Femtosecond spectroscopic study of carminic acid–DNA interactions

Photo-excited carminic acid and carminic acid–DNA complexes in a buffer solution at pH 7 have been examined using a variety of spectroscopy techniques, that are in particular, the femtosecond resolved fluorescence upconversion and transient absorption spectroscopy. The observation of dual fluorescence emission, one peaks at 470 nm and the other at 570 nm, indicates to an excited-state (S1) intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). A detailed analysis of the transient absorption measurements of an aqueous carminic-acid solution at pH 7 yielded four lifetimes for the excited-state (S1): 8, 15, 33 and 46 ps. On the other hand, only two lifetimes, 34 and 47 ps, were observed by fluorescence upconversion spectroscopy because of the detection limitation to the long wavelength edge of the carminic-acid spectrum. The four S1 lifetimes were ascribed to the coexistence of respectively two tautomer (normal and tautomer) forms of carminic acid, in the non-dissociated state (CAH) and in the deprotonated state (CA−). The fluorescence upconversion measurements of carminic acid–DNA complexes exhibited a prolongation of the fluorescence lifetimes. This effect was accepted as evidence for the formation of intercalation complexes between the carminic acid and the DNA. The intercalative binding of the carminic acid to DNA was confirmed by the fluorescence titration experiments resulting to a binding constant of 2 × 105 M−1 that is typical for anthracycline–DNA complexes

Dianthracenylazatrioxa[8]circulene: synthesis, characterization and application in OLEDs

A soluble, green-blue fluorescent, pi-extended azatrioxa[8]circulene was synthesized by oxidative condensation of a 3,6-dihydroxycarbazole and 1,4-anthraquinone by using benzofuran scaffolding. This is the first circulene to incorporate anthracene within its carbon framework. Solvent-dependent fluorescence and bright green electroluminescence accompanied by excimer emission are the key optical properties of this material. The presence of sliding pi-stacked columns in the single crystal of dianthracenylazatrioxa[8]circulene is found to cause a very high electron-hopping rate, thus making this material a promising n-type organic semiconductor with an electron mobility predicted to be around 2.26 cm(2) V-1 s(-1). The best organic light-emitting diode (OLED) device based on the dianthracenylazatrioxa[8]circulene fluorescent emitter has a brightness of around 16 000 Cd m(-2) and an external quantum efficiency of 3.3 %. Quantum dot-based OLEDs were fabricated by using dianthracenylazatrioxa[8]circulene as a host matrix material.Peer reviewe

Antimony sulfide as a light absorber in highly ordered, coaxial nanocylindrical arrays: preparation and integration into a photovoltaic device

International audienc

Natural and synthetic nanovectors for cancer therapy.

Nanomaterials have been extensively studied in cancer therapy as vectors that may improve drug delivery. Such vectors not only bring numerous advantages such as stability, biocompatibility, and cellular uptake but have also been shown to overcome some cancer-related resistances. Nanocarrier can deliver the drug more precisely to the specific organ while improving its pharmacokinetics, thereby avoiding secondary adverse effects on the not target tissue. Between these nanovectors, diverse material types can be discerned, such as liposomes, dendrimers, carbon nanostructures, nanoparticles, nanowires, etc., each of which offers different opportunities for cancer therapy. In this review, a broad spectrum of nanovectors is analyzed for application in multimodal cancer therapy and diagnostics in terms of mode of action and pharmacokinetics. Advantages and inconveniences of promising nanovectors, including gold nanostructures, SPIONs, semiconducting quantum dots, various nanostructures, phospholipid-based liposomes, dendrimers, polymeric micelles, extracellular and exome vesicles are summarized. The article is concluded with a future outlook on this promising field

Metallic-Like Stoichiometric Copper Sulfide Nanocrystals: Phase and Shape Selective Synthesis, Near-Infrared Surface Plasmon Resonance Properties and Their Modeling

In the realm of semiconductor nanomaterials, a crystal lattice heavily doped with cation/anion vacancies or ionized atomic impurities is considered to be a general prerequisite to accommodating excess free carriers that can support localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Here, we demonstrate a surfactant-assisted nonaqueous route to anisotropic copper sulfide nanocrystals, selectively trapped in the covellite phase, which can exhibit intense, size-tunable LSPR at near-infrared wavelengths despite their stoichiometric, undoped structure. Experimental extinction spectra are satisfactorily reproduced by theoretical calculations performed by the discrete dipole approximation method within the framework of the Drude–Sommerfeld model. The LSPR response of the nanocrystals and its geometry dependence are interpreted as arising from the inherent metallic-like character of covellite, allowed by a significant density of lattice-constitutional valence-band free holes. As a consequence of the unique electronic properties of the nanocrystals and of their monodispersity, coherent excitation of symmetric radial breathing modes is observed for the first time in transient absorption experiments at LSPR wavelengths