Fast microfluidic temperature control for high resolution live cell imaging

One major advantage of using genetically tractable model organisms such as the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is the ability to construct temperature-sensitive mutations in a gene. The resulting gene product or protein behaves as wildtype at permissive temperatures. At non-permissive or restrictive temperatures the protein becomes unstable and some or all of its functions are abrogated. The protein regains its function when returning to a permissive temperature. In principle, temperature-sensitive mutation enables precise temporal control of protein activity when coupled to a fast temperature controller. Current commercial temperature control devices do not have fast switching capability over a wide range of temperatures, making repeated temperature changes impossible or impractical at the cellular timescale of seconds or minutes. Microfabrication using soft-lithography is emerging as a powerful tool for cell biological research. We present here a simple disposable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based microfluidic device capable of reversibly switching between 5 °C and 45 °C in less than 10 s. This device allows high-resolution live cell imaging with an oil immersion objective lens. We demonstrate the utility of this device for studying microtubule dynamics throughout the cell cycle.     

Evolution of defect signatures at ferroelectric domain walls in Mg‐doped LiNbO3

The domain structure of uniaxial ferroelectric lithium niobate single crystals is investigated using Raman spectroscopy mapping. The influence of doping with magnesium and poling at room temperature is studied by analysing frequency shifts at domain walls and their variations with dopant concentration and annealing conditions. It is shown that defects are stabilized at domain walls and that changes in the defect structures with Mg concentration can be probed by the shift of Raman modes. We show that the signatures of polar defects in the bulk and at the domain walls differ. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Dimers and chains of {3d-4f} single molecule magnets constructed from heterobimetallic tectons

A tetranuclear complex and a 1-D coordination polymer with a ladder-like topology have been obtained by connecting [Ni(II)Dy(III)] nodes with dicarboxylato ligands: [Ni?(valpn)?Dy?(III)(pdca)?(NO?)(H?O)?](NO?)·4H?O 1, and (∞)1[Ni?(H?O)?(valpn)?Dy?(tfa)?]·4CH?CN 2 (valpn2? = the dianion of the Schiff base resulting from reacting o-vanillin with 1,3-propanediamine; pdca2? = the dianion of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid; tfa2? = the dianion of the terephthalic acid). The magnetic measurements show a ferromagnetic interaction between Ni(II) and Dy(III), and that both compounds behave like SMM with strong tunnelling. The barrier of 2 (17.4 K) is higher than that of 1 (13.6 K).     

Hydrogel‐Forming and Dissolving Microneedles for Enhanced Delivery of Photosensitizers and Precursors

We present “one‐step application” dissolving and hydrogel‐forming microneedle arrays (MN) for enhanced delivery of photosensitizers/precursors. MN (280 μm) prepared from 20% w/w poly(methylvinylether/maelic acid) and cross‐linked with glycerol by esterification to form hydrogels upon skin insertion, or allowed to dissolve rapidly in skin, were combined with patches containing 19 mg cm^?2 of 5‐aminolevulinic acid (ALA) or meso‐tetra (N‐methyl‐4‐pyridyl) porphine tetra tosylate (TMP) for drug delivery. Both MN types were mechanically robust, with compression forces of 20.0 N only causing height reductions of 14%. Application forces as low as 8.0 N per array allowed >95% of the MN in each array type to penetrate excised porcine skin, with the MN penetrating to approximately 220 μm. MN significantly enhanced transdermal delivery of ALA and TMP in vitro, with the hydrogel‐forming system comparable with the dissolving system for ALA delivery (approximately 3000 nmol cm^?2 over 6 h), but superior for delivery of the much larger TMP molecule (approximately 14 nmol cm^?2 over 24 h, compared to 0.15 nmol cm^?2). As this technology clearly has potential in enhanced photodynamic therapy of neoplastic skin lesions, we are currently planning animal studies, to be followed by preliminary human evaluations. GMP manufacturing scale‐up is ongoing.     

