Search results for "Lifetime"
showing 10 items of 212 documents
Blue autofluorescence in protein aggregates “lighted on” by UV induced oxidation
2019
Oxidation of amino acid side chains in protein structure can be induced by UV irradiation leading to critical changes in molecular structure possibly modifying protein stability and bioactivity. Here we show, by using a combination of multiple spectroscopic techniques and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging, that UV-light exposure induces irreversible oxidation processes in Ubiquitin structure. In particular, the growth of a new autofluorescence peak in the blue region is detected, that we attribute to tyrosine oxidation products. Blue autofluorescence intensity is found to progressively increase also during aggregation processes leading to the formation of aggregates of non-amyloid nature. Signi…
Development of multidimensional spectroscopic and microscopic techniques to facilitate the monitoring of native fluorescence of biomolecules.
2022
There is a need for the development of rapid and reliable characterization tools for biological media. The objective of this thesis is to develop a method based on the acquisition of excitation-emission matrices of fluorescence (EEMF) coupled with the use of fluorescence lifetime measurement in spectroscopy and microscopy (FLIM). These techniques have great potential due to their speed, low sample volume required for analysis, non-destructive sample analysis, and low cost. This project focused on two biological media of great interest to the food industry: wine and bacterial spores. On one hand, we have a beverage representing a large world market, and on the other hand, a food contaminant …
Simultaneous determination of carrier lifetime and electron density-of-states in P3HT:PCBM organic solar cells under illumination by impedance spectr…
2010
We report new insights into recombination kinetics in poly(3-hexylthiophene):methanofullerene (P3HT:PCBM) bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells, based on simultaneous determination of the density of states (DOS), internal recombination resistance, and carrier lifetime, at different steady states, by impedance spectroscopy. A set of measurements at open circuit under illumination was performed aiming to better understand the limitations to the photovoltage, which in this class of solar cells remains far below the theoretical limit which is the difference between the LUMO level of PCBM and the HOMO of P3HT (∼1.1 eV). Recombination kinetics follows a bimolecular law, being the recombination ti…
Temperature Dependent Quantum Efficiencies in Multicrystalline Silicon Solar Cells
2015
Abstract Several field studies comparing modules based on Elkem Solar Silicon ® (ESS ® ) cells with reference modules based on non-compensated virgin polysilicon show that the compensated ESS ® modules outperform the reference modules with comparable installed capacity under certain operating conditions. At high temperatures and high irradiation conditions the modules based on compensated silicon produce more energy than the reference modules. In order to increase the understanding of the observed effect cells are studied at different temperatures by the means of IV-characteristics as well as quantum efficiencies. Quantum efficiency measurements show that the main difference between ESS ® c…
A cooperative lifetime extension MAC protocol in duty cycle enabled wireless sensor networks
2011
To reduce energy consumption in wireless sensor networks, the concept of duty cycle is used in many MAC protocols. Although these protocols provide efficient energy-conservation solutions, they cannot resolve the energy hole problem in a multi-hop network, where a few nodes near the sink must relay the packets from the rest of the network, and consequently exhaust their batteries earlier. The previously proposed REACT forwarding protocol triggers the cooperation of several nodes to extend transmission range and hop over the highly burdened node, thereby allowing it to save its energy and extend the lifetime of the network. However, the previous work lacked a MAC protocol with a duty cycle. …
Energy Harvesting-Aware Backoff Algorithms for Distributed Device-to-Device Communication
2016
Due to limited energy capacity in mobile devices, energy harvesting is regarded as a promising technology for lifetime extension in device-to-device (D2D) communication. However, medium access control (MAC) protocols designed for D2D communication intrinsically do not consider the existence of harvested energy. In this paper we study four backoff (BO) algorithms, among which one algorithm is proposed to enhance the BO selection based on energy harvesting rate and residual energy of devices. Simulations are performed in order to assess how the proposed algorithm can extend the lifetime of a D2D communication network as well as to provide fair channel access opportunities among devices.
Probing ensemble polymorphism and single aggregate structural heterogeneity in insulin amyloid self-assembly.
2020
Ensembles of protein aggregates are characterized by a nano- and micro-scale heterogeneity of the species. This diversity translates into a variety of effects that protein aggregates may have in biological systems, both in connection to neurodegenerative diseases and immunogenic risk of protein drug products. Moreover, this naturally occurring variety offers unique opportunities in the field of protein-based biomaterials. In the above-mentioned fields, the isolation and structural analysis of the different amyloid types within the same ensemble remain a priority, still representing a significant experimental challenge. Here we address such complexity in the case of insulin for its relevance…
Phasor-FLIM analysis of Thioflavin T self-quenching in Concanavalin amyloid fibrils
2020
The formation of amyloid structures has traditionally been related to human neurodegenerative pathologies and, in recent years, the interest in these highly stable nanostructures was extended to biomaterial sciences. A common method to monitor amyloid growth is the analysis of Thioflavin T fluorescence. The use of this highly selective dye, diffused worldwide, allows mechanistic studies of supramolecular assemblies also giving back important insight on the structure of these aggregates. Here we present experimental evidence of self-quenching effect of Thioflavin T in presence of amyloid fibrils. A significant reduction of fluorescence lifetime of this dye which is not related to the propert…
Evaluation of near-Infrared fluorescence-conjugated peptides for visualization of human epidermal receptor 2-overexpressed gastric cancer.
2021
338 Background: HER2 is highly overexpressed in many kinds of cancers with a poor prognosis. Recently, near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence-based imaging is a growing field for both pre-clinical and clinical application. In this study, we aimed to synthesize Human Epidermal Receptor2 (HER2)-specific near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence probes and evaluate their applicability in cancer-specific image-guided surgeries using an animal model. Methods: An NIR dye emitting light of 800 nm (IRDye800CW, Li-COR, USA) was conjugated to trastuzumab and HER2-specific affibody using click mechanism. HER2 affinity was assessed by the surface plasmon resonance technique. HER2 positive/negative gastric cancer cel…
Laser-Induced Fluorescence Imaging of Paper Surfaces
1993
Laser-induced fluorescence imaging has been used to study the microstructure of paper surfaces. Pulses from a XeCl-excimer laser, 10 ns in duration at 308 nm, were used for excitation, and fluorescence was collected at 420 nm. The excitation spot diameter was approximately 20 µm, and the sampling interval 0.15 mm. Within an area of 5*5 mm2, 1023 sampling points were recorded to generate 3D fluorescence maps of paper surfaces. Papers containing fluorescence whitening agents (FWAs) gave the highest average fluorescence signals. Coated papers with no FW As show weaker signals than the base sheet. For some thirty different paper samples, an obvious correlation between the amount of coating and…