1
|
Metternich JT, Hill B, Wartmann JAC, Ma C, Kruskop RM, Neutsch K, Herbertz S, Kruss S. Signal Amplification and Near-Infrared Translation of Enzymatic Reactions by Nanosensors. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202316965. [PMID: 38100133 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202316965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Enzymatic reactions are used to detect analytes in a range of biochemical methods. To measure the presence of an analyte, the enzyme is conjugated to a recognition unit and converts a substrate into a (colored) product that is detectable by visible (VIS) light. Thus, the lowest enzymatic turnover that can be detected sets a limit on sensitivity. Here, we report that substrates and products of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and β-galactosidase change the near-infrared (NIR) fluorescence of (bio)polymer modified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). They translate a VIS signal into a beneficial NIR signal. Moreover, the affinity of the nanosensors leads to a higher effective local concentration of the reactants. This causes a non-linear sensor-based signal amplification and translation (SENSAT). We find signal enhancement up to ≈120x for the HRP substrate p-phenylenediamine (PPD), which means that reactions below the limit of detection in the VIS can be followed in the NIR (≈1000 nm). The approach is also applicable to other substrates such as 3,3'-5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). An adsorption-based theoretical model fits the observed signals and corroborates the sensor-based enhancement mechanism. This approach can be used to amplify signals, translate them into the NIR and increase sensitivity of biochemical assays.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justus T Metternich
- Department of Chemistry, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
- Biomedical Nanosensors, Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems, Finkenstrasse 61, 47057, Duisburg, Germany
| | - Björn Hill
- Department of Chemistry, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
| | - Janus A C Wartmann
- Department of Chemistry, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
| | - Chen Ma
- Department of Chemistry, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
| | - Rebecca M Kruskop
- Biomedical Nanosensors, Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems, Finkenstrasse 61, 47057, Duisburg, Germany
| | - Krisztian Neutsch
- Department of Chemistry, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
| | - Svenja Herbertz
- Biomedical Nanosensors, Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems, Finkenstrasse 61, 47057, Duisburg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Kruss
- Department of Chemistry, Ruhr-University Bochum, Universitätsstrasse 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany
- Biomedical Nanosensors, Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems, Finkenstrasse 61, 47057, Duisburg, Germany
- Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), Carl-Benz-Strasse 199, 47057, Duisburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Fersch D, Malý P, Rühe J, Lisinetskii V, Hensen M, Würthner F, Brixner T. Single-Molecule Ultrafast Fluorescence-Detected Pump-Probe Microscopy. J Phys Chem Lett 2023:4923-4932. [PMID: 37207316 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c00839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
We introduce fluorescence-detected pump-probe microscopy by combining a wavelength-tunable ultrafast laser with a confocal scanning fluorescence microscope, enabling access to the femtosecond time scale on the micrometer spatial scale. In addition, we obtain spectral information from Fourier transformation over excitation pulse-pair time delays. We demonstrate this new approach on a model system of a terrylene bisimide (TBI) dye embedded in a PMMA matrix and acquire the linear excitation spectrum as well as time-dependent pump-probe spectra simultaneously. We then push the technique toward single TBI molecules and analyze the statistical distribution of their excitation spectra. Furthermore, we demonstrate the ultrafast transient evolution of several individual molecules, highlighting their different behavior in contrast to the ensemble due to their individual local environment. By correlating the linear and nonlinear spectra, we assess the effect of the molecular environment on the excited-state energy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Fersch
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Pavel Malý
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 5, 121 16 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Jessica Rühe
- Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Victor Lisinetskii
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Hensen
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Frank Würthner
- Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
- Center for Nanosystems Chemistry (CNC), Universität Würzburg, Theodor-Boveri-Weg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Tobias Brixner
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
- Center for Nanosystems Chemistry (CNC), Universität Würzburg, Theodor-Boveri-Weg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Malý P, Lüttig J, Rose PA, Turkin A, Lambert C, Krich JJ, Brixner T. Separating single- from multi-particle dynamics in nonlinear spectroscopy. Nature 2023; 616:280-287. [PMID: 36973449 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05846-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023]
Abstract
Quantum states depend on the coordinates of all their constituent particles, with essential multi-particle correlations. Time-resolved laser spectroscopy1 is widely used to probe the energies and dynamics of excited particles and quasiparticles such as electrons and holes2,3, excitons4-6, plasmons7, polaritons8 or phonons9. However, nonlinear signals from single- and multiple-particle excitations are all present simultaneously and cannot be disentangled without a priori knowledge of the system4,10. Here, we show that transient absorption-the most commonly used nonlinear spectroscopy-with N prescribed excitation intensities allows separation of the dynamics into N increasingly nonlinear contributions; in systems well-described by discrete excitations, these N contributions systematically report on zero to N excitations. We obtain clean single-particle dynamics even at high excitation intensities and can systematically increase the number of interacting particles, infer their interaction energies and reconstruct their dynamics, which are not measurable via conventional means. We extract single- and multiple-exciton dynamics in squaraine polymers11,12 and, contrary to common assumption6,13, we find that the excitons, on average, meet several times before annihilating. This surprising ability of excitons to survive encounters is important for efficient organic photovoltaics14,15. As we demonstrate on five diverse systems, our procedure is general, independent of the measured system or type of observed (quasi)particle and straightforward to implement. We envision future applicability in the probing of (quasi)particle interactions in such diverse areas as plasmonics7, Auger recombination2 and exciton correlations in quantum dots5,16,17, singlet fission18, exciton interactions in two-dimensional materials19 and in molecules20,21, carrier multiplication22, multiphonon scattering9 or polariton-polariton interaction8.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Malý
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
- Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Julian Lüttig
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Peter A Rose
- Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Arthur Turkin
- Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Lambert
- Institut für Organische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- Center for Nanosystems Chemistry (CNC), Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jacob J Krich
- Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
- School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Tobias Brixner
- Institut für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
- Center for Nanosystems Chemistry (CNC), Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wieland S, El Yumin AA, Gotthardt JM, Zaumseil J. Impact of Dielectric Environment on Trion Emission from Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Networks. THE JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY. C, NANOMATERIALS AND INTERFACES 2023; 127:3112-3122. [PMID: 36824583 PMCID: PMC9940213 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.2c08338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Trions are charged excitons that form upon optical or electrical excitation of low-dimensional semiconductors in the presence of charge carriers (holes or electrons). Trion emission from semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) occurs in the near-infrared and at lower energies compared to the respective exciton. It can be used as an indicator for the presence of excess charge carriers in SWCNT samples and devices. Both excitons and trions are highly sensitive to the surrounding dielectric medium of the nanotubes, having an impact on their application in optoelectronic devices. Here, the influence of different dielectric materials on exciton and trion emission from electrostatically doped networks of polymer-sorted (6,5) SWCNTs in top-gate field-effect transistors is investigated. The observed differences of trion and exciton emission energies and intensities for hole and electron accumulation cannot be explained with the polarizability or screening characteristics of the different dielectric materials, but they show a clear dependence on the charge trapping properties of the dielectrics. Charge localization (trapping of holes or electrons by the dielectric) reduces exciton quenching, emission blue-shift and trion formation. Based on the observed carrier type and dielectric material dependent variations, the ratio of trion to exciton emission and the exciton blue-shift are not suitable as quantitative metrics for doping levels of carbon nanotubes.
Collapse
|