Photon upconversion crystals doped bacterial cellulose composite films as recyclable photonic bioplastics.

Biopolymers currently utilized as substitutes for synthetic polymers in photonics applications are predominantly confined to linear optical color responses. Herein we expand their applications in non-linear optics by integrating with triplet-triplet annihilation photon upconversion crystals. A photon upconverting biomaterial is prepared by cultivating Pd(II) meso-tetraphenyl tetrabenzoporphine: 9,10-diphenyl anthracene (sensitizer: annihilator) crystals on bacterial cellulose hydrogel that serves both as host and template for the crystallization of photon upconversion chromophores. Coating with gelatin improves the material's optical transparency by adjusting the refractive indices. The prepared material shows an upconversion of 633 nm red light to 443 nm blue light, indicated by quadratic to linear dependence on excitation power density (non-linearly). Notably, components of this material are physically dis-assembled to retrieve 66 ± 1% of annihilator, at the end of life. Whereas, the residual clean biomass is subjected to biodegradation, showcasing the sustainability of the developed photonics material.

Human Platelet Lysate-Derived Nanofibrils as Building Blocks to Produce Free-Standing Membranes for Cell Self-Aggregation.

Amyloid-like fibrils are garnering keen interest in biotechnology as supramolecular nanofunctional units to be used as biomimetic platforms to control cell behavior. Recent insights into fibril functionality have highlighted their importance in tissue structure, mechanical properties, and improved cell adhesion, emphasizing the need for scalable and high-kinetics fibril synthesis. In this study, we present the instantaneous and bulk formation of amyloid-like nanofibrils from human platelet lysate (PL) using the ionic liquid cholinium tosylate as a fibrillating agent. The instant fibrillation of PL proteins upon supramolecular protein-ionic liquid interactions was confirmed from the protein conformational transition toward cross-ß-sheet-rich structures. These nanofibrils were utilized as building blocks for the formation of thin and flexible free-standing membranes via solvent casting to support cell self-aggregation. These PL-derived fibril membranes reveal a nanotopographically rough surface and high stability over 14 days under cell culture conditions. The culture of mesenchymal stem cells or tumor cells on the top of the membrane demonstrated that cells are able to adhere and self-organize in a three-dimensional (3D) spheroid-like microtissue while tightly folding the fibril membrane. Results suggest that nanofibril membrane incorporation in cell aggregates can improve cell viability and metabolic activity, recreating native tissues' organization. Altogether, these PL-derived nanofibril membranes are suitable bioactive platforms to generate 3D cell-guided microtissues, which can be explored as bottom-up strategies to faithfully emulate native tissues in a fully human microenvironment.

Do Ionic Liquids Exhibit the Required Characteristics to Dissolve, Extract, Stabilize, and Purify Proteins? Past-Present-Future Assessment.

Proteins are highly labile molecules, thus requiring the presence of appropriate solvents and excipients in their liquid milieu to keep their stability and biological activity. In this field, ionic liquids (ILs) have gained momentum in the past years, with a relevant number of works reporting their successful use to dissolve, stabilize, extract, and purify proteins. Different approaches in protein-IL systems have been reported, namely, proteins dissolved in (i) neat ILs, (ii) ILs as co-solvents, (iii) ILs as adjuvants, (iv) ILs as surfactants, (v) ILs as phase-forming components of aqueous biphasic systems, and (vi) IL-polymer-protein/peptide conjugates. Herein, we critically analyze the works published to date and provide a comprehensive understanding of the IL-protein interactions affecting the stability, conformational alteration, unfolding, misfolding, and refolding of proteins while providing directions for future studies in view of imminent applications. Overall, it has been found that the stability or purification of proteins by ILs is bispecific and depends on the structure of both the IL and the protein. The most promising IL-protein systems are identified, which is valuable when foreseeing market applications of ILs, e.g., in "protein packaging" and "detergent applications". Future directions and other possibilities of IL-protein systems in light-harvesting and biotechnology/biomedical applications are discussed.

The statistical probability factor in triplet mediated photon upconversion: a case study with perylene.

Triplet-triplet annihilation photon upconversion (TTA-UC) is a process where two low-energy photons are converted into one higher-energy photon. A crucial component for an efficient upconversion process is the statistical probability factor (f), defined as the probability of the formation of a high-energy singlet state upon coupling of two low-energy triplet states. Theoretically, f depends on the energy level distribution, molecular orientation, inter-triplet exchange coupling of triplet dyads, and spin-mixing of resulting spin states (singlet, triplet, and quintet). However, experimental values of f for acene-based annihilators have been subject to large variations due to many factors that have resulted in the reporting of different f values for the same molecule. In this work, we discuss these factors by studying perylene as a case study annihilator, for which by far the largest variation in f = 16 to 100% has been reported. We systematically investigated the TTA-UC of PdTPBP:perylene, as a sensitizer-annihilator pair and obtained the experimental f = 17.9 ± 2.1% for perylene in THF solution. This limits the maximum TTA-UC quantum yield to 9.0% (out of 50%) for this annihilator. We found that such a low f value for perylene is largely governed by the energy-gap law where higher non-radiative losses due to the small energy gap between 2 × T1 and T2 affect the probability of singlet formation. Interestingly, we found this observation true for other acene-based annihilators whose emission ranges from the UV to the yellow region, thus providing a blueprint for future design of efficient TTA-UC systems.

Triplet-triplet annihilation mediated photon upconversion solar energy systems.

