Assessment of terbium (III) as a luminescent probe for the detection of tuberculosis biomarkers

A detection method for nicotinic acid, a specific metabolite marker of Mycobacterium tuberculosis present in cultures and patients' breath, is studied in complex solutions containing other metabolites and in biological media such as urine, saliva and breath condensate. The method is based on the analysis of the luminescence increase of Tb³⁺ complexes in the presence of nicotinic acid due to the energy transfer from the excited ligand to the lanthanide ion. It is shown that other potential markers found in M. tuberculosis culture supernatant, such as methyl phenylacetate, p-methyl anisate, methyl nicotinate and 2-methoxy biphenyl, can interfere with nicotinic acid via a competitive absorption of the excitation photons. A new strategy to circumvent these interferences is proposed with an upstream trapping of volatile markers preceding the detection of nicotinic acid in the liquid phase via the luminescence of Tb³⁺ complexes. The cost of the method is evaluated and compared with the Xpert MTB/RIF test endorsed by the World Health Organization.     

Photoinduced electron transfer in a triarylamine-organoboron-Ru(2,2′-bipyridine)32+ compound

Long-range electron transfer reactions play a key role in biological photosynthesis, and they are likely to play an important role for future artificial photosynthetic endeavors as well. The possibility to control the rates for long-range electron transfer with external stimuli is of particular interest in this context. In the work presented herein, we explored a donor–bridge–acceptor compound in which intramolecular electron transfer from a triarylamine donor to a photoexcited Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ (bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine) acceptor occurs across an organoboron bridge over a distance of approximately 22 Å. Fluoride has a high binding affinity to the organoboron bridge in apolar solutions, and the resulting organofluoroborate has a significantly different electronic structure. We explored to what extent the change from an electron-deficient organoboron wire to an electron-rich organofluoroborate bridge affects long-range electron transfer between the distant triarylamine donor and the Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ acceptor.     

Substituent Effects on the Vibrational Properties of the CN Stretch Mode of Aromatic Nitriles: IR Probes Useful for Time-resolved IR Spectroscopy

Developing ideal IR probes is essential to understand the structure and dynamics of biomolecules with time-resolved IR spectroscopies and imaging techniques. Especially, nitrile (CN) group has recently been proposed to serve as IR probes of the local environment of proteins. Herein, we investigated the effect of a substituent on the vibrational properties of the benzonitrile. The electron-donating and withdrawing character of p-substituent on benzonitrile are expected to modulate the vibrational frequency, molar extinction coefficient, and vibrational lifetime of CN probe. FT-IR revealed the positive correlation between electron-donating character and the molar extinction coefficient of CN stretch mode. Infrared pump-probe (IR-PP) measurements showed that the vibrational lifetime of CN stretch mode exhibits a relatively weak correlation with the electron-donating strength. Among the investigated samples, 4-dimethylamino benzonitrile with the strongest electron-donating strength shows enhanced absorption and extended vibrational lifetime. Utilizing substituent effects will be a practical strategy to improve the performance of the IR probe.     

A novel technique for time-resolved detection and tracking of interfacial and matrix fracture in layered materials

A novel experimental technique is developed for time-resolved detection and tracking of damage in the forms of delamination and matrix cracking in layered materials such as composite laminates. The technique is non-contact in nature and uses dual or quadruple laser interferometers for high temporal resolution. Simultaneous measurements of differential displacement and velocity at individual locations are obtained to analyze the initiation and progression of interfacial fracture and/or matrix cracking/delamination in a polymer matrix composite laminate system reinforced by graphite fibers. The measurements at multiple locations allow the speeds at which interfacial crack front (mode-I) or matrix cracking/delamination front (mode-II dominated) propagates to be determined. Experiments carried out use three-point bend configurations. Impact loading is achieved using a modified Kolsky bar apparatus with a complete set of diagnostics for load, deformation, deformation rate, and input energy measurement. This technique is used to characterize the full process of damage initiation and growth. The experiments also focused on the quantification of the speed at which delamination or damage propagates under primarily mode-I and mode-II conditions. The results show that the speed of delamination (mode-I) or the speed of matrix cracking/delamination (primarily mode-II) increases linearly with impact velocity. Furthermore, speeds of matrix failure/delamination under primarily mode-II conditions are much higher than the speeds of mode-I crack induced delamination under mode-I conditions.     

