Fully automated single-molecule force spectroscopy for screening applications

With the introduction of single-molecule force spectroscopy (SMFS) it has become possible to directly access the interactions of various molecular systems. A bottleneck in conventional SMFS is collecting the large amount of data required for statistically meaningful analysis. Currently, atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based SMFS requires the user to tediously 'fish' for single molecules. In addition, most experimental and environmental conditions must be manually adjusted. Here, we developed a fully automated single-molecule force spectroscope. The instrument is able to perform SMFS while monitoring and regulating experimental conditions such as buffer composition and temperature. Cantilever alignment and calibration can also be automatically performed during experiments. This, combined with in-line data analysis, enables the instrument, once set up, to perform complete SMFS experiments autonomously.     

Nanomechanical detection of antibiotic-mucopeptide binding in a model for superbug drug resistance

The alarming growth of the antibiotic-resistant superbugs methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) is driving the development of new technologies to investigate antibiotics and their modes of action. We report the label-free detection of vancomycin binding to bacterial cell wall precursor analogues (mucopeptides) on cantilever arrays, with 10 nM sensitivity and at clinically relevant concentrations in blood serum. Differential measurements have quantified binding constants for vancomycin-sensitive and vancomycin-resistant mucopeptide analogues. Moreover, by systematically modifying the mucopeptide density we gain new insights into the origin of surface stress. We propose that stress is a product of a local chemical binding factor and a geometrical factor describing the mechanical connectivity of regions activated by local binding in terms of a percolation process. Our findings place BioMEMS devices in a new class of percolative systems. The percolation concept will underpin the design of devices and coatings to significantly lower the drug detection limit and may also have an impact on our understanding of antibiotic drug action in bacteria.     

Three-dimensional echo-planar cine imaging of cerebral blood supply using arterial spin labeling

Objective

Echo-planar imaging (EPI) with CYlindrical Center-out spatiaL Encoding (EPICYCLE) is introduced as a novel hybrid three-dimensional (3D) EPI technique. Its suitability for the tracking of a short bolus created by pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) through the cerebral vasculature is demonstrated.

Materials and methods

EPICYCLE acquires two-dimensional planes of k-space along center-out trajectories. These “spokes” are rotated from shot to shot about a common axis to encode a k-space cylinder. To track a bolus of labeled blood, the same subset of evenly distributed spokes is acquired in a cine fashion after a short period of pCASL. This process is repeated for all subsets to fill the whole 3D k-space of each time frame.

Results

The passage of short pCASL boluses through the vasculature of a 3D imaging slab was successfully imaged using EPICYCLE. By choosing suitable sequence parameters, the impact of slab excitation on the bolus shape could be minimized. Parametric maps of signal amplitude, transit time, and bolus width reflected typical features of blood transport in large vessels.

Conclusion

The EPICYCLE technique was successfully applied to track a short bolus of labeled arterial blood during its passage through the cerebral vasculature.

     

Rißbreitennachweis für Kreisquerschnitte

Verification of Crack Limitation for Circular Cross Section The verification of the crack limitation for circular cross sections such as bored piles is often neglected. In some cases for instance for predominantly bending members the crack limitation is the fundamental proof. Thus all necessary principals for the crack limitation of circular cross sections were provided. The analytical approaches are proved by experiments. There is a good conformance between the theoretical approach provided and the tests.     

Synthese von Hetaryl‐pyridiniumsalzen und kondensierten 3‐Amino‐pyrid‐2‐onen

1‐(3‐Coumaryl)‐pyridinium salts 3 and 1‐(3‐coumaryl)‐tetrahydrothiophenium salts 5 were synthesized from 2‐acylphenyl chloro‐ or bromoacetates 2 . 2‐Chloro‐N¹‐(3,4‐dimethoxyphenyl)‐acetamide and substituted 2‐chloro‐N¹‐(2‐thienyl)‐acetamides 8 react with acetyl chloride and pyridine to yield the quinolinyl‐ and (thieno[2,3‐b]pyridin‐5‐yl)‐pyridinium salts 10 . Fused thieno[2,3‐b]pyridin‐ones 19 were formed from N‐chloroacetyl‐2‐aminothiophen‐3‐carbonitriles 16 with pyridine via Thorpe‐Ziegler cyclization and followed by cyclodehydrogenation. In presence of pyridine alkyl 2‐chloro‐acetylaminobenzoates 21 yield 3‐(1‐pyridinio)‐quinoline‐4‐olates 23 . Zincke‐cleavage of 10 and 23 with hydrazinium hydroxide leads to fused 3‐amino‐pyridine‐2‐ones 11 and 3‐amino‐4‐hydroxy‐quinoline‐2‐ones 24 , respectively. Oxazoloquinolines 25 were synthesized from 24 with acetic anhydride.     

Analysis of lecithin by near-infrared spectroscopy

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was applied to crude and processed lecithins to enable qualitative and quantitative classification. With the calibration models used, NIRS enables a rapid selection of lecithins for further processing in a property specific product line. Quantitative determination was achieved for selected lecithin reference values (acetone insoluble, phosphatidylcholine content, acid value, water content). Validated models showed no significant differences (p = 95%) to conventional chemical methods in statistical testing.     

Optical coatings：trends and challenges

1Introduction Today,opticalcoatinghasbeenregardedas oneofthemostimportantsegmentinoptics technology[1].Itcansufficientlyimprovethe performanceofthewholeopticalsystem,satisfy thefunctionrequirements,andthereforeisan intensivelyactiveresearchfieldworldwide.Opticalcoatingscanbefoundinnearly everytechnicalapplicationstartingwithtelecom munications,spacetechnologies,andlasers.Meanwhile,itplaysasignificantroleinmany fieldsdevelopment,suchasphysics,chemistry andsynchrotronemissionapplication.Theeffi…