Highly Stable Au Nanoparticles with Tunable Spacing and Their Potential Application in Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensors

Colloidal Au‐amplified surface plasmon resonance (SPR), like traditional SPR, is typically used to detect binding events on a thin noble metal film. The two major concerns in developing colloidal Au‐amplified SPR lie in 1) the instability, manifested as a change in morphology following immersion in organic solvents and aqueous solutions, and 2) the uncontrollable interparticle distance, determining probe spacing and inducing steric hindrance between neighboring probe molecules. This may introduce uncertainties into such detecting techniques, degrade the sensitivity, and become the barricade hampering colloidal Au‐based transducers from applications in sensing. In this paper, colloidal Au‐amplified SPR transducers are produced by using ultrathin Au/Al₂O₃ nanocomposite films via a radio frequency magnetron co‐sputtering method. Deposited Au/Al₂O₃ nanocomposite films exhibit superior stability, and average interparticle distances between Au nanoparticles with similar average sizes can be tuned by changing surface coverage. These characteristics are ascribed to the spacer function and rim confinement of dielectric Al₂O₃ and highlight their advantages for application in optimal nanoparticle‐amplified SPR, especially when the probe size is smaller than the target molecule size. This importance is demonstrated here for the binding of protein (streptavidin) targets to the probe (biotin) surface. In this case, the dielectric matrix Al₂O₃ is a main contributor, behaving as a spacer, tuning the concentration of Au nanoparticles, and manipulating the average interparticle distance, and thus guaranteeing an appropriate number of biotin molecules and expected near‐field coupling to obtain optimal sensing performance.     

Undoped visible-light-sensitive titania photocatalyst

Colorful rutile TiO₂ was prepared by heating Ti₂O₃ at 550–900 °C to develop novel visible-light-sensitive and eco-friendly photocatalysts for environmental remediation under visible-light irradiation. The colors of the prepared samples, which ranged from grayish green to yellowish off-white via yellow differed from the reported colors of reduced TiO₂, such as blue and black. The TiO₂ prepared in this study was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV–Visible spectroscopy. These measurements showed that the TiO₂ contained Ti³⁺-interstitial sites. The TiO₂ was sensitive to visible light, and calculation of the band diagram demonstrated that this visible-light absorption is caused mainly by formation of Ti³⁺-interstitial sites in rutile TiO₂. Among the prepared samples, the TiO₂ prepared by heating Ti₂O₃ at 700 °C shows the highest photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation. In addition, the sample was further and mildly ground using a bead-milling machine. The ground sample possessed higher surface area and better photocatalytic activity.     

Repeatedly foldable AMOLED display

In this study, a 5.9‐inch foldable active‐matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) display was developed. A folding test was performed repeatedly. The display survived the folding test (100,000 folds) with a curvature radius of 2 mm. To protect an organic light emitting diode (OLED) against moisture, inorganic passivation layers are provided on the upper and lower sides of the flexible display. Using our transfer technology, high density passivation layers can be obtained. The measured water vapor transmission rate of the layer is 7 × 10^?6 g/m²?day or less, which improves OLED reliability. With these techniques, we have developed a book‐type display, which is repeatedly foldable like a book, and a tri‐fold display including a display area, which is foldable in three.     

Engineering of Lipid Nanoparticles by the Multifunctionalization of the Surface with Amino Acid Derivatives for the Neutralization of a Target Toxic Peptide

Protein affinity reagents (e.g., antibodies) are often used for basic research, diagnostics, separations, and disease therapy. Although a lot of “synthetic” protein affinity reagents have been developed as a cost-effective alternative to antibodies, their low biocompatibility is a considerable problem for clinical application. Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) represent a highly biocompatible drug delivery agent. However, little has been reported that LNP itself works as a protein affinity reagent in living animals. Here, LNP is engineered for binding to and neutralizing a target toxic peptide in living animals by multifunctionalization with amino acid derivatives. Multifunctionalized LNP (MF-LNP) is prepared using amino acid derivative-conjugated lipids. Optimized MF-LNP exhibits nanomolar affinity to the target toxic peptide and inhibits toxic peptide-dependent hemolysis and cytotoxicity. In addition, MF-LNP captures and neutralizes the toxic peptide after intravenous injection in the bloodstream; in addition, MF-LNP does not release the toxic peptide in the accumulated organ. These results reveal the potential of using LNP as a highly biocompatible protein affinity reagent such as an antidote.     

