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Now showing 1 - 10 of 48
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    Automated and rapid identification of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli against the lead drugs of acylureidopenicillins, cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones using specific Raman marker bands
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH-Verl., 2020) Götz, Theresa; Dahms, Marcel; Kirchhoff, Johanna; Beleites, Claudia; Glaser, Uwe; Bohnert, Jürgen A.; Pletz, Mathias W.; Popp, Jürgen; Schlattmann, Peter; Neugebauer, Ute
    A Raman-based, strain-independent, semi-automated method is presented that allows the rapid (<3 hours) determination of antibiotic susceptibility of bacterial pathogens isolated from clinical samples. Applying a priori knowledge about the mode of action of the respective antibiotic, we identified characteristic Raman marker bands in the spectrum and calculated batch-wise weighted sum scores from standardized Raman intensity differences between spectra of antibiotic exposed and nonexposed samples of the same strains. The lead substances for three relevant antibiotic classes (fluoroquinolone ciprofloxacin, third-generation cephalosporin cefotaxime, ureidopenicillin piperacillin) against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MRGN) revealed a high sensitivity and specificity for the susceptibility testing of two Escherichia coli laboratory strains and 12 clinical isolates. The method benefits from the parallel incubation of control and treated samples, which reduces the variance due to alterations in cultivation conditions and the standardization of differences between batches leading to long-term comparability of Raman measurements. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Biophotonics published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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    Shape-Memory Metallopolymers Based on Two Orthogonal Metal–Ligand Interactions
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Meurer, Josefine; Hniopek, Julian; Bätz, Thomas; Zechel, Stefan; Enke, Marcel; Vitz, Jürgen; Schmitt, Michael; Popp, Jürgen; Hager, Martin D.; Schubert, Ulrich S.
    A new shape-memory polymer is presented, in which both the stable phase as well as the switching unit consist of two different metal complexes. Suitable metal ions, which simultaneously form labile complexes with histidine and stable ones with terpyridine ligands, are identified via isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) measurements. Different copolymers are synthesized, which contain butyl methacrylate as the main monomer and the metal-binding ligands in the side chains. Zn(TFMS)2 and NiCl2 are utilized for the dual crosslinking, resulting in the formation of metallopolymer networks. The switching temperature can simply be tuned by changing the composition as well as by the choice of the metal ion. Strain fixity rates (about 99%) and very high strain recovery rates (up to 95%) are achieved and the mechanism is revealed using different techniques such as Raman spectroscopy. © 2021 The Authors. Advanced Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH
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    Response of the wood-decay fungus Schizophyllum commune to co-occurring microorganisms
    (San Francisco, California, US : PLOS, 2020) Krause, Katrin; Jung, Elke-Martina; Lindner, Julia; Hardiman, Imam; Petschner, Jessica; Madhavan, Soumya; Matthäus, Christian; Kai, Marco; Menezes, Riya Christina; Popp, Jürgen; Svatoš, Aleš; Kothe, Erika
    Microorganisms are constantly interacting in a given environment by a constant exchange of signaling molecules. In timber, wood-decay fungi will come into contact with other fungi and bacteria. In naturally bleached wood, dark, pigmented lines arising from confrontation of two fungi often hint at such interactions. The metabolites (and pigment) exchange was investigated using the lignicolous basidiomycete Schizophyllum commune, and co-occurring fungi and bacteria inoculated directly on sterilized wood, or on media. In interactions with competitive wood degrading fungi, yeasts or bacteria, different competition strategies and communication types were observed, and stress reactions, as well as competitor-induced enzymes or pigments were analyzed. Melanin, indole, flavonoids and carotenoids were shown to be induced in S. commune interactions. The induced genes included multi-copper oxidases lcc1, lcc2, mco1, mco2, mco3 and mco4, possibly involved in both pigment production and lignin degradation typical for wood bleaching by wood-decay fungi.
