Over the past years, bottom-up bionanotechnology has been developed as a promising tool for future technological applications. Many of these biomolecule-based assemblies are characterized using various single-molecule techniques that require strict anaerobic conditions. The most common oxygen scavengers for single-molecule experiments are glucose oxidase and catalase (GOC) or protocatechuate dioxygenase (PCD). One of the pitfalls of these systems, however, is the production of carboxylic acids. These acids can result in a significant pH drop over the course of experiments and must thus be compensated by an increased buffer strength. Here, we present pyranose oxidase and catalase (POC) as a novel enzymatic system to perform single-molecule experiments in pH-stable conditions at arbitrary buffer strength. We show that POC keeps the pH stable over hours, while GOC and PCD cause an increasing acidity of the buffer system. We further verify in single-molecule fluorescence experiments that POC performs as good as the common oxygen-scavenging systems, but offers long-term pH stability and more freedom in buffer conditions. This enhanced stability allows the observation of bionanotechnological assemblies in aqueous environments under well-defined conditions for an extended time.

Two macrocyclic ligands, 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1-glutaric-4,7,10-triacetic acid (H(5)DOTAGA) and the novel 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1-(4-(carboxymethyl)benzoic)-4,7,10-triacetic acid (H(5)DOTABA), were prepared and their lanthanide complexes (Ln = Gd(3+), Y(3+)) attached to an amino-functionalized T(8)-silsesquioxane. The novel compounds Gadoxane G (GG) and Gadoxane B (GB) possess eight monohydrated lanthanide complexes each, as evidenced by multinuclear ((1)H, (13)C, (29)Si) NMR spectroscopy and high resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS). Pulsed-field gradient spin echo (PGSE) diffusion (1)H NMR measurements revealed hydrodynamic radii of 1.44 nm and global rotational correlation times of about 3.35 ns for both compounds. With regard to potential MRI contrast agent applications, a variable-temperature (17)O NMR and (1)H nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion (NMRD) study was carried out on aqueous solutions of the gadolinium(III) complexes of the Gadoxanes and the corresponding monomeric ligands to yield relevant physicochemical properties. The water exchange rates of the inner-sphere water molecules are all very similar (k(ex)(298) between (5.3 +/- 0.5) x 10(6) s(-1) and (5.9 +/- 0.3) x 10(6) s(-1)) and only slightly higher than that reported for the gadolinium(III) complex of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (H(4)DOTA) (k(ex)(298) = 4.1 x 10(6) s(-1)). Despite their almost identical size and their similar water exchange rates, GB shows a significantly higher longitudinal relaxivity than GG over nearly the whole range of magnetic fields (e.g., 17.1 mM(-1) s(-1) for GB and 12.1 mM(-1) s(-1) for GG at 20 MHz and 25 degrees C). This difference arises from their different local rotational correlation times (tau(lR)(298) = 240 +/- 10 ps and 380 +/- 20 ps, respectively), because of the higher rigidity of the phenyl ring of GB as compared to the ethylene spacer of GG. A crucial feature of these novel compounds is the lability of the silsesquioxane core in aqueous media. The hydrolysis of the Si-O-Si moieties was investigated by (29)Si NMR and PGSE diffusion (1)H NMR spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), as well as by relaxivity measurements. Although frozen aqueous solutions (pH 7.0) of GG and GB can be stored at -28 degrees C for at least 10 months without any decomposition, with increasing temperature and pH the hydrolysis of the silsesquioxane core was observed (e.g., t(1/2) = 15 h at pH 7.4 and 55 min at pH 8.1 for GG at 37 degrees C). No change in relaxivity was detected within the first 3 h, since the hydrolysis of the initial Si-O-Si moieties has no influence on the rotational correlation time. However, the further hydrolysis of the silsesquioxane core leads to smaller fragments and therefore to a decrease in relaxivity.

Electroanalytical procedures are often subjected to oxygen interferences. However, achieving anaerobic conditions in field analytical chemistry is difficult. In this work, novel enzymatic systems were designed to maintain oxygen-free solutions in open, small volume electrochemical cells and implemented under field conditions. The oxygen removal system consists of an oxidase enzyme, an oxidase-specific substrate, and catalase for dismutation of hydrogen peroxide generated in the enzyme catalyzed oxygen removal reaction. Using cyclic voltammetry, three oxidase enzyme/substrate combinations with catalase were analyzed: glucose oxidase with glucose, galactose oxidase with galactose, and pyranose 2-oxidase with glucose. Each system completely removed oxygen for 1 h or more in unstirred open vessels. Reagents, catalysts, reaction intermediates, and products involved in the oxygen reduction reaction were not detected electrochemically. To evaluate the oxygen removal systems in a field sensing device, a model nitrate biosensor based on recombinant eukaryotic nitrate reductase was implemented in commercial screen-printed electrochemical cells with 200 μL volumes. The products of the aldohexose oxidation catalyzed by glucose oxidase and galactose oxidase deactivate nitrate reductase and must be quenched for biosensor applications. For general application, the optimum catalyst is pyranose 2-oxidase since the oxidation product does not interfere with the biorecognition element.

Contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that exhibit sensitivity toward specific ions or molecules represent a challenging but attractive direction of research. Here a Gd 3þ complex linked to an aminobis(methylenephosphonate) group for chelating Ca 2þ was synthesized and investigated. The longitudinal relaxivity (r 1 ) of this complex decreases during the relaxometric titration with Ca 2þ from 5.76 to 3.57 mM -1 s -1 upon saturation. The r 1 is modulated by changes in the hydration number, which was confirmed by determination of the luminescence emission lifetimes of the analogous Eu 3þ complex. The initial in vivo characterization of this responsive contrast agent was performed by means of electrophysiology and MRI experiments. The investigated complex is fully biocompatible, having no observable effect on neuronal function after administration into the brain ventricles or parenchyma. Distribution studies demonstrated that the diffusivity of this agent is significantly lower compared with that of gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA).

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