Accurate Quantification and Imaging of Cellular Uptake Using Single-Particle Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering.

Understanding the uptake, distribution, and stability of gold nanoparticles (NPs) in cells is of fundamental importance in nanoparticle sensors and therapeutic development. Single nanoparticle imaging with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) measurements in cells is complicated by aggregation-dependent SERS signals, particle inhomogeneity, and limited single-particle brightness. In this work, we assess the single-particle SERS signals of various gold nanoparticle shapes and the role of silica encapsulation on SERS signals to develop a quantitative probe for single-particle level Raman imaging in living cells.

Metal enrichment in ice-melt water and uptake by chironomids as possible legacy of World War One in the Italian Alps.

Relics of World War One (WW1) were buried in alpine glaciers around 100 years ago. Today, these are emerging from the ice due to widespread glacier retreat, and are in direct contact with glacial meltwater-fed streams. To address a possible emergent contamination, we quantified major and trace elements (M-TEs) by mass spectrometry in water and larvae of Diamesa zernyi from three glacial streams fed by glaciers differently impacted by the Italian Austro-Hungarian war, in the Adamello-Presanella mountain range (Italian Alps): Lares and Presena, the two main battlefields, and Amola, 8 km from the front.

A method for measuring intra-tissue swelling pressure using a needle micro-osmometer.

The intervertebral disc's ability to resist load and facilitate motion arises largely from osmotic swelling pressures that develop within the tissue. Changes in the disc's osmotic environment, diurnally and with disease, have been suggested to regulate cellular activity, yet knowledge of in vivo osmotic environments is limited. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to demonstrate proof-of-concept for a method to measure intra-tissue swelling pressure and osmolality, modeling micro-osmometer fluid flux using Darcy's law.

Dissipation of transmembrane potassium gradient is the main cause of cerebral ischemia-induced depolarization in astrocytes and neurons.

Membrane potential (V) depolarization occurs immediately following cerebral ischemia and is devastating for the astrocyte homeostasis and neuronal signaling. Previously, an excessive release of extracellular K and glutamate has been shown to underlie an ischemia-induced V depolarization. Ischemic insults should impair membrane ion channels and disrupt the physiological ion gradients.

Trace Element Analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Sector Field Mass Spectrometry.

Transition metal ions play important structural, regulatory, and catalytic roles in all biological systems by serving as cofactors for proteins. Due to their relatively low levels in the cell compared to abundant metal ions such as potassium and magnesium, transition metals are often considered micronutrients and referred to as trace elements. Manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) are the most prevalent transition metals in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi.