Novel Carbohydrate‐Appended Metal Complexes for Potential Use in Molecular Imaging

Seven discrete sugar‐pendant diamines were complexed to the {M(CO)₃}⁺ (^99mTc/Re) core: 1,3‐diamino‐2‐propyl β‐D ‐glucopyranoside ( L ¹ ), 1,3‐diamino‐2‐propyl β‐D ‐xylopyranoside ( L ² ), 1,3‐diamino‐2‐propyl α‐D ‐mannopyranoside ( L ³ ), 1,3‐diamino‐2‐propyl α‐D ‐galactopyranoside ( L ⁴ ), 1,3‐diamino‐2‐propyl β‐D ‐galactopyranoside ( L ⁵ ), 1,3‐diamino‐2‐propyl β‐(α‐D ‐glucopyranosyl‐(1,4)‐D ‐glucopyranoside) ( L ⁶ ), and bis(aminomethyl)bis[(β‐D ‐glucopyranosyloxy)methyl]methane ( L ⁷ ). The Re complexes [Re( L ¹ – L ⁷ )(Br)(CO)₃] were characterized by ¹H and ¹³C 1D/2D NMR spectroscopy which confirmed the pendant nature of the carbohydrate moieties in solution. Additional characterization was provided by IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and mass spectrometry. Two analogues, [Re( L ² )(CO)₃Br] and [Re( L ³ )(CO)₃Br], were characterized in the solid state by X‐ray crystallography and represent the first reported structures of Re organometallic carbohydrate compounds. Conductivity measurements in H₂O established that the complexes exist as [Re( L ¹ – L ⁷ )(H₂O)(CO)₃]Br in aqueous conditions. Radiolabelling of L ¹ – L ⁷ with [^99mTc(H₂O)₃(CO)₃]⁺ afforded in high yield compounds of identical character to the Re analogues. The radiolabelled compounds were determined to exhibit high in vitro stability towards ligand exchange in the presence of an excess of either cysteine or histidine over a 24 h period.     

Detection of stress whitening in plastics with the help of X-ray dark field imaging

The processing of thermoplastics can induce a wide range of defects such as stress whitening, cavitation and porosity, which can adversely affect the reliability of the final products. Hence, fast and effective non-destructive detection methods for such defects are highly important for quality assurance on production lines. In this paper, X-ray dark field imaging is presented as a new non-destructive testing method that allows the visualization of stress whitening or cavitation efficiently. The performance of the method is demonstrated for the case of an injection-moulded polyvinylidene fluoride part that exhibits stress whitening. Whereas the stress whitening could not be detected by conventional X-ray imaging, it was localized by an X-ray dark field image acquired within a few minutes. Once the precise location of the stress whitening was known, it was possible to verify the result by local micro X-ray computed tomography and by a micro section image.     

Gadolinium‐Decorated Silica Microspheres as Redox‐Responsive MRI Probes for Applications in Cell Therapy Follow‐Up

The redox microenvironment within a cell graft can be considered as an indicator to assess whether the graft is metabolically active or hypoxic. We present a redox‐responsive MRI probe based on porous silica microparticles whose surface has been decorated with a Gd‐chelate through a disulphide bridge. Such microparticles are designed to be interspersed with therapeutic cells within a biocompatible hydrogel. The onset of reducing conditions within the hydrogel is paralleled by an increased clearance of Gd, that can be detected by MRI.     

Predicting future duration from present age: A critical assessment

Using a temporal version of the Copernican principle, Gott has proposed a statistical predictor of future longevity based on present age (Gott III, J. R., 1993, Nature, 363, 315) and applied the predictor to a variety of examples, including the longevity of the human species. Although Gott's proposal contains a grain of truth, it does not have the universal predictive power that he attributes to it.     

Novel metrics and methodology for the characterisation of 3D imaging systems

The modelling, benchmarking and selection process for non-contact 3D imaging systems relies on the ability to characterise their performance. Characterisation methods that require optically compliant artefacts such as matt white spheres or planes, fail to reveal the performance limitations of a 3D sensor as would be encountered when measuring a real world object with problematic surface finish. This paper reports a method of evaluating the performance of 3D imaging systems on surfaces of arbitrary isotropic surface finish, position and orientation. The method involves capturing point clouds from a set of samples in a range of surface orientations and distances from the sensor. Point clouds are processed to create a single performance chart per surface finish, which shows both if a point is likely to be recovered, and the expected point noise as a function of surface orientation and distance from the sensor. In this paper, the method is demonstrated by utilising a low cost pan-tilt table and an active stereo 3D camera. Its performance is characterised by the fraction and quality of recovered data points on aluminium isotropic surfaces ranging in roughness average (Ra) from 0.09 to 0.46 µm at angles of up to 55° relative to the sensor over a distances from 400 to 800 mm to the scanner. Results from a matt white surface similar to those used in previous characterisation methods contrast drastically with results from even the dullest aluminium sample tested, demonstrating the need to characterise sensors by their limitations, not just best case performance.     

Real-time sensing and three-dimensional display of far outdoor scenes based on asymmetric integral imaging

A new asymmetric integral imaging (AII) system for real-time pickup and three-dimensional (3-D) display of far outdoor scenes based on dynamic-pixel-mapping (DPM) is proposed. DPM is a digital process to transform the elemental images captured with a lens array into the perspective-variant object images (POIs) whose structures are matched with those of display lenses, where the orders of pixels in each POI are reversely mapped, and then capture a set of virtual elemental images (EIs) at the specific depth planes from the back-propagated POIs. This DPM enables an asymmetrical use of pickup and display lens arrays, allowing the long-ranged pickup of far outdoor scenes and their resolution-enhanced 3-D reconstruction. Experiments with a pair of pickup and display lens arrays whose pitches and focal lengths are given by 7.5 mm, 30 mm and 1.2 mm, 8 mm, respectively, show that the effective pickup-range and resolution of the proposed system have been increased up to 6 m and 1600×1600 pixels, respectively, from 0.064 m and 480×480 pixels of the conventional systems employing the same pickup and display lens arrays. In addition, experiments with an implemented test bed confirms that the proposed system can provide real-time 3-D images in 25 frames per second.     

A mitochondrial-targeted ratiometric probe for detecting intracellular H2S with high photostability

Based on 4-bromo-1,8-naphthalic anhydride, one novel ratiometric fluorescence H₂S-probe (IDNA) was designed and synthesized. Further studies indicate that IDNA can sensitively recognize H₂S (detection limit of 7 μmol/L) with good selectivity and anti-interference ability. In addition, IDNA has satisfactory photostability in HeLa cells, ability of mitochondrial co-localization, and can be utilized in fluorescence imaging of H₂S.