基于LIBS及时间分辨特征峰的激光除漆机理研究

激光除漆是一种高效、清洁的新型清洗技术，对激光除漆物理过程和机理的研究是该技术发展的关键。基于LIBS技术，测量得到油漆去除过程中等离子体的发光光谱，计算出油漆样品去除前后等离子体的电子密度和温度，研究了油漆中特征元素对应的光谱特征峰强度随时间的变化情况。结果表明，随着激光作用脉冲数量的增加，油漆去除深度逐渐增加，等离子体电子密度和温度在将漆去除干净的最后几个脉冲作用时呈下降趋势。油漆中Ti元素的所对应的特征峰信号持续时间为2个μs，油漆去除前后信号强度呈现跳跃减少，该现象可用于快速、准确、实时的判断油漆去除情况。     

Laser-induced fluorescence and infrared spectroscopic studies on the specific solvation of tris(1-(2-thienyl)-4,4,4-trifluoro-1,3-butanedionato)europium(III) in an ionic liquid

The extraction constant and the two-phase stability constant (K_D,Mβ₃) of tris(2-thenoyltrifluoroacetonato)europium(III) between 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ([C₄mim][Tf₂N]) as an ionic liquid and an aqueous phase were determined by considering the extraction equilibria including anionic tetrakis(2-thenoyltrifluoroacetonato)europate(III). Specific solute-solvent interactions between the neutral Eu(III) chelate and [C₄mim][Tf₂N] molecules were revealed from the relationships between the distribution constant of the enol form of 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (Htta) as a proton chelate and the distribution constant (K_D,M) of the neutral Eu(III) chelate because the [C₄mim][Tf₂N] system gave the high K_D,Mβ₃ value compared with those in conventional molecular solvents such as benzene and 1,2-dichloroethane. The coordination environment of Eu³⁺ in the neutral Eu(III) chelate in [C₄mim][Tf₂N] was investigated by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy and infrared absorption spectroscopy. Both methods consistently indicated that not only the Eu(III) chelate extracted but also Eu(tta)₃(H₂O)₃ synthesized as a solid crystal were almost completely dehydrated in [C₄mim][Tf₂N] saturated with water. Consequently, the higher K_D,M or extractability of the neutral Eu(III) chelate in the [C₄mim][Tf₂N] system can be ascribed to the dehydration of the Eu(III) chelate, which is caused by the specific solvation with [C₄mim][Tf₂N] molecules.     

Inverse transient radiation analysis in one-dimensional non-homogeneous participating slabs using particle swarm optimization algorithms

Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithms, including standard PSO, Stochastic PSO, and Multi-Phase PSO, are applied to solve the time-domain inverse transient radiation problems in the present research. Time-resolved transmittance and reflectance signals of four different measuring models serve as the measurement data, which estimate absorption, scattering coefficients, and geometric position within one-dimensional non-homogeneous media by inverse simulation. To check retrieval performances and accuracies of PSO-based approaches, four different inverse transient radiation cases are investigated to deal with one homogeneous layer, two-layer, three-layer, and continuous non-homogenous media. The influences of different searching ranges, swarm sizes, and maximum fly velocities on the fitness function of PSO are discussed. Meanwhile, the effects of measurement errors on the reconstruction accuracy are also investigated. All the results confirm that radiative parameters could be estimated accurately with measurement noise using PSO-based approaches.     

Molecular vibrational dynamics of rhodamine B dye in solution studied by femtosecond CARS

Spectrally dispersed femtosecond time-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy is utilized to study the ultrafast vibrational dynamics in rhodamine B dye in solution at room temperature. The anti-Stokes intensities are monitored as a function of time and wavenumber. By simply changing the timing of laser pulses, the vibrational dynamics of excited Raman transitions in rhodamine B molecules can be tracked and detected.     

神经网络法研究多溴代二苯胺热力学性质

通过时间分辨光谱技术详细地研究了ZnCuInS/ZnSe/ZnS量子点的激子弛豫动力学. 基于速率分布模型,波长依赖的发射动力学表明本征激子、界面缺陷态中的激子、给-受体对态中的激子都会参与量子点的发光过程,整个发光过程主要依赖于给-受体对态发射. 瞬态吸收数据表明激发后本征激子和界面缺陷物种可能会同时出现,在高激发光强下,光强依赖的俄歇复合过程也存在于量子点中     

Steady-State and Time-Resolved Fluorescence Spectroscopic Studies on Interaction of the N-terminal Region with the Hairpin Loop of the Phytocystain Scb

The steady-state and time-resolved fluorescece spectroscopy is one of the most powerful method to detect and analyze subtle conformation change and interaction between peptide elements in protein. Phytocystatin Scb isolated from sunflower seeds includes a single Trp residue at position 85. In an attempt to investigate the interaction of the N-terminal region of Scb with the first and second hairpin loops by fluorescence spectroscopy of Trp residue, two Scb mutants in which single Trp locates at position 52 and 58, respectively, and their N-terminal removed mutants were generated. The N-terminal truncation changed the fluorescence decay kinetics of Trp52 from the triple exponential to double. Furthermore, the time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy residue indicated that the segmental motion of Trp52 was significantly enhanced by its N-terminal truncation. In contrast, Trp58 and Trp85 had little influence. The N-terminal successive truncations of Scb and its mutants resulted in the weaken inhibitors to papain. These results suggested that the N-terminal region of Scb interacts with the peptide segment preceding the first hairpin loop, thereby stabilizing the conformation of the hairpin loop structure.