TY - JOUR A1 - Olejko, Lydia A1 - Bald, Ilko T1 - FRET efficiency and antenna effect in multi-color DNA origami-based light harvesting systems JF - RSC Advances N2 - Artificial light harvesting complexes find applications in artificial photosynthesis, photovoltaics and light harvesting chemical sensors. They are used to enhance the absorption of light of a reaction center which is often represented by a single acceptor. Here, we present different light harvesting systems on DNA origami structures and analyze systematically the light harvesting efficiency. By changing the number and arrangement of different fluorophores (FAM as donor, Cy3 as transmitter and Cy5 as acceptor molecules) the light harvesting efficiency is optimized to create a broadband absorption and to improve the antenna effect 1 (including two energy transfer steps) from 0.02 to 1.58, and the antenna effect 2 (including a single energy transfer step) from 0.04 to 8.7, i.e. the fluorescence emission of the acceptor is significantly higher when the light-harvesting antenna is excited at lower wavelength compared to direct excitation of the acceptor. The channeling of photo energy to the acceptor proceeds by Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) and we carefully analyze also the FRET efficiency of the different light harvesting systems. Accordingly, the antenna effect can be tuned by modifying the stoichiometry of donor, transmitter and acceptor dyes, whereas the FRET efficiency is mainly governed by the spectroscopic properties of dyes and their distances. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ra02114c SN - 2046-2069 VL - 7 IS - 39 SP - 23924 EP - 23934 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hass, Roland A1 - Sandmann, Michael A1 - Reich, Oliver T1 - Photonic sensing in highly concentrated biotechnical processes by photon density wave spectroscopy T2 - Proceedings SPIE 10323, 25th International Conference on Optical Fiber Sensors N2 - Photon Density Wave (PDW) spectroscopy is introduced as a new approach for photonic sensing in highly concentrated biotechnical processes. It independently quantifies the absorption and reduced scattering coefficient calibration-free and as a function of time, thus describing the optical properties in the vis/NIR range of the biomaterial during their processing. As examples of industrial relevance, enzymatic milk coagulation, beer mashing, and algae cultivation in photo bioreactors are discussed. KW - Photon Density Wave Spectroscopy KW - multiple light scattering KW - fermentation KW - algae cultivation KW - process analytical technology KW - fiber spectroscopy Y1 - 2017 SN - 978-1-5090-4850-2 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2263617 SN - 0277-786X SN - 1996-756X VL - 10323 PB - IEEE CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Atilaw, Yoseph A1 - Duffy, Sandra A1 - Heydenreich, Matthias A1 - Muiva-Mutisya, Lois A1 - Avery, Vicky M. A1 - Erdelyi, Mate A1 - Yenesew, Abiy T1 - Three Chalconoids and a Pterocarpene from the Roots of Tephrosia aequilata JF - Molecules N2 - In our search for new antiplasmodial agents, the CH2Cl2/CH3OH (1:1) extract of the roots of Tephrosia aequilata was investigated, and observed to cause 100% mortality of the chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) strain of Plasmodium falciparum at a 10 mg/mL concentration. From this extract three new chalconoids, E-2,6-dimethoxy-3,4-(2,2-dimethyl)pyranoretrochalcone (1, aequichalcone A), Z-2,6-dimethoxy-3,4-(2,2-dimethyl)pyranoretrochalcone (2, aequichalcone B), 4-ethoxy-3-hydroxypraecansone B (3, aequichalcone C) and a new pterocarpene, 3,4:8,9-dimethylenedioxy-6a,11a-pterocarpene (4), along with seven known compounds were isolated. The purified compounds were characterized by NMR spectroscopic and mass spectrometric analyses. Compound 1 slowly converts into 2 in solution, and thus the latter may have been enriched, or formed, during the extraction and separation process. The isomeric compounds 1 and 2 were both observed in the crude extract. Some of the isolated constituents showed good to moderate antiplasmodial activity against the chloroquine-sensitive (3D7) strain of Plasmodium falciparum. KW - Tephrosia aequilata KW - chalcone KW - retrochalcone KW - aequichalcone A KW - aequichalcone B KW - aequichalcone C KW - pterocarpene KW - antiplasmodial Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22020318 SN - 1420-3049 VL - 22 IS - 2 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Marco F. A1 - Korb, Oliver A1 - Abell, Chris T1 - Antagonists of the miRNA-Argonaute 2 Protein Complex BT - Anti-miR-AGOs JF - Drug Target miRNA: Methods and Protocols N2 - microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as high-value drug targets. A widely applied strategy in miRNA inhibition is the use of antisense agents. However, it has been shown that oligonucleotides are poorly cell permeable because of their complex chemical structure and due to their negatively charged backbone. Consequently, the general application of oligonucleotides in therapy is limited. Since miRNAs’ functions are executed exclusively by the Argonaute 2 protein, we therefore describe a protocol for the design of a novel miRNA inhibitor class: antagonists of the miRNA-Argonaute 2 protein complex, so-called anti-miR-AGOs, that not only block the crucial binding site of the target miRNA but also bind to the protein’s active site. Due to their lower molecular weight and, thus, more drug-like chemical structure, the novel inhibitor class may show better pharmacokinetic properties than reported oligonucleotide inhibitors, enabling them for potential therapeutic use. KW - Drug design KW - microRNA KW - miRNA-Argonaute 2 protein complex KW - miRNA inhibitors KW - miRNA seed region Y1 - 2016 SN - 978-1-4939-6563-2 SN - 978-1-4939-6561-8 SN - 978-1-4939-8236-3 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6563-2_17 SN - 1064-3745 SN - 1940-6029 VL - 1517 SP - 239 EP - 249 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - GEN A1 - Nguyen, Vu Hoa A1 - Richert, S. A1 - Park, Hyunji A1 - Böker, Alexander A1 - Schnakenberg, Uwe T1 - Single interdigital transducer as surface acoustic wave impedance sensor T2 - Biosensors N2 - Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices are well-known for gravimetric sensor applications. In biosensing applications, chemical-and biochemically evoked adsorption processes at surfaces are detected in liquid environments using delay-line or resonator sensor configurations, preferably in combination with appropriate microfluidic devices. In this paper, a novel SAW-based impedance sensor type is introduced which uses only one interdigital electrode transducer (IDT) simultaneously as SAW generator and sensor element. It is shown that the amplitude of the reflected S-11 signal directly depends on the input impedance of the SAW device. The input impedance is strongly influenced by mass adsorption which causes a characteristic and measurable impedance mismatch. KW - SAW impedance sensor KW - microfluidic KW - PHEMA Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.protcy.2017.04.032 SN - 2212-0173 VL - 27 SP - 70 EP - 71 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - You, Zewang A1 - Behl, Marc A1 - Löwenberg, Candy A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - pH-sensitivity and conformation change of the n-terminal methacrylated peptide VK20 JF - MRS advances : a journal of the Materials Research Society (MRS) N2 - N-terminal methacrylation of peptide MAXI, which is capable of conformational changes variation of the pH, results in a peptide, named VK20. Increasing the reactivity of this terminal group enables further coupling reactions or chemical modifications of the peptidc. However, this end group functionalization may influence the ability of confonnational changes of VK20; as well as its properties. In this paper; the influence of pH on the transition between random coil and beta-sheet conformation of VK20; including the transition kinetics, were investigated. At pH values of 9 and higher, the kinetics beta-sheet formation increased tor VK(2 0, compared to MAXI. The self-assembly into beta-sheets recognized by the formation of a physically crosslinked gel was furthermore indicated by a significant increase of G. An increase in pH (from 9 to 9.5) led to a faster gelation of the peptide VK20. Simultaneously, G was increased from 460 +/- 70 Pa (at pH 9) to 1520 +/- 180 Pa (at pH 9.5). At the nanoscale, the gel showed a highly interconnected fibrillar/network structure with uniform fibril widths of approximately 3.4 +/- 0.5 nm (N=30). The recovery of the peptide conformation back to random coil resulted in the dissolution of the gel; whereby the kinetics of the recovery depended on the pH. Conclusively, the ability of MAXI to undergo confommtional changes was not affected by N-terminal methacrylation whereas the kinetics of pH-sensitive beta-sheet formations has been increased. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2017.491 SN - 2059-8521 VL - 2 SP - 2571 EP - 2579 PB - Cambridge University Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Muthaura, Charles N. A1 - Keriko, Joseph M. A1 - Mutai, Charles A1 - Yenesew, Abiy A1 - Heydenreich, Matthias A1 - Atilaw, Yoseph A1 - Gathirwa, Jeremiah W. A1 - Irungu, Beatrice N. A1 - Derese, Solomon T1 - Antiplasmodial, cytotoxicity and phytochemical constituents of four maytenus species used in traditional medicine in Kenya JF - The natural products journal N2 - Background: In Kenya, several species of the genus Maytenus are used in traditional medicine to treat many diseases including malaria. In this study, phytochemical constituents and extracts of Maytenus undata, M. putterlickioides, M. senegalensis and M. heterophylla were evaluated to determine compound/s responsible for antimalarial activity. Objective: To isolate antiplasmodial compounds from these plant species which could be used as marker compounds in the standardization of their extracts as a phytomedicine for malaria. Methods: Constituents were isolated through activity-guided fractionation of the MeOH/CHCl3 (1:1) extracts and in vitro inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using Vero cells and the compounds were elucidated on the basis of NMR spectroscopy. Results: Fractionation of the extracts resulted in the isolation of ten known compounds. Compound 1 showed promising antiplasmodial activity with IC50, 3.63 and 3.95 ng/ml against chloroquine sensitive (D6) and resistant (W2) P. falciparum, respectively and moderate cytotoxicity (CC50, 37.5 ng/ml) against Vero E6 cells. The other compounds showed weak antiplasmodial (IC50 > 1.93 mu g/ml) and cytotoxic (CC50 > 39.52 mu g/ml) activities against P. falciparum and Vero E6 cells, respectively. Conclusion: (20 alpha)-3-hydroxy-2-oxo-24-nor-friedela-1(10),3,5,7-tetraen-carboxylic acid-(29)-methyl-ester (pristimerin) (1) was the most active marker and lead compound that warrants further investigation as a template for the development of new antimalarial drugs. Pristimerin is reported for the first time in M. putterlickioides. 3-Hydroxyolean-12-en-28-oic acid (oleanolic acid) (5), stigmast-5-en-3-ol (beta-sitosterol) (6), 3-oxo-28-friedelanoic acid (7), olean-12-en-3-ol (beta-amyrin) (8), lup-20(29)-en-3-ol (lupeol) (9) and lup-20(29)-en-3-one (lupenone) (10) are reported for the first time in M. undata. KW - Antimalarial plants KW - antiplasmodial KW - cytotoxicity KW - marker compound KW - Maytenus spp. KW - phytomedicine KW - pristimerin Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.2174/2210315507666161206144050 SN - 2210-3155 SN - 2210-3163 VL - 7 IS - 2 SP - 144 EP - 152 PB - Bentham Science Publ. CY - Sharjah ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Peng, Xingzhou A1 - Behl, Marc A1 - Zhang, Pengfei A1 - Mazurek-Budzyńska, Magdalena A1 - Feng, Yakai A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - Synthesis and characterization of multiblock poly(ester-amide-urethane)s JF - MRS advances : a journal of the Materials Research Society (MRS) N2 - In this study, a multiblock copolymer containing oligo(3-methyl-morpholine-2, 5-dione) (oMMD) and oligo(3-sec-butyl-morpholine-2, 5-dione) (oBMD) building blocks obtained by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of the corresponding monomers, was synthesized in a polyaddition reaction using an aliphatic diisocyanate. The multiblock copolymer (pBMD-MMD) provided a molecular weight of 40, 000 g·mol−1, determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Incorporation of both oligodepsipeptide segments in multiblock copolymers was confirmed by 1H NMR and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time Of Flight Mass Spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis. pBMD-MMD showed two separated glass transition temperatures (61 °C and 74 °C) indicating a microphase separation. Furthermore, a broad glass transition was observed by DMTA, which can be attributed to strong physical interaction i.e. by H-bonds formed between amide, ester, and urethane groups of the investigated copolymers. The obtained multiblock copolymer is supposed to own the capability to exhibit strong physical interactions. