How to design cell-based biosensors using the sol–gel process

Inorganic gels formed using the sol–gel process are promising hosts for the encapsulation of living organisms and the design of cell-based biosensors. However, the possibility to use the biological activity of entrapped cells as a biological signal requires a good understanding and careful control of the chemical and physical conditions in which the organisms are placed before, during, and after gel formation, and their impact on cell viability. Moreover, it is important to examine the possible transduction methods that are compatible with sol–gel encapsulated cells. Through an updated presentation of the current knowledge in this field and based on selected examples, this review shows how it has been possible to convert a chemical technology initially developed for the glass industry into a biotechnological tool, with current limitations and promising specificities.     

High-spin structure in154Er

High spin states in the nucleus¹⁵⁴Er have been reinvestigated using the¹²³Sb(³⁵Cl, 4n) reaction and a variety of spectroscopic techniques including excitation functions,γ-γ coincidences,γ angular distribution and linear polarization measurements. From the measured energies, relative intensities and transition multipolarities a new level scheme has been deduced up to an excitation energy of ～12 MeV and spin 36. An interpretation of the experimental results is given in terms of the deformed Woods-Saxon orbitals. Gigantic backbending (superdeformation) effect is studied theoretically within the cranking model.     

Competition between few nucleon emission andγ-ray deexcitation for the reaction systems65Cu+87Rb and40Ar+110Pd

Bothγ-ray and neutron emission have been studied for the reaction systems⁶⁵Cu(237MeV) +⁸⁷Rb→¹⁵²Dy^* and⁴⁰Ar(158MeV)+¹¹⁰Pd→¹⁵⁰Gd^*. By using a sum spectrometer in coincidence with neutron counters, Ge(Li) or Nal detectors, we have measured the totalγ-ray energy and the average totalγ-multiplicity distributions as well as the neutron spectra for various exit channels. These measurements provide strong evidence for thermal equilibrium in reactions involving a small number of emitted neutrons (i.e.⁸⁷Rb(⁶⁵Cu,n or 2n)) at rather high excitation energy (～54MeV). This statistical emission of only a few neutrons is controlled by very strong y-ray competition: theγ-entry line is found not to be parallel to the yrast line. Instead the energy gap is about 8MeV for J～27? and rises to at least 13MeV for J～36?. There are some indications that the main part of the energy from this gap is removed by statisticalγ-ray cascades. The main features of the experimental data for both entrance channels are well reproduced by statistical model calculations with proper attention to the yrast line position and an adjustement of the dipoleγ-ray normalization coefficient. It is conceivable that the y-ray enhancement that we introduce may be related to a lack of knowledge of the absolute level densities at high energy and spin, or possibly to the presence of new or additional degrees of freedom that may enter into the competition between neutron andγ-ray emission.     

Universal attractor and inertial sets for the phase field model

We consider the phase field equations in dimensions 1, 2 and 3. We show that it is well-posed when assuming that the initial data is square integrable and prove the existence of a universal attractor and of inertial sets.     

A Fast Algorithm for the First-Passage Times of Gauss-Markov Processes with Hölder Continuous Boundaries

Even for simple diffusion processes, treating first-passage problems analytically proves intractable for generic barriers and existing numerical methods are inaccurate and computationally costly. Here, we present a novel numerical method that is faster and has more tightly controlled accuracy. Our algorithm is a probabilistic variant of dichotomic search for the computation of first passage times through non-negative homogeneously Hölder continuous boundaries by Gauss-Markov processes. These include the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process underlying the ubiquitous “leaky integrate-and-fire” model of neuronal excitation. Our method evaluates discrete points in a sample path exactly, and refines this representation recursively only in regions where a passage is rigorously estimated to be probable (e.g. when close to the boundary).As a result, for a given temporal accuracy in the location of the first passage time, our method is orders of magnitude faster than direct forward integration such as Euler or stochastic Runge-Kutta schemata. Moreover, our algorithm rigorously bounds the probability that such crossings are not true first-passage times.     