Temperature measurements of turbid aqueous solutions using near-infrared spectroscopy

We report a method that uses near-infrared spectroscopy and multivariate analysis to measure the temperature of turbid aqueous solutions. The measurement principle is based on the fact that the peak wavelength of the water absorption band, with its center near 1440 nm, shifts with changes in temperature. This principle was used to measure the temperatures of 1 mm thick samples of aqueous solutions containing Intralipid (2%), which are often used as optical phantoms for biological tissues due to similar scattering characteristics. Temperatures of pure water and aqueous solutions containing glucose (100 mg/ml and 200 mg/ml) were also measured for comparison. For the turbid Intralipid solutions, the absorbance spectrum varied irregularly with time due to the change in scattering characteristics. However, by making use of the difference between the absorbance at 1412 nm and the temperature-independent absorbance at 1440 nm, we obtained SEPs (standard error of prediction) of 0.3 degrees C and 0.2 degrees C by univariate linear regression and partial least squares regression, respectively. These accuracies were almost the same as those for the transparent samples (pure water and glucose solution).     

Microwave synthesis of Fe-doped β-rhombohedral boron

Iron-doped β-rhombohedral boron was synthesized by 28 GHz microwave irradiation on a powder mixture of iron and β-boron. β-Boron strongly absorbs 28 GHz microwaves, and this strong coupling with microwave energy can be used to promote a reaction with iron dopant. The powder mixture was heated to 1800°C within 2 min by microwave irradiation, resulting in the formation of β-rhombohedral boron interstitially doped with iron. The reaction proceeded rapidly without accompanying grain growth. The XRD analysis and the electrical conductivity measurements revealed successful incorporation of iron into two doping sites of β-boron.     

人小肠粘膜免疫酶的定位研究—光镜和电镜免疫组织化学染色法

本文对免疫酶组织化学的样品制备程序和染色方法做了详细的阐述。用直接法、间接法和ABC法,对人小肠免疫酶的定位,进行了光镜和电镜的观察,染色阳性反应显著,获得了满意的效果。并对染色技巧做了分析和探讨。     

Reconstitution of hepatic tissue architectures from fetal liver cells obtained from a three-dimensional culture with a rotating wall vessel bioreactor

Reconstitution of tissue architecture in vitro is important because it enables researchers to investigate the interactions and mutual relationships between cells and cellular signals involved in the three-dimensional (3D) construction of tissues. To date, in vitro methods for producing tissues with highly ordered structure and high levels of function have met with limited success although a variety of 3D culture systems have been investigated. In this study, we reconstituted functional hepatic tissue including mature hepatocyte and blood vessel-like structures accompanied with bile duct-like structures from E15.5 fetal liver cells, which contained more hepatic stem/progenitor cells comparing with neonatal liver cells. The culture was performed in a simulated microgravity environment produced by a rotating wall vessel (RWV) bioreactor. The hepatocytes in the reconstituted 3D tissue were found to be capable of producing albumin and storing glycogen. Additionally, bile canaliculi between hepatocytes, characteristics of adult hepatocyte in vivo were also formed. Apart from this, bile duct structure secreting mucin was shown to form complicated tubular branches. Furthermore, gene expression analysis by semi-quantitative RT-PCR revealed the elevated levels of mature hepatocyte markers as well as genes with the hepatic function. With RWV culture system, we could produce functionally reconstituted liver tissue and this might be useful in pharmaceutical industry including drug screening and testing and other applications such as an alternative approach to experimental animals.     

Benzobisthiazole as Weak Donor for Improved Photovoltaic Performance: Microwave Conductivity Technique Assisted Molecular Engineering

New donor–acceptor‐type copolymers comprised of benzobisthiazole (BBTz) as a weak donor rather than acceptor are proposed. This approach can simultaneously lead to deepening the HOMO and LUMO of the polymers with moderate energy offset against fullerene derivatives in bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaics. As a proof‐of‐concept, BBTz‐based random copolymers conjugated with typical electron acceptors: thienopyrroledione (TPD) and benzothiadiazole (BT) based on density functional theory calculations are synthesized. Laser‐flash and Xe‐flash time‐resolved microwave conductivity (TRMC) evaluations of polymer:[6,6]‐phenyl C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blends are conducted to screen the feasibility of the copolymers, leading to optimization of processing conditions for photovoltaic device application. According to the TMRC results, alternating BBTz‐BT copolymers are designed, exhibiting extended photoabsorption up to ca. 750 nm, deep HOMO (–5.5 to –5.7 eV), good miscibility with PCBM, and inherent crystalline nature. Moreover, the maximized PCE of 3.8%, the top‐class among BBTz‐based polymers reported so far, is realized in an inverted cell using TiO_x and MoO_x as the buffer layers. This study opens up opportunities to create low‐bandgap polymers with deep HOMO, and shows how the device‐less TRMC evaluation is of help for decision‐making on judicious molecular design.