Labeling of Anti-MUC-1 Binding Single Chain Fv Fragments to Surface Modified Upconversion Nanoparticles for an Initial in Vivo Molecular Imaging Proof of Principle Approach

In vivo optical Imaging is an inexpensive and highly sensitive modality to investigate and follow up diseases like breast cancer. However, fluorescence labels and specific tracers are still works in progress to bring this promising modality into the clinical day-to-day use. In this study an anti-MUC-1 binding single-chain antibody fragment was screened, produced and afterwards labeled with newly designed and surface modified NaYF(4):Yb,Er upconversion nanoparticles as fluorescence reporter constructs. The MUC-1 binding of the conjugate was examined in vitro and in vivo using modified state-of-the-art small animal Imaging equipment. Binding of the newly generated upconversion nanoparticle based probe to MUC-1 positive cells was clearly shown via laser scanning microscopy and in an initial proof of principal small animal optical imaging approach.     

Griffith Cracks at the Nanoscale

When Griffith presented his famous theory of crack stability in elastic materials in the early twentieth century, he was unable to provide much detail on the structure of cracks at the nanometer level of resolution. Now, almost 100 years later, techniques such as transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscope, nuclear reaction analysis, and nuclear reflection are available to achieve this level of resolution. Here, we review the kind of data obtained using these techniques and the implications of the data vis-á-vis cracks in silicate glasses. Measurements by atomic force microscopy provide information on the size of the nonlinear zone at crack tips in glass, on environmental conditions at crack tips, and on the possibility of cavity formation as a mechanism of crack growth. Examination by nuclear reaction analysis and neutron reflection of fresh fracture surfaces formed in water has yielded information on water penetration through the glass surrounding the crack tip, to a resolution of 3–5 nm. Improvement of measurement techniques in the coming years should enable us to study crack tips in glasses to even higher levels of resolution and to answer more detailed questions concerning the level of stress and the size of the nonlinear zone at the crack tip.     

Nanopaper: Thin Films Prepared from Polymeric Nanotubes

A novel mesoporous material (“nanopaper”) prepared from template‐synthesized, polyelectrolyte‐stabilized polymer nanotubes is reported. The stacked network of completely collapsed, flat nanotubes forms the porous structure, which has a water‐vapor permeability that can be tuned by the stabilizer. The transport mechanism is elucidated based on microscopy, thermal analysis, spectroscopy characterization, and mass‐transfer theory. The results suggest that the nanotube surface plays a key role in the through‐film transport process. This effect vanishes in the more open films formed from micro‐fibrillated cellulose having similar fibril diameters. Nanopaper mechanical properties are also reported. With a pore structure and functionality that can be varied, nanopaper is a promising functional membrane.