TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Li A1 - Razzaq, Muhammad Yasar A1 - Rudolph, Tobias A1 - Heuchel, Matthias A1 - Nöchel, Ulrich A1 - Mansfeld, Ulrich A1 - Jiang, Yi A1 - Gould, Oliver E. C. A1 - Behl, Marc A1 - Kratz, Karl A1 - Lendlein, Andreas T1 - Reprogrammable, magnetically controlled polymeric nanocomposite actuators JF - Material horizons N2 - Soft robots and devices with the advanced capability to perform adaptive motions similar to that of human beings often have stimuli-sensitive polymeric materials as the key actuating component. The external signals triggering the smart polymers’ actuations can be transmitted either via a direct physical connection between actuator and controlling unit (tethered) or remotely without a connecting wire. However, the vast majority of such polymeric actuator materials are limited to one specific type of motion as their geometrical information is chemically fixed. Here, we present magnetically driven nanocomposite actuators, which can be reversibly reprogrammed to different actuation geometries by a solely physical procedure. Our approach is based on nanocomposite materials comprising spatially segregated crystallizable actuation and geometry determining units. Upon exposure to a specific magnetic field strength the actuators’ geometric memory is erased by the melting of the geometry determining units allowing the implementation of a new actuator shape. The actuation performance of the nanocomposites can be tuned and the technical significance was demonstrated in a multi-cyclic experiment with several hundreds of repetitive free-standing shape shifts without losing performance. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c8mh00266e SN - 2051-6347 SN - 2051-6355 VL - 5 IS - 5 SP - 861 EP - 867 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yang, Guang A1 - Hu, Rongting A1 - Ding, Hong-ming A1 - Kochovski, Zdravko A1 - Mei, Shilin A1 - Lu, Yan A1 - Ma, Yu-qiang A1 - Chen, Guosong A1 - Jiang, Ming T1 - CO2-switchable response of protein microtubules BT - behaviour and mechanism JF - Materials chemistry frontiers N2 - Recently, we proposed a small molecular inducing ligand strategy to assemble proteins into highly-ordered structures via dual non-covalent interactions, i.e. carbohydrate-protein interaction and dimerization of Rhodamine B. Using this approach, artificial protein microtubules were successfully constructed. In this study, we find that these microtubules exhibit a perfect CO2 responsiveness; assembly and disassembly of these microtubules were nicely controlled by the alternative passage of CO2 and N-2. Upon the injection of CO2, a negative net-charged SBA turns into a neutral or positive net-charged SBA, which elongated, to some extent, the effective distance between SBA and Rhodamine B, resulting in the disassociation of the Rhodamine B dimer. Further experimental and simulation results reveal that the CO2-responsive mechanism differs from that of solubility change of the previously reported CO2-responsive synthetic materials. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/c8qm00245b SN - 2052-1537 VL - 2 IS - 9 SP - 1642 EP - 1646 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hoang, Hoa T. A1 - Haubitz, Toni A1 - Kumke, Michael Uwe T1 - Photophysics of "Floppy" Dyadsas Potential Biomembrane Probes JF - Journal of fluorescence N2 - In the study a dyad (C6 probe), constructed of two dyes with highly different hydrophobicities, was investigated by steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques in chloroform, methanol, and in phospholipid vesicles, respectively. The dyad was built on two dyes: the lipophilic benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and the hydrophilic sulforhodamine B (SRB). The dyes were linked via a short, but flexible alkyl chain (six C-atoms). Based on their spectroscopic properties, BaP and SRB showed a very efficient non-radiative resonance energy transfer in solution. Incorporation into a lipid bilayer limited the relative flexibility (degree of freedom) between donor and acceptor and was used for the investigation of fundamental photophysical aspects (especially of FRET) as well as to elucidate the potential of the dyad to probe the interface of vesicles (or cells). The location of the two dyes in vesicles and their respective accessibility for interactions with dye-specific antibodies was investigated. Based on the