Novel Lipophilic Fluorophores with Highly Acidity-Dependent Two-Photon Response

Lipophilic fluorophores are widely implemented in nonlinear microscopy; however, few existing membrane-specific probes combine the high brightness of two-photon excited fluorescence (2PEF) with pH sensitivity. Herein we describe four novel two-photon excited fluorophores, based on a coumarin 151 core structure, where lipophilicity is induced by a covalently attached phosphazene moiety. Changing the environmental acidity using trifluoromethanesulfonic (triflic) acid leads to profound changes in the linear fluorescence and 2PEF characteristics, due to chromophores’ switching between neutral- and protonated forms. We characterize this dependence by measuring the two-photon absorption (2PA) spectra over the region λ_2PA=550–1000 nm, observing 2PA cross sections of σ_2PA=10–20 GM, with an associated 2PEF brightness of 10–13 GM, in neutral solutions of both acetonitrile and n-octanol. Although quantum chemical modelling and NMR measurements show that, at high chromophore concentrations, protonation may be accompanied by a dimerization process, these dimers likely do not form at the lower concentrations used in optical spectroscopy.     

Central factorial numbers; their main properties and some applications.

The purpose of this paper is to present a systematic treatment of central factorial numbers (cfn), including their main properties, as well as to employ them in a variety of applications. The cfn are related more closely to the Stirling numbers than to the other well-known numbers of Bernoulli, Euler, etc., and they are at least as important as Stirling's numbers, said to be “as important as Bernoulli's, or even more so”.     

A general protocol for temperature calibration of MAS NMR probes at arbitrary spinning speeds

A protocol using (207)Pb NMR of solid lead nitrate was developed to determine the temperature of magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR probes over a range of nominal set temperatures and spinning speeds. Using BioMAS and FastMAS probes with typical sample spinning rates of 8 and 35 kHz, respectively, empirical equations were devised to predict the respective sample temperatures. These procedures provide a straightforward recipe for temperature calibration of any MAS probe.