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    Biochemical Characterization of Mouse Retina of an Alzheimer's Disease Model by Raman Spectroscopy
    (Washington, DC : ACS Publications, 2020) Stiebing, Clara; Jahn, Izabella J.; Schmitt, Michael; Keijzer, Nanda; Kleemann, Robert; Kiliaan, Amanda J.; Drexler, Wolfgang; Leitgeb, Rainer A.; Popp, Jürgen
    The presence of biomarkers characteristic for Alzheimer's disease in the retina is a controversial topic. Raman spectroscopy offers information on the biochemical composition of tissues. Thus, it could give valuable insight into the diagnostic value of retinal analysis. Within the present study, retinas of a double transgenic mouse model, that expresses a chimeric mouse/human amyloid precursor protein and a mutant form of human presenilin 1, and corresponding control group were subjected to ex vivo Raman imaging. The Raman data recorded on cross sections of whole eyes highlight the layered structure of the retina in a label-free manner. Based on the Raman information obtained from en face mounted retina samples, a discrimination between healthy and Alzheimer's disease retinal tissue can be done with an accuracy of 85.9%. For this a partial least squares-linear discriminant analysis was applied. Therefore, although no macromolecular changes in form of, i.e., amyloid beta plaques, can be noticed based on Raman spectroscopy, subtle biochemical changes happening in the retina could lead to Alzheimer's disease identification. ©
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    Laser spectroscopic technique for direct identification of a single virus I: FASTER CARS
    (Washington, DC : National Acad. of Sciences, 2020) Deckert, Volker; Deckert-Gaudig, Tanja; Cialla-May, Dana; Popp, Jürgen; Zell, Roland; Deinhard-Emmer, Stefanie; Sokolov, Alexei V.; Yi, Zhenhuan; Scully, Marlan O.
    From the famous 1918 H1N1 influenza to the present COVID-19 pandemic, the need for improved viral detection techniques is all too apparent. The aim of the present paper is to show that identification of individual virus particles in clinical sample materials quickly and reliably is near at hand. First of all, our team has developed techniques for identification of virions based on a modular atomic force microscopy (AFM). Furthermore, femtosecond adaptive spectroscopic techniques with enhanced resolution via coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (FASTER CARS) using tip-enhanced techniques markedly improves the sensitivity [M. O. Scully, et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99, 10994-11001 (2002)].
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    FLIm and raman spectroscopy for investigating biochemical changes of bovine pericardium upon genipin cross-linking
    (Basel : MDPI, 2020) Shaik, Tanveer Ahmed; Alfonso-Garcia, Alba; Richter, Martin; Korinth, Florian; Krafft, Christoph; Marcu, Laura; Popp, Jürgen
    Biomaterials used in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications benefit from longitudinal monitoring in a non-destructive manner. Label-free imaging based on fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIm) and Raman spectroscopy were used to monitor the degree of genipin (GE) cross-linking of antigen-removed bovine pericardium (ARBP) at three incubation time points (0.5, 1.0, and 2.5 h). Fluorescence lifetime decreased and the emission spectrum redshifted compared to that of uncross-linked ARBP. The Raman signature of GE-ARBP was resonance-enhanced due to the GE cross-linker that generated new Raman bands at 1165, 1326, 1350, 1380, 1402, 1470, 1506, 1535, 1574, 1630, 1728, and 1741 cm-1. These were validated through density functional theory calculations as cross-linker-specific bands. A multivariate multiple regression model was developed to enhance the biochemical specificity of FLIm parameters fluorescence intensity ratio (R2 = 0.92) and lifetime (R2 = 0.94)) with Raman spectral results. FLIm and Raman spectroscopy detected biochemical changes occurring in the collagenous tissue during the cross-linking process that were characterized by the formation of a blue pigment which affected the tissue fluorescence and scattering properties. In conclusion, FLIm parameters and Raman spectroscopy were used to monitor the degree of cross-linking non-destructively. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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    Noise Sources and Requirements for Confocal Raman Spectrometers in Biosensor Applications
    (Basel : MDPI, 2021) Jahn, Izabella J.; Grjasnow, Alexej; John, Henry; Weber, Karina; Popp, Jürgen; Hauswald, Walter
    Raman spectroscopy probes the biochemical composition of samples in a non-destructive, non-invasive and label-free fashion yielding specific information on a molecular level. Nevertheless, the Raman effect is very weak. The detection of all inelastically scattered photons with highest efficiency is therefore crucial as well as the identification of all noise sources present in the system. Here we provide a study for performance comparison and assessment of different spectrometers for confocal Raman spectroscopy in biosensor applications. A low-cost, home-built Raman spectrometer with a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera, a middle price-class mini charge-coupled device (CCD) Raman spectrometer and a laboratory grade confocal Raman system with a deeply cooled CCD detector are compared. It is often overlooked that the sample itself is the most important “optical” component in a Raman spectrometer and its properties contribute most significantly to the signal-to-noise ratio. For this purpose, different representative samples: a crystalline silicon wafer, a polypropylene sample and E. coli bacteria were measured under similar conditions using the three confocal Raman spectrometers. We show that biosensor applications do not in every case profit from the most expensive equipment. Finally, a small Raman database of three different bacteria species is set up with the middle price-class mini CCD Raman spectrometer in order to demonstrate the potential of a compact setup for pathogen discrimination.