An optical catechol biosensor based on a desert truffle tyrosinase extract immobilized into a sol–gel silica layered matrix

An optical biosensor for the determination of catechol, a widely used yet toxic and carcinogenic molecule, is proposed using a crude extract of desert truffle (Terfezia leonis Tul.) as an enzymatic source of tyrosinase. The biosensor is constructed by the immobilization of tyrosinase crude extract in a bi-layered silica gel film prepared by dip-coating of an alkoxide/colloidal silica solution containing the enzyme on glass slide. Encapsulation has a moderate effect of the enzyme optimal pH stability but largely increases its thermal stability. Immobilized enzymes have a higher substrate affinity towards catechol but smaller maximum conversion velocity. The optical biosensor provides a linear response for catechol in the concentration range of 50–400?µM and a limit of detection was 52?µM. AFM studies show that the enzymes impact on the silica gel structure, preventing further deposition of additional layers. Comparison with similar dopamine biosensors points out that the impact of encapsulation on enzymatic activity may depend on the considered substrate.

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Improvement of kinetics,yield, and colloidal stability of biogenic gold nanoparticles using living cells of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Euglena gracilis</Emphasis> microalga

Recent years have witnessed a boom in the biosynthesis of a large variety of nanomaterials using different biological resources among which algae-based entities have been gaining much more attention within the community of material scientists worldwide. In our previously published findings, we explored some factors that governed the biofabrication of gold nanoparticles using living cultures of microalgae, such as the utilized microalgal genera, the phylum they belong to, and the impact of tetrachloroauric acid concentrations on the ability of these strains to perform the biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles once in contact with these cations. As a follow-up, we present in this paper an improvement of the features of bioproduced gold colloids using living cells of Euglena gracilis microalga when this species is grown under either mixotrophic or autotrophic conditions, i.e., exposed to light and grown in an organic carbon-enriched culture medium versus under autotrophic conditions. As an outcome to this alteration, the growth rate of this photosynthetic microorganism is multiplied 7–8 times when grown under mixotrophic conditions compared to autotrophic ones. Therefore, the yield, the kinetics, and the colloidal stability of the biosynthesized gold nanoparticles are dramatically enhanced. Moreover, the shape and the size of the as-produced nano-objects via this biological method are affected. In addition to round-shaped gold nanoparticles, particular shapes, such as triangles and hexagons, appear. These findings add up to the amassed knowledge toward the design of photobioreactors for the scalable and sustainable production of interesting nanomaterials.     

Nanocomposites from biopolymer hydrogels: Blueprints for white biotechnology and green materials chemistry

Bionanocomposites based on the association between biological polymers and inorganic colloids are an emerging class of materials, with main applications in biotechnology and biomedicine. They combine the chemical diversity, hierarchical structure, and biocompatibility of natural biomacromolecules with the robustness and functionality of mineral phases. In particular, biopolymer hydrogels can act as templates and/or host matrices for nanoparticles to design bionanocomposites with tailored optical, conductive, magnetic, mechanical, and bioactive properties. This review presents the key concepts on which such materials are currently designed, in terms of chemistry and physics. Specific examples are provided to illustrate the importance of the bio‐organic/inorganic interface on the final properties of the composite structures. It is finally suggested that bionanocomposites have a major role to play for the development of green materials and bio‐responsive devices. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Synthesis of well-defined soluble polystyrene supports: Impact of polymer chain on grafted organotin reagent activity

The synthesis of well-defined soluble polystyrene supports bearing tin hydride functionalities has been achieved in two steps. First, a precursor was prepared by copolymerization of styrene and acetoxystyrene using atom transfer radical polymerization. Prior any modification, this precursor was fully characterized to check its structure. Then in a second part, tin hydride functions were introduced by a four step process. The chemical modification was monitored by IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopies. The soluble support was also characterized by triple detection size exclusion chromatography at each step. Two families of supports were synthesized by varying the molecular weight and the degree of functionalization. The effectiveness of these tin hydride supports was tested through the reduction of 6-bromohexene and compared with the small counterpart Bu₃SnH. Measurements of rate constant for hydrogen transfer were also reported.     

Maximal chains and cutsets of an ordered set: A menger type approach

We prove the following results which are related to Menger's theorem for (infinite) ordered sets. (i) If the space of maximal chains of an ordered set is compact, then the maximum number of pairwise disjoint maximal chains is finite and is equal to the minimum size of a cutset, (i.e. a set which meets all maximal chains). (ii) If the maximal chains pairwise intersect, then the intersection of finitely many is never empty. One corollary of (ii) is that, if the maximal chains pairwise intersect and if one of the maximal chains is complete, then there is an element common to all maximal chains.