TY - JOUR A1 - Zühlke, Martin A1 - Meiling, Till Thomas A1 - Roder, Phillip A1 - Riebe, Daniel A1 - Beitz, Toralf A1 - Bald, Ilko A1 - Löhmannsröben, Hans-Gerd A1 - Janßen, Traute A1 - Erhard, Marcel A1 - Repp, Alexander T1 - Photodynamic inactivation of E. coli bacteria via carbon nanodots JF - ACS omega / American Chemical Society N2 - The increasing development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria has been a major problem for years, both in human and veterinary medicine. Prophylactic measures, such as the use of vaccines, are of great importance in reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock. These vaccines are mainly produced based on formaldehyde inactivation. However, the latter damages the recognition elements of the bacterial proteins and thus could reduce the immune response in the animal. An alternative inactivation method developed in this work is based on gentle photodynamic inactivation using carbon nanodots (CNDs) at excitation wavelengths λex > 290 nm. The photodynamic inactivation was characterized on the nonvirulent laboratory strain Escherichia coli K12 using synthesized CNDs. For a gentle inactivation, the CNDs must be absorbed into the cytoplasm of the E. coli cell. Thus, the inactivation through photoinduced formation of reactive oxygen species only takes place inside the bacterium, which means that the outer membrane is neither damaged nor altered. The loading of the CNDs into E. coli was examined using fluorescence microscopy. Complete loading of the bacterial cells could be achieved in less than 10 min. These studies revealed a reversible uptake process allowing the recovery and reuse of the CNDs after irradiation and before the administration of the vaccine. The success of photodynamic inactivation was verified by viability assays on agar. In a homemade flow photoreactor, the fastest successful irradiation of the bacteria could be carried out in 34 s. Therefore, the photodynamic inactivation based on CNDs is very effective. The membrane integrity of the bacteria after irradiation was verified by slide agglutination and atomic force microscopy. The method developed for the laboratory strain E. coli K12 could then be successfully applied to the important avian pathogens Bordetella avium and Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale to aid the development of novel vaccines. KW - Bacteria KW - Genetics KW - Fluorescence KW - Photodynamics KW - Irradiation Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.1c01700 SN - 2470-1343 VL - 6 IS - 37 SP - 23742 EP - 23749 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington, DC ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weclawski, Marek K. A1 - Meiling, Till Thomas A1 - Leniak, Arkadiusz A1 - Cywinski, Piotr J. A1 - Gryko, Daniel T. T1 - Planar, Fluorescent Push-Pull System That Comprises Benzofuran and Iminocoumarin Moieties JF - Organic letters N2 - Previously unknown, vertically linked heterocycles comprised of benzofuran and iminocoumarin moieties have been synthesized directly from 1,5-dibenzoyloxyanthraquinone and arylacetonitriles via double Knoevenagel condensation followed by formal HCN elimination. The structural assembly of fully conjugated, electron-rich benzofuran and electron-deficient iminocoumarin is responsible for the strongly polarized nature of these heterocycles which translates into their polarity-sensitive fluorescence. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.orglett.5b02042 SN - 1523-7060 SN - 1523-7052 VL - 17 IS - 17 SP - 4252 EP - 4255 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nazir, Rashid A1 - Meiling, Till Thomas A1 - Cywinski, Piotr J. A1 - Gryko, Daniel T. T1 - Synthesis and Optical Properties of alpha,beta-Unsaturated Ketones Bearing a Benzofuran Moiety JF - Asian journal of organic chemistry : an ACES journal N2 - Five pi-expanded alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones have been prepared from a strongly electron-rich benzofuran derivative via Knoevenagel reaction and aldol condensation. The incorporation of two 6-didodecylaminobenzofuran-2-yl groups at the periphery of D-pi-A and D-pi-A-pi-D molecules resulted in dyes with excellent solubility in the majority of organic solvents. In contrast to the majority of alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones, these dyes emit relatively strongly in the red region with a fluorescence quantum yield up to 40%. They also display strong solvatofluorochromism with emission shifting from 570 nm in toluene to 670 nm in CHCl3. Depending on the chemical structure, they two-photon cross-sections (sigma(2)) are up to 1700 GM (1 GM=10(50) cm(4)s photon(-1)). KW - aldol reaction KW - benzofurans KW - fluorescence KW - ketones KW - two-photon absorption Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajoc.201500242 SN - 2193-5807 SN - 2193-5815 VL - 4 IS - 9 SP - 929 EP - 935 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meiling, Till Thomas A1 - Schürmann, Robin Mathis A1 - Vogel, Stefanie A1 - Ebel, Kenny A1 - Nicolas, Christophe A1 - Milosavljevic, Aleksandar R. A1 - Bald, Ilko T1 - Photophysics and Chemistry of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanodots with High Photoluminescence Quantum Yield JF - The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces N2 - Fluorescent carbon nanodots (CNDs) are very promising nanomaterials for a broad range of applications because of their high photostability, presumed selective luminescence, and low cost at which they can be produced. In this respect, CNDs are superior to well-established semiconductor quantum dots and organic dyes. However, reported synthesis protocols for CNDs typically lead to low photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and low reproducibility, resulting in a poor understanding of the CND chemistry and photophysics. Here, we report a one-step synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots (N-CNDs) from various carboxylic acids, Tris, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid resulting in high PLQY of up to 90%. The reaction conditions in terms of starting materials, temperature, and reaction time are carefully optimized and their influence on the photophysical properties is characterized. We find that citric acid-derived N-CNDs can result in a very high PLQY of 90%, but they do not show selective luminescence. By contrast, acetic acid-derived N-CNDs show selective luminescence but a PLQY of 50%. The chemical composition of the surface and core of these two selected N-CND types is characterized among others by high-resolution synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy using single isolated N-CND clusters. The results indicate that photoexcitation occurs in the N-CND core, whereas the emission properties are determined by the N-CND surface groups. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b00748 SN - 1932-7447 VL - 122 IS - 18 SP - 10217 EP - 10230 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meiling, Till Thomas A1 - Cywiński, Piotr J. A1 - Bald, Ilko T1 - White carbon: Fluorescent carbon nanoparticles with tunable quantum yield in a reproducible green synthesis JF - Scientific reports N2 - In this study, a new reliable, economic, and environmentally-friendly one-step synthesis is established to obtain carbon nanodots (CNDs) with well-defined and reproducible photoluminescence (PL) properties via the microwave-assisted hydrothermal treatment of starch and Tris-acetate-EDTA (TAE) buffer as carbon sources. Three kinds of CNDs are prepared using different sets of above mentioned starting materials. The as-synthesized CNDs: C-CND (starch only), N-CND 1 (starch in TAE) and N-CND 2 (TAE only) exhibit highly homogenous PL and are ready to use without need for further purification. The CNDs are stable over a long period of time (>1 year) either in solution or as freeze-dried powder. Depending on starting material, CNDs with PL quantum yield (PLQY) ranging from less than 1% up to 28% are obtained. The influence of the precursor concentration, reaction time and type of additives on the optical properties (UV-Vis absorption, PL emission spectrum and PLQY) is carefully investigated, providing insight into the chemical processes that occur during CND formation. Remarkably, upon freeze-drying the initially brown CND-solution turns into a non-fluorescent white/slightly brown powder which recovers PL in aqueous solution and can potentially be applied as fluorescent marker in bio-imaging, as a reduction agent or as a photocatalyst. KW - Fluorescence spectroscopy KW - Nanoparticles KW - Synthesis and processing Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/srep28557 VL - 6 PB - Nature Publishing Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Meiling, Till Thomas A1 - Cywinski, Piotr J. A1 - Löhmannsröben, Hans-Gerd T1 - Two-Photon excitation fluorescence spectroscopy of quantum dots BT - photophysical properties and application in bioassays JF - The journal of physical chemistry : C, Nanomaterials and interfaces N2 - The applications of quantum dots (QDs) in two-photon (2P) excitation applications demand reliable data about their 2P absorption (2PA) cross sections (sigma(2PA)). In the present study, sigma(2PA) values have been determined for a series of commercial colloidal CdSe/ZnS QDs and CdSeTe/ZnS QDs in aqueous media. For the first time for these QDs, the sigma(2PA) values have been determined over a wide spectral range, that is, between 720 and 900 nm, and are compared to the extinction coefficient (epsilon) values obtained under one-photon (1P) excitation. Furthermore, we present a QD in combination with an organic dye in a biotin-streptavidin Forster resonance energy transfer bioassay under 1P and 2P excitation. The results for the bioassay under 2P excitation are compared to those obtained under 1P excitation. The results demonstrate that in the case of the 2P excitation, higher sensitivity can be achieved because of an improved signal-to-noise ratio. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b12345 SN - 1932-7447 SN - 1932-7455 VL - 122 IS - 17 SP - 9641 EP - 9647 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington ER -