We herein demonstrate superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles coated with nitrilotriacetic acid derivative (NTA) that can bind with different immobilized metal ions are capable of probing diverse target species. Immobilized Ni(II) on the surfaces of the NTA-magnetic nanoparticles have the capability of selectively trapping histidine (His)-tagged proteins such as a mutated streptopain tagged with 6x His, i.e., C192S (MW approximately 42 kDa), from cell lysates. Enrichment was achieved by vigorously mixing the sample solution and the nanoparticles by pipetting in and out of a sample vial for only 30 s. After enrichment, the probe-target species could be readily isolated by magnetic separation. We also characterized the proteins enriched on the affinity probes using on-probe tryptic digestion under microwave irradiation for only 2 min, followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry analysis. Using this enrichment and tryptic digestion, the target species can be rapidly enriched and characterized, reducing the time required for carrying out the complete analysis to less than 10 min. Furthermore, when either Zr(IV) or Ga (III) ions are immobilized on the surfaces of the NTA-magnetic nanoparticles, the nanoparticles have the capability of selectively enriching phosphorylated peptides from tryptic digests of alpha-, beta-caseins, and diluted milk. The detection limit for the tryptic digests of alpha- and beta-caseins is approximately 50 fmol.
One of the limits of conventional scanning multiphoton microfabrication is its low throughput due to point-by-point processing. In order to surpass this limit, a multiphoton microfabrication system based on spatiotemporal focusing and patterned excitation has been developed to quickly provide three-dimensional (3D) freeform polymer microstructures. 3D freeform polymer microstructures using Rose Bengal as the photoinitiator are created by sequentially stacking two-dimensional fabricating patterns. The size of each fabrication area can be larger than 300 × 170 μm2 (full width at half maximum). Compared to conventional scanning multiphoton excitation and fixed mask pattern generation, this approach offers freeform microstructures and a greater than three-order increase in fabrication speed. Furthermore, the system is capable of optically sectioning the fabricated microstructures for providing 3D inspection.
In this study, three-dimensional (3D) multi-component microstructures were precisely fabricated via multiphoton excited photochemistry using a femtosecond laser direct-writing system with proposed repetition positioning and vector scanning techniques. Extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, such as fibronectin (FN), are difficult to stack and form 3D structures larger than several-hundred microns in height due to the nature of their protein structure. Herein, to fabricate complex 3D microstructures with FN, a 3D scaffold was designed and formed from bovine serum albumin (BSA), after which human FN was inserted at specific locations on the BSA scaffold; in this manner, the fabricated ECM microstructure can guide cells in a 3D environment. A human breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, was used to investigate the behavior of cell migration and adhesion on the fabricated human FN and BSA protein structures. Experimental results indicate that many cells are not able to attach or climb on a 3D structure's inclined plane without FN support; hence, the influence of cell growth in a 3D context with FN should being taken into consideration. This 3D multi-protein fabrication technique holds potential for cell studies in designed complex 3D ECM scaffolds.
In this study, a developed temporal focusing-based femtosecond laser system provides high-throughput multiphoton-induced reduction and ablation of graphene oxide (GO) films. Integrated with a digital micromirror device to locally control the laser pulse numbers, GO-based micropatterns can be quickly achieved instantly. Furthermore, the degree of reduction and ablation can be precisely adjusted via controlling the laser wavelength, power, and pulse number. Compared to point-by-point scanning laser direct writing, this approach offers a high-throughput and multiple-function approach to accomplish a large area of micro-scale patterns on GO films. The high-throughput micropatterning of GO via the temporal focusing-based femtosecond laser system fulfills the requirement of mass production for GO-based applications in microelectronic devices.
Large sized Fe-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) and BMG/stainless steel (SS) composites with excellent mechanical properties were successfully fabricated using a thermal spray three-dimensional (3D) printing (TS3DP) technique.
ABSTRACT. A developed temporal focusing-based multiphoton excitation system with additional patterned excitation and local laser control can provide high-throughput fabrication of three-dimensional gray-level biomicrostructures via two-photon cross-linking with rose bengal (RB) as the photoactivator. Multiple bovine serum albumin (BSA) structures of different concentrations were simultaneously achieved by selecting different pulse numbers in the designated regions with an appropriate femtosecond laser power within a few seconds. Intensity of the RB two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) is correlated to the concentration of the fabricated cross-linked BSA microstructure. Hence, the fabricated BSA microstructure can be monitored online by utilizing the RB TPEF as contrast agent. It suggests that this approach with its unique capability of high-speed, gray-level, and online-inspection fabrication meets the requirements of the biomedical researches involved in extracellular matrix.
Abstract:In this study, a temporal focusing-based high-throughput multiphoton-induced ablation system with axially-resolved widefield multiphoton excitation has been successfully applied to rapidly disrupt biotissues. Experimental results demonstrate that this technique features high efficiency for achieving large-area laser ablation without causing serious photothermal damage in non-ablated regions. Furthermore, the rate of tissue processing can reach around 1.6 × 10 6 μm 3 /s in chicken tendon. Moreover, the temporal focusing-based multiphoton system can be efficiently utilized in optical imaging through iterating high-throughput multiphoton-induced ablation machining followed by widefield optical sectioning; hence, it has the potential to obtain molecular images for a whole bio-specimen.
References and links1. W. R. Zipfel, R. M. Williams, and W. W. Webb, "Nonlinear magic: multiphoton microscopy in the biosciences," Nat. Biotechnol. 21(11), 1369-1377 (2003). 2. I. Freund and M. Deutsch, "Second-harmonic microscopy of biological tissue," Opt. Lett. 11(2), 94-96 (1986) "Nonlinear structured-illumination enhanced temporal focusing multiphoton excitation microscopy with a digital micromirror device," Biomed.
To study nano-scale optical local-field phenomena, an apertureless near-field scanning optical microscope (aNSOM) is an important tool. Herein, an aNSOM has been developed and is utilized for observing the local surface plasmon resonance, wave propagation, and nano-antenna enhancement of nanoprisms. The developed aNSOM, based on a commercial atomic force microscope, is integrated with homodyne and heterodyne interferometric techniques to detect the near-field amplitude and phase of nanostructures. With the help of mechanical system designs, different illumination direction s and detections for different applications can be achieved.
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