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2017.486 SN - 2059-8521 VL - 2 SP - 2551 EP - 2559 PB - Cambridge University Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Paramonov, Guennaddi K. A1 - Kühn, Oliver A1 - Bandrauk, André D. T1 - Excitation of H+ 2 with one-cycle laser pulses BT - shaped post-laser-field electronic oscillations, generation of higher- and lower-order harmonics JF - Molecular physics : MP ; an international journal in the field of chemical physics N2 - Non-Born–Oppenheimer quantum dynamics of H+ 2 excited by shaped one-cycle laser pulses linearly polarised along the molecular axis have been studied by the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation within a three-dimensional model, including the internuclear separation, R, and the electron coordinates z and ρ. Laser carrier frequencies corresponding to the wavelengths λ l = 25 nm through λ l = 400 nm were used and the amplitudes of the pulses were chosen such that the energy of H+ 2 was close to its dissociation threshold at the end of any laser pulse applied. It is shown that there exists a characteristic oscillation frequency ωosc ≃ 0.2265 au (corresponding to the period of τosc ≃ 0.671 fs and the wavelength of λosc ≃ 201 nm) that manifests itself as a ‘carrier’ frequency of temporally shaped oscillations of the time-dependent expectation values ⟨z ⟩ and ⟨∂V/∂z ⟩ that emerge at the ends of the laser pulses and exist on a timescale of at least 50 fs. Time-dependent expectation values ⟨ρ⟩ and ⟨∂V /∂ρ⟩ of the optically passive degree of freedom, ρ, demonstrate post-laser-field oscillations at two basic frequencies ωρ 1 ≈ ωosc and ωρ 2 ≈ 2ωosc. Power spectra associated with the electronic motion show higher- and lower-order harmonics with respect to the driving field. KW - One-cycle laser pulses KW - post-laser-field electronic oscillations KW - generation of higher and lower harmonics Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/00268976.2017.1288938 SN - 0026-8976 SN - 1362-3028 VL - 115 IS - 15/16 SP - 1846 EP - 1860 PB - Taylor & Francis CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morgner, Frank A1 - Bennemann, Mark A1 - Cywiński, Piotr J. A1 - Kollosche, Matthias A1 - Górski, Krzysztof A1 - Pietraszkiewicz, Marek A1 - Geßner, André A1 - Löhmannsröben, Hans-Gerd T1 - Elastic FRET sensors for contactless pressure measurement JF - RSC Advances : an international journal to further the chemical sciences N2 - Contactless pressure monitoring based on Forster resonance energy transfer between donor/acceptor pairs immobilized within elastomers is demonstrated. The donor/acceptor energy transfer is employed by dispersing terbium(III) tris[(2-hydroxybenzoyl)-2-aminoethyl] amine complex (LLC, donor) and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QD655, acceptor) in styrene-ethylene/buthylene-styrene (SEBS) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). The continuous monitoring of QD luminescence showed a reversible intensity change as the pressure signal is alternated between two stable states indicating a pressure sensitivity of 6350 cps kPa(-1). Time-resolved measurements show the pressure impact on the FRET signal due to an increase of decay time (270 ms up to 420 ms) for the donor signal and parallel drop of decay time (170 mu s to 155 mu s) for the acceptor signal as the net pressure applied. The LLC/QD655 sensors enable a contactless readout as well as space resolved monitoring to enable miniaturization towards smaller integrated stretchable opto-electronics. Elastic FRET sensors can potentially lead to developing profitable analysis systems capable to outdo conventional wired electronic systems (inductive, capacitive, ultrasonic and photoelectric sensors) especially for point-of-care diagnostics, biological monitoring required for wearable electronics. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ra06379b SN - 2046-2069 VL - 7 SP - 50578 EP - 50583 PB - RSC Publishing CY - Cambridge ER -