Luminescent conjugated polyelectrolytes (LCPs) can upon interaction with biological macromolecules change their luminescent properties, and thereby serve as conformation- and interaction-sensitive biomolecular probes. However, to exploit this in a more quantitative manner, there is a need to better understand the photophysical processes involved. We report studies of the conjugated pentameric o...

We have previously reported of labeled reversible and irreversible EGFR inhibitors, such as 4-(3,4-dichloro-6-fluoroanilino)-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline (ML01) and 6-acrylamido-4-(3,4-dichloro-6-fluoroanilino)quinazoline (ML03), to be suboptimal as imaging agents. On the basis of these studies, a new generation of novel, more chemically stable irreversible inhibitors was labeled with carbon-11 as ...

Inflammatory cells acquire a polarized phenotype to migrate towards sites of infection or injury. A conserved polarity complex comprising PAR-3, PAR-6 and atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) relays extracellular polarizing cues to control cytoskeletal and signaling networks affecting morphological and functional polarization. However, there is no evidence that myeloid cells use PAR signaling to mi...

Microtubules control cell motility by positively regulating polarization in many cell types. However, how microtubules regulate leukocyte migration is not well understood, particularly in living organisms. Here we exploited the zebrafish system to study the role of microtubules in neutrophil migration in vivo. The localization of microtubules was visualized in motile neutrophils using various b...

Carbon quantum dots (CDs) were widely investigated because of their tunable fluorescence properties and low toxicity. However, so far there have been no reports on in vivo functional studies of hair and skin derived CDs. Here, hair derived CDs (HCDs) and skin derived CDs (SCDs) were produced by using human hair and pig skin as precursors. The quantum yields (QYs) of HCDs and SCDs were quite hig...

For preoperative and intraoperative detection of tumor distribution, numerous multimodal contrast agents, such as magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with several examination indicators, are currently in development. However, complex materials, configuration, and cost are required for multimodal contrast agents, accompanied by a high possibility of toxicity and low popularity in clinics. Nevertheless...

Fluorescence microscopy-based affinity assay could enable highly sensitive and selective detection of airborne asbestos, an inorganic environmental pollutant that can cause mesothelioma and lung cancer. We have selected an Escherichia coli histone-like nucleoid structuring protein, H-NS, as a promising candidate for an amphibole asbestos bioprobe. H-NS has high affinity to amphibole asbestos, b...

Sr2YF7, as an important matrix for trivalent lanthanide (Ln(3+)) ions to fabricate upconversion (UC) or downshifting (DS) phosphors, has been rarely reported. Herein, monodisperse and size-controllable tetragonal-phase Ln(3+)-doped Sr2YF7 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via a facile thermal decomposition method. Upon excitation at 980 nm, UC luminescence properties of Sr2YF7:Ln(3+)/Yb(3+) ...

Quantum dots (QDs) are inorganic fluorescent nanocrystals with excellent properties such as tunable emission spectra and photo-bleaching resistance compared with organic dyes, which make them appropriate for applications in molecular beacons. In this work, quantum dot-based molecular beacons (QD-based MBs) were fabricated to specifically detect β-lactamase genes located in pUC18 which were resp...

Precise knowledge and control over the orientation of individual upconverting particles is extremely important for full exploiting their capabilities as multifunctional bioprobes for interdisciplinary applications. In this work, we report on how time-resolved, single particle polarized spectroscopy can be used to determine the orientation dynamics of a single upconverting particle when entering...