A Bio-Conjugated Fullerene as a Subcellular-Targeted and Multifaceted Phototheranostic Agent

Fullerenes are candidates for theranostic applications because of their high photodynamic activity and intrinsic multimodal imaging contrast. However, fullerenes suffer from low solubility in aqueous media, poor biocompatibility, cell toxicity, and a tendency to aggregate. C₇₀@lysozyme is introduced herein as a novel bioconjugate that is harmless to a cellular environment, yet is also photoactive and has excellent optical and optoacoustic contrast for tracking cellular uptake and intracellular localization. The formation, water-solubility, photoactivity, and unperturbed structure of C₇₀@lysozyme are confirmed using UV-visible and 2D ¹H, ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy. The excellent imaging contrast of C₇₀@lysozyme in optoacoustic and third harmonic generation microscopy is exploited to monitor its uptake in HeLa cells and lysosomal trafficking. Last, the photoactivity of C₇₀@lysozyme and its ability to initiate cell death by means of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) production upon exposure to low levels of white light irradiation is demonstrated. This study introduces C₇₀@lysozyme and other fullerene-protein conjugates as potential candidates for theranostic applications.     

Synthesis and optical properties of a poly(p‐phenylenevinylene) derivative and polyfluorenes with bipolar groups along the main chain

A poly(p‐phenylenevinylene) derivative (PPV–TPA)] and a series of statistical copolyfluorenes (PF–TPA)] containing oxadiazole and triphenylamine segments along the main chain were synthesized by the Heck reaction and nickel‐mediated coupling, respectively. The PF–TPA copolyfluorenes with relatively low contents of oxadiazole and triphenylamine units were readily soluble in common organic solvents, whereas the other copolyfluorenes displayed lower solubility. PPV–TPA showed excellent solubility in solvents such as tetrahydrofuran (THF), dichloromethane, chloroform, and toluene. Thin films of the polymers absorbed light in the range of 375–396 nm and had optical band gaps of 2.76–2.98 eV. They emitted blue‐green light with a maximum at 414–522 nm. The fluorescence quantum yields in THF solutions were 0.08–0.53. The copolyfluorene PF–TPA thin films with high contents of oxadiazole and triphenylamine moieties emitted pure blue light that remained stable even after annealing at 150 °C for 4 h in air. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3556–3566, 2006     

Fluorescent protein tomography scanner for small animal imaging

Microscopy of fluorescent proteins has enabled unprecedented insights into visualizing gene expression in living systems. Imaging deeper into animals, however, has been limited due to the lack of accurate imaging methods for the visible. We present a novel system designed to perform tomographic imaging of fluorescent proteins through whole animals. The tomographic method employed a multiangle, multiprojection illumination scheme, while detection was achieved using a highly sensitive charge-coupled device camera with appropriate filters. Light propagation was modeled using a modified solution to the diffusion equation to account for the high absorption and high scattering of tissue at the visible wavelengths. We show that the technique can quantitatively detect fluorescence with sub millimeter spatial resolution both in phantoms and in tissues. We conclude that the method could be applied in tomographic imaging of fluorescent proteins for in vivo targeting of different diseases and abnormalities.     

Nonlinear modeling of the dynamic effects of arterial pressure and CO2 variations on cerebral blood flow in healthy humans

The effect of spontaneous beat-to-beat mean arterial blood pressure fluctuations and breath-to-breath end-tidal CO2 fluctuations on beat-to-beat cerebral blood flow velocity variations is studied using the Laguerre-Volterra network methodology for multiple-input nonlinear systems. The observations made from experimental measurements from ten healthy human subjects reveal that, whereas pressure fluctuations explain most of the high-frequency blood flow velocity variations (above 0.04 Hz), end-tidal CO2 fluctuations as well as nonlinear interactions between pressure and CO2 have a considerable effect in the lower frequencies (below 0.04 Hz). They also indicate that cerebral autoregulation is strongly nonlinear and dynamic (frequency-dependent). Nonlinearities are mainly active in the low-frequency range (below 0.04 Hz) and are more prominent in the dynamics of the end-tidal CO2-blood flow velocity relationship. Significant nonstationarities are also revealed by the obtained models, with greater variability evident for the effects of CO2 on blood flow velocity dynamics.     

Spectrum planning and performance evaluation between heterogeneous satellite networks

A new network has been recently proposed for the provision of fixed broadband services via high altitude platform stations (HAPS) in the 48/47 GHz band. One of the critical issues of this technology is spectrum sharing with the fixed satellite service. This paper examines the effect of Earth-to-stratosphere co-channel interference produced by ground stations of HAPS network to geostationary orbit (GEO) satellite receivers and proposes an interference-to-noise (I/N) calculation model for the evaluation of the current HAPS ground stations power characteristics set by ITU-R. Analytical and simulation results for archetypal systems in realistic scenarios indicate that efficient use of the spectrum shared between heterogeneous HAPS and Fixed Satellite Networks is feasible. Certain consideration is needed prior to the HAPS network development in suburban areas for latitudes from 55° to 65°, and in rural areas for latitudes from 60° to 75°.     

A life cycle framework for the investigation of environmentally benign nanoparticles and products

While significant advances in our understanding of the behavior of engineered nanoparticles in the environment continue, there remains a need to engage the nanoparticle research community directly in the development and evaluation of environmentally benign nanoparticles to ensure that nanomaterial‐based industries emerge as tools for sustainability rather than environmental liabilities. Current research efforts aimed at understanding the environmental implications of nanotechnology emphasize existing groups of nanoparticles and products already in commercial distribution. While this is clearly necessary, this approach fails to identify and address the many tradeoffs associated with product performance and environmental quality. We believe this to be a critical gap in the ongoing exploration of nanostructured materials and their properties and applications. We posit that a number of issues are not being holistically addressed, including resource availability and allocation, manufacturing energy requirements and embodied energy, material efficiency, environmental properties of nanomaterials and nanoproducts, and waste generation. An interdisciplinary approach to research, based on the life cycle paradigm and devoted to the identification, investigation, synthesis, testing, and analysis of groups of new, more environmentally conscious nanoparticles is needed. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Revisiting the normalized Born approximation: effects of scattering

The normalized Born approximation has been suggested as a ratiometric method in fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) applications, to account for heterogeneity variations. The method enabled practical inversions, as it offered fluorescence reconstruction accuracy over a wide range of absorption heterogeneity, while also accounting for unknown experimental factors, such as the various system gains and losses. Yet it was noted that scattering variations affect the robustness and accuracy. Herein we decompose the effects of absorption and scattering and capitalize on the recent development of hybrid FMT/x-ray computed tomography imaging methods to proposed amendments to the method, which improve the overall accuracy of the approach.     

Polyethylene terephthalate–multiwall nanotubes nanocomposites: Effect of nanotubes on the conformations,crystallinity and crystallization behavior of PET

PET‐nanotube composite samples were manufactured by mixing neat PET with a PET‐multiwall carbon nanotube masterbatch. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was utilized to monitor the gauche and trans conformations of the polymeric chains with respect to the nanotube content. The crystallinity as well as the crystallization behavior of the polymer were studied via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). An increase of the trans conformations and crystallinity was recorded at low NT contents followed by a sharp decrease at 1 wt % of nanotubes, further addition of nanotubes led once again to increase of the trans conformations and crystallinity. This behavior was attributed to the aggregations formation which as shown via transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was initiated at concentrations above 0.5 wt %. Discordance between the FTIR and DSC results in the case of the PET sample showed that the later bears relatively more trans non‐crystalline conformers than the nanocomposite samples. Thus it appears that the nanotubes incorporate the trans non‐crystalline segments into the crystalline phase. This work has shown that even a minor addition of carbon nanotubes (even 0.1 wt %) alters the crystallization behavior of the polymer dramatically, yielding a novel nanocomposite material rather than a simple mixture of two ingredients. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 668–676, 2008