alteration of the anisotropy, on the rotational correlation time as well as on the diffusion coefficient the incorporation of the C6 probe into the vesicles was evaluated. Especially the limitation in the relative movements of the two dyes was considered and used to differentiate between potential parameters, that influence the energy transfer in the dyad. Transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) and pulsed-interleave single molecule fluorescence experiments were performed to better understand the intramolecular interactions in the dyad. Finally, in a showcase for a biosensing application of the dyads, the binding of an SRB-specific antibody was investigated when the dyad was incorporated in vesicles. KW - Forster resonance energy transfer(FRET) KW - Antibody binding KW - Vesicles KW - Anisotropy KW - Fluorescence correlation KW - Single molecule fluorescence KW - Transient absorption KW - Pulsed interleaved excitation Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10895-018-2286-4 SN - 1053-0509 SN - 1573-4994 VL - 28 IS - 5 SP - 1225 EP - 1237 PB - Springer CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schulze, Sven A1 - Wehrhold, Michel A1 - Hille, Carsten T1 - Femtosecond-Pulsed laser written and etched fiber bragg gratings for fiber-optical biosensing JF - Sensors N2 - We present the development of a label-free, highly sensitive fiber-optical biosensor for online detection and quantification of biomolecules. Here, the advantages of etched fiber Bragg gratings (eFBG) were used, since they induce a narrowband Bragg wavelength peak in the reflection operation mode. The gratings were fabricated point-by-point via a nonlinear absorption process of a highly focused femtosecond-pulsed laser, without the need of prior coating removal or specific fiber doping. The sensitivity of the Bragg wavelength peak to the surrounding refractive index (SRI), as needed for biochemical sensing, was realized by fiber cladding removal using hydrofluoric acid etching. For evaluation of biosensing capabilities, eFBG fibers were biofunctionalized with a single-stranded DNA aptamer specific for binding the C-reactive protein (CRP). Thus, the CRP-sensitive eFBG fiber-optical biosensor showed a very low limit of detection of 0.82 pg/L, with a dynamic range of CRP detection from approximately 0.8 pg/L to 1.2 mu g/L. The biosensor showed a high specificity to CRP even in the presence of interfering substances. These results suggest that the proposed biosensor is capable for quantification of CRP from trace amounts of clinical samples. In addition, the adaption of this eFBG fiber-optical biosensor for detection of other relevant analytes can be easily realized. KW - fiber Bragg gratings KW - ultra-fast laser inscription KW - fiber etching KW - nanostructure fabrication KW - fiber-optical sensors KW - aptamers KW - C-reactive protein KW - biomarker Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/s18092844 SN - 1424-8220 VL - 18 IS - 9 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Pereira, Rui F. P. A1 - Zehbe, Kerstin A1 - Günter, Christina A1 - dos Santos, Tiago A1 - Nunes, Silvia C. A1 - Almeida Paz, Filipe A. A1 - Silva, Maria M. A1 - Granja, Pedro L. A1 - Taubert, Andreas A1 - de Zea Bermudez, Verónica T1 - Ionic liquid-assisted synthesis of mesoporous silk fibroin/silica hybrids for biomedical applications JF - ACS Omega N2 - New mesoporous silk fibroin (SF)/silica hybrids were processed via a one-pot soft and energy-efficient sol-gel chemistry and self-assembly from a silica precursor, an acidic or basic catalyst, and the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, acting as both solvent and mesoporosity-inducer. The as-prepared materials were obtained as slightly transparent-opaque, amorphous monoliths, easily transformed into powders, and stable up to ca. 300 degrees C. Structural data suggest the formation of a hexagonal mesostructure with low range order and apparent surface areas, pore volumes, and pore radii of 205-263 m(2) g(-1), 0.16-0.19 cm(3) g(-1), and 1.2-1.6 nm, respectively. In all samples, the dominating conformation of the SF chains is the beta-sheet. Cytotoxicity/bioactivity resazurin assays and fluorescence microscopy demonstrate the high viability of MC3T3 pre-osteoblasts to indirect (>= 99 +/- 9%) and direct (78 +/- 2 to 99 +/- 13%) contact with the SF/silica materials. Considering their properties and further improvements, these systems are promising candidates to be explored in bone tissue engineering. They also offer excellent prospects as electrolytes for solid-state electrochemical devices, in particular for fuel cells. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.8b02051 SN - 2470-1343 VL - 3 IS - 9 SP - 10811 EP - 10822 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haubitz, Toni A1 - Tsushima, Satoru A1 - Steudtner, Robin A1 - Drobot, Björn A1 - Geipel, Gerhard A1 - Stumpf, Thorsten A1 - Kumke, Michael Uwe T1 - Ultrafast Transient Absorption Spectroscopy of UO(2)(2+)and [UO2Cl](+) JF - The journal of physical chemistry : A, Molecules, spectroscopy, kinetics, environment & general theory N2 - For the only water coordinated "free" uranyl (VI) aquo ion in perchlorate solution we identified and assigned several different excited states and showed that the (3)Delta state is the luminescent triplet state from transient absorption spectroscopy. With additional data from other spectroscopic methods (TRLFS, UV/vis) we generated a detailed Jablonski diagram and determined rate constants for several state transitions, like the inner conversion rate constant from the (3)Phi state to the (3)Delta state transition to be 0.35 ps(-1). In contrast to luminescence measurements, it was possible to observe the highly quenched uranyl(VI) ion in highly concentrated chloride solution by TAS and we were able to propose a dynamic quenching mechanism, where chloride complexation is followed by the charge transfer from the excited state uranyl(VI) to chloride. This proposed quenching route is supported by TD-DFT calculations. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpca.8b05567 SN - 1089-5639 VL - 122 IS - 35 SP - 6970 EP - 6977 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Senf, Deborah A1 - Ruprecht, Colin A1 - Kishani, Saina A1 - Matic, Aleksandar A1 - Toriz, Guillermo A1 - Gatenholm, Paul A1 - Wagberg, Lars A1 - Pfrengle, Fabian T1 - Tailormade polysaccharides with defined branching patterns BT - Enzymatic polymerization of arabinoxylan oligosaccharides JF - Angewandte Chemie : a journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ; International edition N2 - The heterogeneous nature of non-cellulosic polysaccharides, such as arabinoxylan, makes it difficult to correlate molecular structure with macroscopic properties. To study the impact of specific structural features of the polysaccharides on crystallinity or affinity to other cell wall components, collections of polysaccharides with defined repeating units are required. Herein, a chemoenzymatic approach to artificial arabinoxylan polysaccharides with systematically altered branching patterns is described. The polysaccharides were obtained by glycosynthase-catalyzed polymerization of glycosyl fluorides derived from arabinoxylan oligosaccharides. X-ray diffraction and adsorption experiments on cellulosic surfaces revealed that the physicochemical properties of the synthetic polysaccharides strongly depend on the specific nature of their substitution patterns. The artificial polysaccharides allow structure-property relationship studies that are not accessible by other means. KW - carbohydrates KW - enzymes KW - glycosynthases KW - structure elucidation KW - synthetic methods Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201806871 SN - 1433-7851 SN - 1521-3773 VL - 57 IS - 37 SP - 11987 EP - 11992 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Uchida, Ryusuke A1 - Binet, Silvia A1 - Arora, Neha A1 - Jacopin, Gwenole A1 - Alotaibi, Mohammad Hayal A1 - Taubert, Andreas A1 - Zakeeruddin, Shaik Mohammed A1 - Dar, M. Ibrahim A1 - Graetzel, Michael T1 - Insights about the Absence of Rb Cation from the 3D Perovskite Lattice BT - Effect on the Structural, Morphological, and Photophysical Properties and Photovoltaic Performance JF - Small N2 - Efficiencies >20% are obtained from the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) employing Cs+ and Rb+ based perovskite compositions; therefore, it is important to understand the effect of these inorganic cations specifically Rb+ on the properties of perovskite structures. Here the influence of Cs+ and Rb+ is elucidated on the structural, morphological, and photophysical properties of perovskite structures and the photovoltaic performances of resulting PSCs. Structural, photoluminescence (PL), and external quantum efficiency studies establish