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- ItemQuantifying ligand-cell interactions and determination of the surface concentrations of ligands on hydrogel films: The measurement challenge(Melville, NY : AIP Publishing, 2015) Beer, Meike V.; Hahn, Kathrin; Diederichs, Sylvia; Fabry, Marlies; Singh, Smriti; Spencer, Steve J.; Salber, Jochen; Möller, Martin; Shard, Alexander G.; Groll, JürgenHydrogels are extensively studied for biomaterials application as they provide water swollen noninteracting matrices in which specific binding motifs and enzyme-sensitive degradation sites can be incorporated to tailor cell adhesion, proliferation, and migration. Hydrogels also serve as excellent basis for surface modification of biomaterials where interfacial characteristics are decisive for implant success or failure. However, the three-dimensional nature of hydrogels makes it hard to distinguish between the bioactive ligand density at the hydrogel-cell interface that is able to interact with cells and the ligands that are immobilized inside the hydrogel and not accessible for cells. Here, the authors compare x-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS), enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the correlation with quantitative cell adhesion using primary human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) to gain insight into ligand distribution. The authors show that although XPS provides the most useful quantitative analysis, it lacks the sensitivity to measure biologically meaningful concentrations of ligands. However, ToF-SIMS is able to access this range provided that there are clearly distinguishable secondary ions and a calibration method is found. Detection by ELISA appears to be sensitive to the ligand density on the surface that is necessary to mediate cell adhesion, but the upper limit of detection coincides closely with the minimal ligand spacing required to support cell proliferation. Radioactive measurements and ELISAs were performed on amine reactive well plates as true 2D surfaces to estimate the ligand density necessary to allow cell adhesion onto hydrogel films. Optimal ligand spacing for HDF adhesion and proliferation on ultrathin hydrogel films was determined as 6.5 ± 1.5 nm.
- ItemGlow discharge optical emission spectrometry for quantitative depth profiling of CIGS thin-films(Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2019) Kodalle, T.; Greiner, D.; Brackmann, V.; Prietzel, K.; Scheu, A.; Bertram, T.; Reyes-Figueroa, P.; Unold, T.; Abou-Ras, D.; Schlatmann, R.; Kaufmann, C.A.; Hoffmann, V.Determining elemental distributions dependent on the thickness of a sample is of utmost importance for process optimization in different fields e.g. from quality control in the steel industry to controlling doping profiles in semiconductor labs. Glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES) is a widely used tool for fast measurements of depth profiles. In order to be able to draw profound conclusions from GD-OES profiles, one has to optimize the measurement conditions for the given application as well as to ensure the suitability of the used emission lines. Furthermore a quantification algorithm has to be implemented to convert the measured properties (intensity of the emission lines versus sputtering time) to more useful parameters, e.g. the molar fractions versus sample depth (depth profiles). In this contribution a typical optimization procedure of the sputtering parameters is adapted to the case of polycrystalline Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)2 thin films, which are used as absorber layers in solar cell devices, for the first time. All emission lines used are shown to be suitable for the quantification of the depth profiles and a quantification routine based on the assumption of constant emission yield is used. The accuracy of this quantification method is demonstrated on the basis of several examples. The bandgap energy profile of the compound semiconductor, as determined by the elemental distributions, is compared to optical measurements. The depth profiles of Na-the main dopant in these compounds-are correlated with measurements of the open-circuit voltage of the corresponding devices, and the quantification of the sample depth is validated by comparison with profilometry and X-ray fluorescence measurements.
- ItemMeasuring conditions for second order X-ray Bragg-spectrometry(Bristol : Institute of Physics Publishing, 2014) Dellith, J.; Scheffel, A.; Wendt, M.The KL2,3 (α)1,2-lines of 19K, the L3M4,5 (α)1,2-lines of 48Cd, and the M5N6,7 (α)1,2-lines of 92U are lines of comparable energy in the region of approximately 3 keV. In none of these cases were we able to resolve the three doublets when recording the spectra in first order Bragg spectrometry using a PET crystal as the dispersing element. For the purpose of enhancing the resolving power of the spectrometer, the three α spectra were recorded in second order reflection, thereby transferring the lines into another spectral region dominated by X-ray quanta of half the energy. In order to achieve high net peak intensities as well as a high peak-to-background ratio and, consequently, a high level of detection capability, the discriminator settings should be optimized quite carefully. In this manner, we were able to resolve the three α doublets and estimate α2/α1 intensity ratios. Inexplicably, current monographs, e.g., by Goldstein et al, do not contain any indications about the rational use of high order spectrometry. Only a few rather old monographs contain some hints in this regard.