Synthesis and properties of new fluorinated ester,thioester, and amide substituted polythiophenes. Towards superhydrophobic surfaces

A series of new fluorinated polythiophenes has been synthesized by oxidative chemical and electrochemical polymerization and by Ullmann coupling. The substitution with the perfluoroalkyl alkyl chain CH₂CH₂C₆F₁₃ on the 3 position of the thiophene ring is performed via an ester, thioester, or amide connector, (CH₂)_m‐C(O)X, m = 0–2, with a view to investigating the role of the linker on the polymerization and on the properties of the corresponding polymers. The bromination of the monomers at the 2 and 5 positions allows the use of Ullmann coupling to form soluble fluorinated oligomers. The electron affinity was determined from cyclic voltammetry and a value of 3.1 eV was found for the ester derivative; such materials represent interesting candidates for use in light‐emitting devices or as an electron accepting material in photodiodes/solar cells. The oxidative polymerizations need the connector to be spaced out from the heterocycle to reduce its withdrawal effect. The ester, thioester, and amide spacer determined to a large extent the efficiency of the oxidative polymerization, and particularly the electropolymerization, as well as the solubility of the polymers formed. All the polymers were analyzed by GPC and by UV–visible and fluorescence spectroscopies. The electrochemical oxidation of the thioester and amide group prevents the formation of electroactive films by electropolymerization. But in the case of the ester group, the electroformed polymer exhibits exceptional stable superhydrophobic and lipophobic properties because of a porous surface and the presence of a fluorinated chain that confers low surface energy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4707–4719, 2007     

Stable superhydrophobic and lipophobic conjugated polymers films

With a view to developing repellent materials combining both low surface energy and rough structure, original semi-fluorinated polythiophenes have been chemically and electrochemically synthesized and characterized by cyclic voltammetry, GPC, and UV-visible measurements. Polymer films have been deposited onto different substrates by drop casting a soluble polymer fraction on glass plate or by electrodeposition on ITO plate. Surface properties and particularly water and oil repellencies have been investigated by goniometry and correlated with the surface morphology and structure observed by SEM. The incorporation of fluorocarbon chains in the rigid polythiophene backbone yields very low surface free energy materials. Moreover, the way of deposition has a huge influence on the quality and performance of the film surface properties. Electroformed polymers, due to rough surfaces, exhibit great super-hydrophobic and lipophobic properties together with exceptional time stability.     

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance studies of DNA hybridization on gold/SiOx interfaces

The use of Au/SiO(x) interfaces for the investigation of DNA hybridization using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) simultaneously is demonstrated. Standard glass chemistry was used to link single-stranded DNA (ss-DNA) on aldehyde-terminated Au/SiO(x) interfaces. The layer thickness and amount of grafted oligonucleotides (ODNs) were calculated from SPR on the basis of a multilayer system of glass/Ti/Au/SiO(x)/grafted molecule. Capacitance and resistance values of the modified interface before and after hybridization were calculated from EIS data using an equivalent circuit and allowed the affinity rate constant, K(A) = 4.07 x 10(5) M(-1), to be determined. The EIS results were comparable to those obtained by SPR hybridization kinetics recorded in parallel.     

Selection of DNA aptamers for ovarian cancer biomarker HE4 using CE-SELEX and high-throughput sequencing

The development of novel affinity probes for cancer biomarkers may enable powerful improvements in analytical methods for detecting and treating cancer. In this report, we describe our use of capillary electrophoresis (CE) as the separation mechanism in the process of selecting DNA aptamers with affinity for the ovarian cancer biomarker HE4. Rather than the conventional use of cloning and sequencing as the last step in the aptamer selection process, we used high-throughput sequencing on an Illumina platform. This data-rich approach, combined with a bioinformatics pipeline based on freely available computational tools, enabled the entirety of the selection process—and not only its endpoint—to be characterized. Affinity probe CE and fluorescence anisotropy assays demonstrate the binding affinity of a set of aptamer candidates identified through this bioinformatics approach.

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Graphical Abstract A population of candidate aptamers is sequenced on an Illumina platform, enabling the process by which aptamers are selected over multiple SELEX rounds to be characterized. Bioinformatics tools are used to identify enrichment of selected aptamers and groupings into clusters based on sequence and structural similarity. A subset of sequenced aptamers may be intelligently chosen for in vitro testing.