the incorporation of Cs+ (x < 10%) but amply rule out the possibility of Rb-incorporation into the MAPbI(3) (MA = CH3NH3+) lattice. Moreover, morphological studies and time-resolved PL show that both Cs+ and Rb+ detrimentally affect the surface coverage of MAPbI(3) layers and charge-carrier dynamics, respectively, by influencing nucleation density and by inducing nonradiative recombination. In addition, differential scanning calorimetry shows that the transition from orthorhombic to tetragonal phase occurring around 160 K requires more thermal energy for the Cs-containing MAPbI(3) systems compared to the pristine MAPbI(3). Investigation including mixed halide (I/Br) and mixed cation A-cation based compositions further confirms the absence of Rb+ from the 3D-perovskite lattice. The fundamental insights gained through this work will be of great significance to further understand highly promising perovskite compositions. KW - cation miscibility KW - cesium cation KW - perovskite solar cells KW - rubidium cation KW - X-ray diffraction Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.201802033 SN - 1613-6810 SN - 1613-6829 VL - 14 IS - 36 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Vacogne, Charlotte Dominique A1 - Wei, Chunxiang A1 - Tauer, Klaus A1 - Schlaad, Helmut T1 - Self-assembly of alpha-helical polypeptides into microscopic and enantiomorphic spirals JF - Journal of the american chemical society N2 - Helical structures are ubiquitous in biological materials and often serve a structural purpose. Bioinspired helical materials can be challenging to synthesize and rarely reach the degree of hierarchy of their natural counterparts. Here we report the first example of particles synthesized by direct emulsification of polypeptides found to display spiral morphologies in the dry state. The polypeptides were alpha-helical homo- and copolypeptides of gamma-benzyl glutamate and allylglycine. The chirality of the spirals was controlled by the chirality of the alpha-helices. Notably, right-handed alpha-helical polypeptides (rich in 1, residues) produced clockwise spirals, whereas left-handed alpha-helical polypeptides (rich in D residues) produced the enantiomorphs, i.e., counterclockwise spirals. The disruption of the alpha-helical conformation by the introduction of chiral defects led to less regular spirals and in some cases their suppression. A hypothesis for the transmission of helicity and chirality from a molecular to a higher hierarchical level, involving fibril bundling of coiled alpha-helices, is proposed. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.8b06503 SN - 0002-7863 VL - 140 IS - 36 SP - 11387 EP - 11394 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tan, Li A1 - Liu, Bing A1 - Siemensmeyer, Konrad A1 - Glebe, Ulrich A1 - Böker, Alexander T1 - Synthesis of thermo-responsive nanocomposites of superparamagnetic cobalt nanoparticlesipoly(N-isopropylacrylamide) JF - Journal of colloid and interface science N2 - Novel nanocomposites of superparamagnetic cobalt nanoparticles (Co NPs) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) were fabricated through surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). We firstly synthesized a functional ATRP initiator, containing an amine (as anchoring group) and a 2-bromopropionate group (SI-ATRP initiator). Oleic acid- and trioctylphosphine oxide-coated Co NPs were then modified with the initiator via ligand exchange. The process is facile and rapid for efficient surface functionalization and afterwards the Co NPs can be dispersed into polar solvent DMF without aggregation. Transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and dynamic light scattering measurements confirmed the success of ligand exchange. The following polymerization of NIPAM was conducted on the surface of Co NPs. Temperature-dependent dynamic light scattering study showed the responsive behavior of PNIPAM-coated Co NPs. The combination of superparamagnetic and thermo-responsive properties in these hybrid nanoparticles is promising for future applications e.g. in biomedicine. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. KW - Nanoparticles KW - Superparamagnetic KW - Surface-initiated atom-transfer radical KW - polymerization KW - Responsivity Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcis.2018.04.074 SN - 0021-9797 SN - 1095-7103 VL - 526 SP - 124 EP - 134 PB - Elsevier CY - San Diego ER -