Fluorescence decay dynamics and structure of a meso-tetrakis(p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin, referred to herein as either H2TSPP4- or TSPP, which aggregates in highly acidic homogeneous solution, are discussed. The fluorescence lifetime of the aggregate is found to depend on whether electronic excitation is to the B (Soret) state or the Q state. This finding is interpreted as indicating that the aggregate's effective size differs in the two cases. Also, a discussion is provided of possible nonradiative pathways that might affect measured fluorescence lifetimes. Specific structural changes that occur within the porphyrin upon N-protonation and incorporation within the aggregate are also discussed. Additionally, vibrational frequencies are assigned to specific bonds of the porphinato macrocycle, and comparisons are made between bond lengths in the aggregate environment and those of the monomeric dianion.

The flow of information through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is shaped by molecular interactions in the plasma membrane. The EGFR is associated with lipid rafts, but their role in modulating receptor mobility and subsequent interactions is unclear. To investigate the role of nanoscale rafts in EGFR dynamics, we used single-molecule fluorescence imaging to track individual receptors and their dimerization partner, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), in the membrane of human mammary epithelial cells. We found that the motion of both receptors was interrupted by dwellings within nanodomains. EGFR was significantly less mobile than HER2. This difference was likely due to F-actin because its depolymerization led to similar diffusion patterns between the EGFR and HER2. Manipulations of membrane cholesterol content dramatically altered the diffusion pattern of both receptors. Cholesterol depletion led to almost complete confinement of the receptors, whereas cholesterol enrichment extended the boundaries of the restricted areas. Interestingly, F-actin depolymerization partially restored receptor mobility in cholesterol-depleted membranes. Our observations suggest that membrane cholesterol provides a dynamic environment that facilitates the free motion of EGFR and HER2, possibly by modulating the dynamic state of F-actin. The association of the receptors with lipid rafts could therefore promote their rapid interactions only upon ligand stimulation.

Spherical silica nanoparticles of various particle sizes (B10 to 100 nm), produced by a modified Stoeber method employing amino acids as catalysts, are investigated using Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) enhanced Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. This study includes ultra-sensitive detection of surface-bound amino acids and their supramolecular organization in trace amounts, exploiting the increase in NMR sensitivity of up to three orders of magnitude via DNP. Moreover, the nature of the silicon nuclei on the surface and the bulk silicon nuclei in the core (sub-surface) is characterized at atomic resolution. Thereby, we obtain unique insights into the surface chemistry of these nanoparticles, which might result in improving their rational design as required for promising applications, e.g. as catalysts or imaging contrast agents. The non-covalent binding of amino acids to surfaces was determined which shows that the amino acids not just function as catalysts but become incorporated into the nanoparticles during the formation process. As a result only three distinct Q-types of silica signals were observed from surface and core regions. We observed dramatic changes of DNP enhancements as a function of particle size, and very small particles (which suit in vivo applications better) were hyperpolarized with the best efficiency. Nearly one order of magnitude larger DNP enhancement was observed for nanoparticles with 13 nm size compared to particles with 100 nm size.We determined an approximate DNP penetration-depth (B4.2 or B5.7 nm) for the polarization transfer from electrons to the nuclei of the spherical nanoparticles. Faster DNP polarization buildup was observed for larger nanoparticles. Efficient hyperpolarization of such nanoparticles, as achieved in this work, can be utilized in applications such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A IntroductionDNP increases the sensitivity of NMR experiments (signal-to-noise ratio, S/N), 1-3 enabling the study of low concentrated systems which were not in the scope of NMR until now. NMR signal enhancement is achieved by transferring large electron polarization to surrounding nuclei via DNP. In the last decade, there has been remarkable progress in solution and solid-state DNP-NMR as well as in imaging through the application of hyperpolarization methods. [4][5][6][7] As pointed out recently, this ''renaissance of DNP'' combined with high magnetic fields will further grow in the coming years, enabling demanding applications with better resolution. 8,9 Materials and biological systems such as membrane or microcrystalline proteins, 10-13 fibrils, 14 ligands bound to receptors, 15 polymers, [16][17][18] surface-bound species, 19-23 and other low concentrated samples were studied beneficially using DNP-NMR. 13,[24][25][26] Cryogenic temperatures are required to slow down nuclear and electron relaxation and to allow an efficient polarization transfer in solid-state DNP NMR experiments. In contrast to biological systems, 15,27-29 most technically relevant materials ...

Strong experimental and theoretical evidence was provided on the controlled formation of the two-dimensional J-aggregates that were assembled in the herringbone morphology. The exciton-band structure formation of 1,1′,3,3′-tetraethyl-5,5′,6,6′-tetrachlorobenzimidazolocarbocyanine (TTBC) J-aggregates was investigated in ionic (NaOH) aqueous solution at room temperature. The control was achieved by changing the [TTBC] at a given [NaOH], or vice versa, and was monitored through the changes in the absorption, fluorescence excitation, and emission spectra. Specific attention was paid to expose the excited-state structure and dynamics through simulations of the excitonic properties, which included diagonal energetic disorder and phononassisted exciton relaxation. Aggregates were characterized by an asymmetrically split Davydov pair, an H-band (∼500 nm, 1300 cm -1 wide, Lorentzian-like) and a J-band (∼590 nm, 235 cm -1 wide, with a band shape typical of a one-dimensional J-aggregate), whose relative intensities showed a strong dependence on the [TTBC]/ [NaOH]. The H-band is favored by high [TTBC] or high [NaOH]. An explanation of the control on the aggregate formation was given by correlating the changes in the absorption with the structural modifications and the subsequent changes in the dynamics, which were induced by variations in the dye and NaOH concentrations. The J-band shape/width was attributed to disorder and disorder-induced intraband phononassisted exciton relaxation. The intraband processes in both bands were estimated to occur in the same time scale (about a picosecond). It has been suggested that the wide energetic gap between the Davydov split bands (3000 cm -1 ) could get bridged by the excitonic states of the loosely coupled chains, in addition to the monomeric species at low [TTBC]. Phonon-assisted interband relaxation, through the band gap states and/or directly from the H-to the J-band, are suggested for accounting the difference between the bandwidths and shapes of the two bands. Energy transfer between the H-band and the monomeric species is suggested as crucial for tuning the relative strengths of the two bands.