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    FLIM data analysis based on Laguerre polynomial decomposition and machine-learning
    (Bellingham, Wash. : SPIE, 2021) Guo, Shuxia; Silge, Anja; Bae, Hyeonsoo; Tolstik, Tatiana; Meyer, Tobias; Matziolis, Georg; Schmitt, Michael; Popp, Jürgen; Bocklitz, Thomas
    Significance: The potential of fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is recently being recognized, especially in biological studies. However, FLIM does not directly measure the lifetimes, rather it records the fluorescence decay traces. The lifetimes and/or abundances have to be estimated from these traces during the phase of data processing. To precisely estimate these parameters is challenging and requires a well-designed computer program. Conventionally employed methods, which are based on curve fitting, are computationally expensive and limited in performance especially for highly noisy FLIM data. The graphical analysis, while free of fit, requires calibration samples for a quantitative analysis. Aim: We propose to extract the lifetimes and abundances directly from the decay traces through machine learning (ML). Approach: The ML-based approach was verified with simulated testing data in which the lifetimes and abundances were known exactly. Thereafter, we compared its performance with the commercial software SPCImage based on datasets measured from biological samples on a time-correlated single photon counting system. We reconstructed the decay traces using the lifetime and abundance values estimated by ML and SPCImage methods and utilized the root-mean-squared-error (RMSE) as marker. Results: The RMSE, which represents the difference between the reconstructed and measured decay traces, was observed to be lower for ML than for SPCImage. In addition, we could demonstrate with a three-component analysis the high potential and flexibility of the ML method to deal with more than two lifetime components.
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    Revealing the Chemical Composition of Birch Pollen Grains by Raman Spectroscopic Imaging
    (Basel : Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI), 2022) Stiebing, Clara; Post, Nele; Schindler, Claudia; Göhrig, Bianca; Lux, Harald; Popp, Jürgen; Heutelbeck, Astrid; Schie, Iwan W.
    The investigation of the biochemical composition of pollen grains is of the utmost interest for several environmental aspects, such as their allergenic potential and their changes in growth conditions due to climatic factors. In order to fully understand the composition of pollen grains, not only is an in-depth analysis of their molecular components necessary but also spatial information of, e.g., the thickness of the outer shell, should be recorded. However, there is a lack of studies using molecular imaging methods for a spatially resolved biochemical composition on a single-grain level. In this study, Raman spectroscopy was implemented as an analytical tool to investigate birch pollen by imaging single pollen grains and analyzing their spectral profiles. The imaging modality allowed us to reveal the layered structure of pollen grains based on the biochemical information of the recorded Raman spectra. Seven different birch pollen species collected at two different locations in Germany were investigated and compared. Using chemometric algorithms such as hierarchical cluster analysis and multiple-curve resolution, several components of the grain wall, such as sporopollenin, as well as the inner core presenting high starch concentrations, were identified and quantified. Differences in the concentrations of, e.g., sporopollenin, lipids and proteins in the pollen species at the two different collection sites were found, and are discussed in connection with germination and other growth processes.
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    Tuning the corona-core ratio of polyplex micelles for selective oligonucleotide delivery to hepatocytes or hepatic immune cells
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2023) Foo, WanLing; Cseresnyés, Zoltán; Rössel, Carsten; Teng, Yingfeng; Ramoji, Anuradha; Chi, Mingzhe; Hauswald, Walter; Huschke, Sophie; Hoeppener, Stephanie; Popp, Jürgen; Schacher, Felix H.; Sierka, Marek; Figge, Marc Thilo; Press, Adrian T.; Bauer, Michael
    Targeted delivery of oligonucleotides or small molecular drugs to hepatocytes, the liver's parenchymal cells, is challenging without targeting moiety due to the highly efficient mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) of the liver. The MPS comprises Kupffer cells and specialized sinusoidal endothelial cells, efficiently clearing nanocarriers regardless of their size and surface properties. Physiologically, this non-parenchymal shield protects hepatocytes; however, these local barriers must be overcome for drug delivery. Nanocarrier structural properties strongly influence tissue penetration, in vivo pharmacokinetics, and biodistribution profile. Here we demonstrate the in vivo biodistribution of polyplex micelles formed by polyion complexation of short interfering (si)RNA with modified poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(allyl glycidyl ether) (PEG-b-PAGE) diblock copolymer that carries amino moieties in the side chain. The ratio between PEG corona and siRNA complexed PAGE core of polyplex micelles was chemically varied by altering the degree of polymerization of PAGE. Applying Raman-spectroscopy and dynamic in silico modeling on the polyplex micelles, we determined the corona-core ratio (CCR) and visualized the possible micellar structure with varying CCR. The results for this model system reveal that polyplex micelles with higher CCR, i.e., better PEG coverage, exclusively accumulate and thus allow passive cell-type-specific targeting towards hepatocytes, overcoming the macrophage-rich reticuloendothelial barrier of the liver.