Environment‐sensitive Bragg reflectors are built using functional mesoporous thin films as building blocks. Tuning of optical properties is achieved by changing the composition or porosity of the slabs or the introduction of planar defects. Sorption or capillary condensation of molecules into the pore system results in a 10–40 nm photonic bandgap (PBG) shift. Organic functions added to the pore surface change the response, permitting tailoring of the selectivity towards small‐size molecules.

The extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase ERK1/2 is a crucial effector linking extracellular stimuli to cellular responses: upon phosphorylation ERK [also known as mitogen-activated protein kinase P42/P44 (MAPK)] concentrates in the nucleus where it activates specific programs of gene expression. Notwithstanding the importance of this process, little is known about the modalities, time course and regulation of ERK exchange between nucleus and cytoplasm in living cells. We visualized the dynamic of nuclear translocation by expressing low levels (<150 nM) of fluorescently tagged ERK2 in living fibroblasts. Time-lapse imaging demonstrated that nuclear concentration can change bidirectionally with a time constant of a few minutes. The increase of nuclear concentration requires continuous MEK (also known as MAPK kinase) activity upstream of ERK and is rapidly reduced by the operation of phosphatases. We measured quantitatively the speed of ERK2 shuttling between nucleus and cytoplasm and determined that shuttling accelerated after ERK activation, becoming fast enough not to be rate-limiting for translocation. Finally, we demonstrated that ERK2 did not diffuse freely in the nucleus and that diffusion was further impeded after phosphorylation, suggesting the formation of complexes of low mobility. These results show that nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of ERK2 and its mobility are dynamically regulated in living cells.

Silver nanoparticle assemblies are embedded within mesoporous oxide thin films by an in situ mild reduction leading to nanoparticle-mesoporous oxide thin-film composites (NP@MOTF). A quantitative method based on X-ray reflectivity is developed and validated with energy dispersive spectroscopy in order to assess pore filling. The use of dilute formaldehyde solutions leads to control over the formation of silver nanoparticles within mesoporous titania films. Inclusion of silver nanoparticles in mesoporous silica requires more drastic conditions. This difference in reactivity can be exploited to selectively synthesize nanoparticles in a predetermined layer of a multilayered mesoporous stack leading to complex 1D-ordered multilayers with precise spatial location of nanometric objects. The metal oxide nanocomposites synthesized have potential applications in catalysis, optical devices, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and metal enhancement fluorescence.