Hydrogel Microdomain Encapsulation of Stable Functionalized Silver Nanoparticles for SERS pH and Urea Sensing.

Conceptual and commercial examples of implantable sensors have been limited to a relatively small number of target analytes, with a strong focus on glucose monitoring. Recently, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) pH sensors were demonstrated to track acid-producing enzymatic reactions targeting specific analytes. We show here that SERS pH tracking in the basic regime is also possible, and can be used to monitor urea concentration.

Multidomain-Based Responsive Materials with Dual-Mode Optical Readouts.

Responsive materials designed to generate signals for both surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and phosphorescence lifetime-"dual-mode"-measurements are described. To demonstrate this concept, we incorporated pH-sensitive and oxygen-sensitive microdomains into a single hydrogel that could be interrogated via SERS and phosphorescence lifetime, respectively. Microdomains consisted two populations of discrete microcapsules containing either (1) gold nanoparticles capped with pH-sensitive Raman molecules or (2) oxygen-sensitive benzoporphyrin phosphors.

Composite Hydrogels Containing Bioactive Microreactors for Optical Enzymatic Lactate Sensing.

Continuously monitoring specific biomarkers offer a promising method to interrogate disease status and progression. In this work we have demonstrated a composite hydrogel-based sensing platform that may be used for optical detection of lactate. The sensor design consists of microsized enzymatic sensors that are embedded in an outer hydrogel matrix.

Layer-by-layer modification of high surface curvature nanoparticles with weak polyelectrolytes using a multiphase solvent precipitation process.

The layer-by-layer modification of ≈5 nm mercaptocarboxylic acid stabilized gold nanoparticles was studied in an effort to illustrate effective means to overcome practical issues in handling and performing surface modification of such extremely small materials. To accomplish this, each layer deposition cycle was separated into a multi-step process wherein solution pH was controlled in two distinct phases of polyelectrolyte adsorption and centrifugation. Additionally, a solvent precipitation step was introduced to make processing more amenable by concentrating the sample and exchanging solution pH before ultracentrifugation.

Identification of multiple dityrosine bonds in materials composed of the protein Ultrabithorax.

The recombinant protein Ultrabithorax (Ubx), a Hox transcription factor, self-assembles into biocompatible materials that are remarkably extensible and strong. Here, we demonstrate that the strength of Ubx materials is due to intermolecular dityrosine bonds. Ubx materials auto-fluoresce blue, a characteristic of dityrosine, and bind dityrosine-specific antibodies.

Extraction of quantitative parameters for describing the microstructure of solid oxide fuel cells.

Digital quantification of a two-dimensional structure was applied to a GDC(Gd₂O₃-doped CeO₂)/LSM(La₀.₈₅Sr₀.₁₅MnO₃) composite cathode employed for solid oxide fuel cells.

Metal-induced crystallization of amorphous Si thin films assisted by atomic layer deposition of nickel oxide layers.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of nickel oxide was applied to the nickel-induced crystallization of amorphous Si thin films. The nickel-induced crystallization was monitored as a function of annealing temperature and time using Raman spectroscopy. Since Raman spectroscopy allows for the numerical quantification of structural components, the incubation time and the crystallization rates were estimated as functions of the annealing temperature.