Cast Extruded Films Based on Polyhydroxyalkanoate/Poly(lactic acid) Blend with Herbal Extracts Hybridized with Zinc Oxide

The aim of the presented work was to functionalize a blend based on polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA): poly(hydroxybutyrate (PHB) with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and a mixture of three selected herb extracts, namely, Hypericum L., Urtica L. and Chelidonium L., (E), zinc oxide (ZnO) and a combined system (EZnO), produced via extrusion. Before processing with bioresin, the natural modifiers were characterized using thermal analysis, FTIR and antimicrobial tests. The results revealed interactions between the extracts and the filler, leading to higher thermal stability in EZnO than when using E alone. Moreover, the mixture of extracts exhibited antimicrobial properties toward both Gram-negative (S. aureus) as well as Gram-positive bacteria (E. coli). Modified regranulates were transformed into films by cast extrusion. The influence of the additives on thermal (DSC, TGA and OIT), mechanical, barrier (WVTR and OTR), morphological (FTIR) and optical properties was investigated. The EZnO additive had the highest impact on the mechanical, barrier (OTR and WVTR) and optical properties of the bioresin. The microbial test results revealed that PHA-EZnO exhibited higher activity than PHA-ZnO and PHA-E and also reduced the number of S. aureus, E. coli and C. albicans cells. The findings confirmed the synergistic effect between the additive components. Modified polyester films did not eliminate the phi6 bacteriophage particles completely, but they did decrease their number, confirming moderate antiviral effectiveness.

Triplet behavior in weakly coupled chromophors in covalent pyridyl porphyrin-polymer systems

The photophysical properties of the 5-(4-pyridyl)-10,15,20-tri(4-methyloxyphenyl)porphyrins covalently linked to polyethylene glycol - PEG of different molecular weights (35000, 20000 and 8000) dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide were studied. The singlet and triplet states of the porphyrin species behavior were discussed in terms of fluorescence and thermal relaxation processes. The absorption, fluorescence and photothermal experiments showed that in the porphyrins linked to the PEG systems in dimethylsulfoxide the dye moieties occur in weakly interacting dimers. The triplet state enhancement in the 5-(4-pyridyl)-10,15,20-tri(4-methyloxyphenyl)porphyrins covalently linked to PEG was discussed. It was shown that even that the weak interaction of the porphyrin species in the covalent systems with PEG is not detectable by the absorption and only slightly by fluorescence, it is possible to be performed by the complementary spectroscopic methods like photoacoustics and photothermal time resolved spectroscopy.

Pressure-induced spectral changes for the special-pair radical cation of the bacterial photosynthetic reaction center

The effect of pressure up to 6 kbars on the near to mid infrared absorption spectrum (7500-14,300 cm(-1) or 1333-700 nm) of the oxidized reaction center of Rhodobacter sphaeroides is measured and interpreted using density-functional B3LYP, INDO, and PM5 calculations. Two weak electronic transition origins at approximately 8010 and approximately 10,210 cm(-1) are unambiguously identified. The first transition is assigned to a Qy tripdoublet band that involves, in the localized description of the excitation, a triplet absorption on one of the bacteriochlorophyll molecules (PM) in the reaction center's special pair intensified by the presence of a radical cation on the other (PL). While most chlorophyll transition energies decrease significantly with increasing pressure, the tripdoublet band is found to be almost pressure insensitive. This difference is attributed to the additional increase in the tripdoublet-band energy accompanying compression of the pi-stacked special pair. The second band could either be the anticipated second Qy tripdoublet state, a Qx tripdoublet state, or a state involving excitation from a low-lying doubly occupied orbital to the half-occupied cationic orbital. A variety of absorption bands that are also resolved in the 8300-9600 cm(-1) region are assigned as vibrational structure associated with the first tripdoublet absorption. These sidebands are composites that are shown by the calculations to comprise many unresolved individual modes; while the calculated pressure sensitivity of each individual mode is small, the calculated pressure dependence of the combined sideband structure is qualitatively similar to the observed pressure dependence, preventing the positive identification of possible additional electronic transitions in this spectral region.

Non-radiative deactivation pathways of subphthalocyanine and subnaphthalocyanine dyes and of their mixture

Subphthalocyanine and subnaphthalocyanine dyes and their mixture were investigated by means of the spectroscopic and photoelectric methods. Absorption, fluorescence, steady-state and time-resolved photothermal measurements for the dyes and their mixture were done in order to get information about the radiative and non-radiative deactivation processes as competetive processes to charge separation. It was shown that energy transfer between the dyes improved the photocurrent generation in photoelectrochemical cells (PEC) based on In(2)O(3) and SnO(2) as an electrode. The possible participation of the dye triplet states in non-radiative processes was discussed.

Discrimination of DNA and RNA in cells by a vital fluorescent probe: lifetime imaging of SYTO13 in healthy and apoptotic cells

BACKGROUND

Of the few vital DNA and RNA probes, the SYTO dyes are the most specific for nucleic acids. However, they show no spectral contrast upon DNA or RNA binding. We show that fluorescence lifetime imaging using two-photon excitation of SYTO13 allows differential and simultaneous imaging of DNA and RNA in living cells, as well as sequential and repetitive assessment of staining patterns.

METHODS

Two-photon imaging of SYTO13 is combined with lifetime contrast, using time-gated detection. We focus on distinguishing DNA and RNA in healthy and apoptotic Chinese hamster ovary cells.

RESULTS

In healthy cells, SYTO13 has a fluorescence lifetime of 3.4 +/- 0.2 ns when associated with nuclear DNA. Bound to RNA, its lifetime is 4.1 +/- 0.1 ns. After induction of apoptosis, clusters of SYTO13 with fluorescence lifetime of 3.4 +/- 0.2 ns become apparent in the cytoplasm. They are identified as mitochondrial DNA on the basis of colocalization experiments with the DNA-specific dye, DRAQ5, and the mitochondrial-specific dye, CMXRos. Upon progression of apoptosis, the lifetime of SYTO13 attached to DNA shortens significantly, which is indicative of changes in the molecular environment of the dye.

CONCLUSIONS

We have characterized SYTO13 as a vital lifetime probe, allowing repetitive and differential imaging of DNA and RNA.