Narrowband photoluminescence of Tin-Vacancy colour centres in Sn-doped chemical vapour deposition diamond microcrystals.

Tin-Vacancy (Sn-V) colour centres in diamond have a spin coherence time in the millisecond range at temperatures of 2 K, so they are promising to be used in diamond-based quantum optical devices. However, the incorporation of large Sn atoms into a dense diamond lattice is a non-trivial problem. The objective of our work is to use microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapour deposition (CVD) to grow Sn-doped diamond with submicron SnO particles as a solid-state source of impurity.

Passive transport of Ca ions through lipid bilayers imaged by widefield second harmonic microscopy.

In biology, release of Ca ions in the cytosol is essential to trigger or control many cell functions. Calcium signaling acutely depends on lipid membrane permeability to Ca. For proper understanding of membrane permeability to Ca, both membrane hydration and the structure of the hydrophobic core must be taken into account.

Ion-Induced Transient Potential Fluctuations Facilitate Pore Formation and Cation Transport through Lipid Membranes.

Unassisted ion transport through lipid membranes plays a crucial role in many cell functions without which life would not be possible, yet the precise mechanism behind the process remains unknown due to its molecular complexity. Here, we demonstrate a direct link between membrane potential fluctuations and divalent ion transport. High-throughput wide-field non-resonant second harmonic (SH) microscopy of membrane water shows that membrane potential fluctuations are universally found in lipid bilayer systems.

Spatiotemporal Imaging of Water in Operating Voltage-Gated Ion Channels Reveals the Slow Motion of Interfacial Ions.

Ion channels are responsible for numerous physiological functions ranging from transport to chemical and electrical signaling. Although static ion channel structure has been studied following a structural biology approach, spatiotemporal investigation of the dynamic molecular mechanisms of operational ion channels has not been achieved experimentally. In particular, the role of water remains elusive.

Interaction of Oil and Lipids in Freestanding Lipid Bilayer Membranes Studied with Label-Free High-Throughput Wide-Field Second-Harmonic Microscopy.

The interaction of oils and lipids is relevant for membrane biochemistry since the cell uses bilayer membranes, lipid droplets, and oily substances in its metabolic cycle. In addition, a variety of model lipid membrane systems, such as freestanding horizontal membranes and droplet interface bilayers, are made using oil to facilitate membrane monolayer apposition. We characterize the behavior of excess oil inside horizontal freestanding lipid bilayers using different oils, focusing on hexadecane and squalene.