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Abstract: The mutual interaction of riboflavin (RF) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy under simulative physiological conditions. The fluorescence quenching mechanism of BSA by RF should belong to dynamic quenching according to the Stern–Volmer equation, but also the effect of ground complex formation and energy transfer could not be completely precluded in BSA–RF system. The binding constants and the corresponding thermodynamic parameters at different temperatures were calculated, which indicated the presence of hydrophobic forces between RF and BSA. The averaged binding distance between riboflavin and BSA was also obtained based on the theory of FÖrster’s non-radiation energy transfer. Moreover, the effect of riboflavin on the conformation of BSA was analyzed using synchronous fluorescence. The effects of some common ions Cu2+, Zn2+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ on the binding constant between riboflavin and BSA were also examined. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Polyethyleneimine (PEI) functionalized multicolor luminescent LaF3 nanoparticles were synthesized via a novel microwave-assisted method, which can achieve fast and uniform heating under eco-friendly and energy efficient conditions. The as-prepared nanoparticles possess a pure hexagonal structure with an average size of about 12nm. When doped with different ions (Tb3+ and Eu3+), the morphology and structure of the nanoparticles were not changed, whereas the optical properties varied with doped ions and their molar ratio, and as a result emission of four different colors (green, yellow, orange and red) were achieved by simply switching the types of doping ions (Eu3+ versus Tb3 +) and the molar ratio of the two doping ions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, the bovine serum albumin (BSA) was selected as a target molecule, the sonodynamic damage to protein in the presence of promethazine hydrochloride (PMT) and its mechanism were studied by the means of absorption, fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectra. The results of hyperchromic effect of absorption spectra and quenching of intrinsic fluorescence spectra indicate that the ultrasound-induced BSA molecules damage is enhanced by PMT. The damage degree of BSA molecules increases with the increase of ultrasonic irradiation time and PMT concentration. The results of synchronous fluorescence, three-dimensional fluorescence and CD spectra confirmed that the synergistic effects of ultrasound and PMT induced the damage of BSA molecules. The results of oxidation–extraction photometry with several reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers indicate that the damage of BSA molecules could be mainly due to the generation of ROS and both 1O2 and e important mediators of the ultrasound-induced BSA molecules damage in the presence of PMT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The bovine serum albumin (BSA) was selected as a target molecule, the sonodynamic damage to protein in the presence of dioxopromethazine hydrochloride (DPZ) and its mechanism were studied by means of absorption and fluorescence spectra. The results of hyperchromic effect of absorption spectra and quenching of intrinsic fluorescence spectra indicated that the synergistic effects of ultrasound and DPZ could induce the damage of BSA molecules. The damage degree of BSA molecules increased with the increase of ultrasonic irradiation time and DPZ concentration. The results of synchronous fluorescence and three-dimensional fluorescence spectra further confirmed that the synergistic effects of ultrasound and DPZ induced the damage of BSA molecules. The results of oxidation-extraction photometry with several reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers indicated that the damage of BSA molecules could be mainly due to the generation of ROS, in which both O and ·OH were the important mediators of the ultrasound-inducing BSA molecules damage in the presence of DPZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work, the antibacterial effect of fluoroquinolones (FQs) upon Escherichia coli (E.coli) was measured with and without application of 40kHz ultrasound (US) stimulation. The research results demonstrated that simultaneous application of 40kHz US apparently enhanced the antibacterial effectiveness of FQs. That is, the synergistic effect was observed and the bacterial viability was reduced when FQs and US were combined. In addition, various influencing factors, such as FQs drug concentration, US irradiation time and solution temperature, on the inhibition of E.coli were also investigated. The antibacterial activity was enhanced apparently with increasing of FQs drug concentration, US irradiation time and solution temperature. Furthermore, we discussed preliminarily the mechanism of US enhanced antibacterial activity. Results show that US can activate FQs to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) indeed, which are mainly determined as superoxide radical anion (·O2 −) and hydroxyl radical (·OH). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The eight-coordinate (enH2)[YIII(pdta)(H2O)]2·10H2O (en=ethylenediamine and H4pdta=1,3-propylenediamine-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid) was synthesized, meanwhile its molecular and crystal structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction technology. The interaction between [YIII(pdta)(H2O)]2 2− and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated by UV–vis and fluorescence spectra. The results indicate that [YIII(pdta)(H2O)]2 2− quenched effectively the intrinsic fluorescence of BSA via a static quenching process with the binding constant (K a) of the order of 104. Meanwhile, the binding and damaging sites to BSA molecules were also estimated by synchronous fluorescence. Results indicate that the hydrophobic environments around Trp and Tyr residues were all slightly changed. The thermodynamic parameters (ΔG =−25.20kJmol−1, ΔH= −26.57kJmol−1 and ΔS= −4.58Jmol−1 K−1) showed that the reaction was spontaneous and exothermic. What is more, both ΔH and ΔS were negative values indicated that hydrogen bond and Van der Waals forces were the predominant intermolecular forces between [YIII(pdta)(H2O)]2 2− and BSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a microfluidic chip for highly efficient separation of red blood cells (RBCs) from whole blood on the basis of their native magnetic properties. The glass chip was fabricated by photolithography and thermal bonding. It consisted of one inlet and three outlets, and a nickel wire of 69-μm diameter was positioned in the center of a separation channel with 149-μm top width and 73-μm depth by two parallel ridges (about 10 μm high). The two ridges were formed simultaneously during the wet etching of the channels. The nickel wire for generating the magnetic gradient inside the separation channel was introduced from the side of the chip through a guide channel. The external magnetic field was applied by a permanent magnet of 0.3 T placed by the side of the chip and parallel to the main separation channel. The RBCs were separated continuously from the 1:40 (v/v) diluted blood sample at a flow rate in the range 0.12–0.92 μL/min (9–74 mm/min) with the chip, and up to 93.7% of the RBCs were collected in the middle outlet under a flow rate of 0.23 μL/min. The cell sedimentation was alleviated by adjusting the specific density of the supporting media with bovine serum albumin. Quantum dot labeling was introduced for visual fluorescence tracking of the separation process. The uneven distribution phenomenon of the blood cells around the nickel wire was reported and discussed. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The synthesis, characterization, and fluorescent spectra of rare-earth doped NaYF4 upconversion nanocrystals are introduced in this paper. The nanocrystals were synthesized in the water-ethanol-oleic acid system via a two-phase solvothermal approach, by using rare-earth stearate as the precursor. The as-prepared nanocrystals were of hexagonal phase, strong UC fluorescent intensity, with an average size of about 25 nm, which have been characterized by TEM, SAED, powder XRD, and luminescence spectroscopy. The possible mechanism of this synthesis that the nucleation and growth of nanocrystals occurred at the solid–liquid interface was also discussed. The nanocrystals are hydrophilic, and expected to fulfil the demand for biological applications via further modification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Up-conversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), which can convert a longer wavelength radiation to a shorter wavelength radiation, have great potential use as bio-labels in biological detection. However, these NPs usually cannot be used directly unless their surface is further modified. Herein, we developed a novel and straightforward method for the synthesis of monodisperse NaYF4:Yb,Er/Polymer UCNPs. The resultant UCNPs exhibited a pure hexagonal phase, strong UC fluorescent intensity, and a uniform size of about 40nm, which were characterized by XRD, luminescence spectroscopy and TEM, respectively. FT-IR spectra revealed that these NPs were coated with a layer of hydrophilic polymers (including PVP, PEG, PAA and PEI), thus the NPs could be dispersed in water easily. More importantly, the PAA and PEI coated NPs were functionalized by –COOH and –NH2 groups, respectively, which were expected to be used for further bio-conjugation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]