surface, but substantial signal gain is still evident, even after extended periods of continuous illumination at the resonant condition.     

An investigation of laser-induced fluorescence for measuring velocity distributions of neutral atoms using a CW dye laser

The velocity distribution of evaporated Zr atoms has been measured by means of laser-induced fluorescence using a cw dye laser by scanning the laser line across the Doppler-broadened absorption line profile of the atoms. It is shown that the experimental data can be explained on the basis of an excitation theory for a three-level system developed from basic principles. It was calculated that the probability for an atom to be in the excited state mainly depends on the radiation-power density of the laser and on the residence time of the atom in the exciting laser light. It was found that the laser frequency must be well stabilized in order to meet the assumptions in the excitation calculation. Otherwise deviations to the theoretical predictions appear in the experimental results due to the jitter of the dye laser.     

A study of preparation techniques and properties of bulk nanocomposites based on aqueous albumin dispersion

It is established that DNA films sensitized by organic dyes (for example, acridine orange), subjected to pulsed excitation in the dye absorption band, allow for several types of time-dependent holographic recording. Dynamic holographic gratings on the dye triplet states and thermal and relief-phase holographic gratings of nondestructive type have been recorded. The efficiency and lifetime of these gratings depend strongly on the concentration of dye, the type of its bonding with the biopolymer, and the recording-pulse energy. High-efficiency relief holographic gratings formed due to the structural transformations occurring in the biopolymer matrix when the energy of recording laser pulses dissipates into heat spontaneously and completely (or almost completely) disappear with time at room temperature. Some data on the distribution of acridine orange molecules over binding sites in the DNA matrix are obtained.     

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of dye-doped KDP crystals: Effect of thermal treatment

Potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystals (KDP, KH₂PO₄) doped with the organic xylenol orange (XO) dye are grown, the XO concentration in the crystal matrix is about 10 ppm. The spectral and luminescent properties of nominally pure, dye-doped and dye-doped/annealed at 150 °C crystals (KDP, KDP:XO and KDP:XO_an) were measured. The annealing temperature effect on the degree of dye protonation in the crystal matrix is established. Analysis of the IR-absorption spectra reveals a strong interaction between the incorporated dye molecules and the hydrogen subsystem of the matrix. The nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of KDP, KDP:XO and KDP:XO_an crystals are studied within the self-action effect of picosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. The mechanism of photoinduced bleaching and the effects of laser beam self-focusing (in KDP) and self-defocusing (in KDP:XO and KDP:XO_an) are supposed to be due to resonance excitation of the subsystems of intrinsic defects and dye molecules, correspondingly. For KDP:XO_an it is shown that thermal annealing of intrinsic crystal defects leads to domination of more effective NLO response of the subsystem of dye molecules that is correlated with photoluminescence data.     

凝聚相中血卟啉分子的激光选择激发

用脉冲染料激光器在77K对血卟啉在乙醇和HCl溶液中的电子振动带和0—0跃迁带进行激光选择激发,得到了有振动结构的荧光光谱,发现其对激发波长有明显的选择性。在冷凝的乙醇溶液中,HPD的荧光出现四种不同的特征,在选择激发下给出更好的分辨。认为它可能与异构现象有关。     

Fluorescence Study of DNA–Dye Complexes Using One-Photon and Two-Photon Picosecond Excitation

Preliminary results of investigation of one-photon- and two-photon-induced fluorescence of acridine orange (AO), epirubicin (ER), hypericin (HYP), and ethidium bromide (EB) in complexes with DNA are presented. A spectrofluorometer based on a picosecond Nd:YAG laser was used for investigations of two-photon (1064-nm, 1-mJ, 40-ps) and one-photon (532- and 355-nm) dye excitation. The spectra of two-photon-induced fluorescence of dyes and their complexes with DNA as well as the kinetics of dyes' fluorescence intensification during their interactions with DNA in dependence on the biomacromolecule concentration were obtained. The intensities of AO, HYP, and EB fluorescence were increased 2.4, 3.2, and 8 times, respectively, after binding with DNA at two-photon excitation, while at one-photon excitation the corresponding values were 2.5, 3.7, and 10 times. The difference in fluorescence enhancement during DNA–dye complex formation at linear and nonlinear excitation may possibly be associated with the fact that the cross sections of one-photon and two-photon absorption, in general, change unequally during the binding of dyes to organic molecules and bathocromic shift of the electronic transitions. It was shown that the peak of AO fluorescence shifted to a longer wavelength on 10 nm after two-photon excitation at 1064 nm in comparison with one-photon excitation at 532 nm.     

Violet-to-red photoluminescence of spiro-TAD organic films doped with different organic dyes

Photoluminescence (PL) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectra of undoped spiro-TAD films and spiro-TAD films doped either by the organic dyes coumarin 7 or DCM as well as by both of these dyes simultaneously were investigated at different dye concentrations. A widened PL spectrum caused by doping was encountered and violet-to-red emission was obtained. It was established that excitation of the dyes is realized most efficiently through spiro-TAD. The overall integral PL intensity of the coumarin 7 doped films increased with dye concentration due to the suppression of nonradiative recombination in the film caused by a transfer of spiro-TAD excitation energy to the dye molecules. Mainly radiative energy transfer from semiconductor to dye molecules occurs in the case of DCM doping. No mutual influence on the luminescence of both dyes in the spiro-TAD film was observed and as a consequence, the PL band intensity of each dye can be adjusted separately.     

Rapid,Reversible Release from Thermosensitive Liposomes Triggered by Near‐Infra‐Red Light

A novel drug carrier is presented consisting of plasmonic hollow gold nanoshells (HGN) chemically tethered to liposomes made temperature sensitive with lysolipids (TSL). Continuous‐wave irradiation by physiologically friendly near‐infra‐red light at 800 nm for 2.5 min at laser intensities an order of magnitude below that known to damage skin generates heating localized to the liposome membrane. The heating increases the liposome permeability in an irradiation dose dependent, but reversible manner, resulting in rapid release of small molecules such as the self‐quenching dye carboxyfluorescein or the chemotherapeutic doxorubicin, without raising the bulk temperature. The local rise in nanoshell temperature under laser irradiation is inferred by comparing dye release rates from the TSL via bulk heating to that induced by irradiation. Laser‐irradiation of TSL enables precise control of contents release with low temperature gradients confined to areas irradiated by the laser focus. The combined effects of rapid local release and localized hyperthermia provide a synergistic effect as shown by a near doubling of androgen resistant PPC‐1 prostate cancer cell toxicity compared to the same concentration of free doxorubicin.     

Generation of coherent ultraviolet radiation in the 330 nm region by multiphoton excitation of sodium vapor

We report the observation of coherent uv emission at 330.2±0.5 nm when sodium vapor in a heatpipe is irradiated with a pulsed visible dye laser with output wavelength in the 570–595 nm region. It is found that intense uv emission can be produced from Na atoms as well as from Na₂ molecules. The excitation functions and their dependence on vapor density and laser power density are presented and the mechanisms for producing the emission are discussed.On leave from the Department of Physics, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, People's Republic of China     

New efficient laser dye for pulsed and CW operation in the UV

A new laser dye for pulsed and cw operation has been synthesized which can be tuned from 362 nm up to 412 nm. For pulsed excitation with a XeCl excimer laser an energy conversion of 18.5% has been measured at the tuning maximum of the dye; this is the highest efficiency for any known dye in the UV. For cw operation a low laser threshold and a goof efficiency have been observed. The range of tuned cw dye lasers is extended by 30 nm to shorter wavelengths. The dye shows high photochemical stability even at high pump laser power.