Solar energy harvesting is among the best solutions for a global transition toward carbon-neutral energy technologies. The existing solar energy harvesting technologies like photovoltaics (PV) and emerging molecular concepts such as solar fuels and molecular solar thermal energy storage (MOST) are rapidly developing. However, to realize their full potential, fundamental solar energy loss channels like photon transmission, recombination, and thermalization need to be addressed. Triplet-triplet annihilation mediated photon upconversion (TTA-UC) is emerging as a way to overcome losses due to the transmission of photons below the PV/chromophore band gap. However, there are several challenges related to the integration of efficient solid-state TTA-UC systems into efficient devices such as: wide band absorption, materials sustainability, and device architecture. In this article, we review existing work, identify and discuss challenges as well as present our perspective toward possible future directions.

Protein cohabitation: long-term immunoglobulin G storage at room temperature.

Long-term functional storage of therapeutic proteins at room temperature has been an eternal challenge. Inspired by the cellular cooperativity of proteins, we have taken a step forward to address this challenge by cohabitating Immunoglobulin G (IgG1) with a food protein gelatin in the solid-state at room temperature. Interestingly, IgG1 remained functionally active for a record 14 months revealed from the western-blot assay. Further quantification by HP-LC analysis showed 100% structural integrity of IgG1 with no degradation in the gelatin matrix during this period. The developed formulation has a direct application in oral medical nutrition therapy to cure gastrointestinal microbial infections. Also the strategy provides a robust energy economic alternative to the protein engineering methods for long-term functional storage of therapeutic proteins at room temperature.

Far-red triplet sensitized Z-to-E photoswitching of azobenzene in bioplastics.

We report the first example of direct far-red triplet sensitized molecular photoswitching in a condensed phase wherein a liquid azobenzene derivative (Azo1) co-assembled within a liquid surfactant-protein film undergoes triplet sensitized Z-to-E photoswitching upon far-red/red light excitation in air. The role of triplet sensitization in photoswitching has been confirmed by quenching of sensitizer phosphorescence by Z-Azo1 and temperature-dependent photoswitching experiments. Herein, we demonstrate new biosustainable fabrication designs to address key challenges in solid-state photoswitching, effectively mitigating chromophore aggregation and requirement of high energy excitations by dispersing the photoswitch in the trapped liquid inside the solid framework and by shifting the action spectrum from blue-green light (450-560 nm) to the far-red/red light (740/640 nm) region.

Recyclable optical bioplastics platform for solid state red light harvesting via triplet-triplet annihilation photon upconversion.

Sustainable photonics applications of solid-state triplet-triplet annihilation photon upconversion (TTA-UC) are limited by a small UC spectral window, low UC efficiency in air, and non-recyclability of polymeric materials used. In a step to overcome these issues, we have developed new recyclable TTA-UC bioplastics by encapsulating TTA-UC chromophores liquid inside the semicrystalline gelatin films showing broad-spectrum upconversion (red/far-red to blue) with high UC efficiency in air. For this, we synthesized a new anionic annihilator, sodium-TIPS-anthracene-2-sulfonate (TIPS-AnS), that combined with red/far-red sensitizers (PdTPBP/Os(m-peptpy)2(TFSI)2), a liquid surfactant Triton X-100 reduced (TXr) and protein gelatin (G) formed red/far-red to blue TTA-UC bioplastic films just by air drying of their aqueous solutions. The G-TXr-TIPS-AnS-PdTPBP film showed record red to blue (633 to 478 nm) TTA-UC quantum yield of 8.5% in air. The high UC quantum yield has been obtained due to the fluidity of dispersed TXr containing chromophores and oxygen blockage by gelatin fibers that allowed efficient diffusion of triplet excited chromophores. Further, the G-TXr-TIPS-AnS-Os(m-peptpy)2(TFSI)2 bioplastic film displayed far-red to blue (700-730 nm to 478 nm) TTA-UC, demonstrating broad-spectrum photon harvesting. Finally, we demonstrated the recycling of G-TXr-TIPS-AnS-PdTPBP bioplastics by developing a downstream approach that gives new directions for designing future recyclable photonics bioplastic materials.

Intramolecular Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Photon Upconversion in Diffusionally Restricted Anthracene Polymer.

In the strive to develop triplet-triplet annihilation photon upconversion (TTA-UC) to become applicable in a viable technology, there is a need to develop upconversion systems that can function well in solid states. One method to achieve efficient solid-state TTA-UC systems is to replace the intermolecular energy-transfer steps with the corresponding intramolecular transfers, thereby minimizing loss channels involved in chromophore diffusion. Herein, we present a study of photon upconversion by TTA internally within a polymeric annihilator network (iTTA). By the design of the annihilator polymer and the choice of experiment conditions, we isolate upconversion emission governed by iTTA within the annihilator particles and eliminate possible external TTA between separate annihilator particles (xTTA). This approach leads to mechanistic insights into the process of iTTA and makes it possible to explore the upconversion kinetics and performance of a polymeric annihilator. In comparison to a monomeric upconversion system that only functions using xTTA, we show that upconversion in a polymeric annihilator is efficient also at extremely low annihilator concentrations and that the overall kinetics is significantly faster. The presented results show that intramolecular photon upconversion is a versatile concept for the development of highly efficient solid-state photon upconversion materials.

Protein-olive oil-in-water nanoemulsions as encapsulation materials for curcumin acting as anticancer agent towards MDA-MB-231 cells.

The sustainable cellular delivery of the pleiotropic drug curcumin encounters drawbacks related to its fast autoxidation at the physiological pH, cytotoxicity of delivery vehicles and poor cellular uptake. A biomaterial compatible with curcumin and with the appropriate structure to allow the correct curcumin encapsulation considering its poor solubility in water, while maintaining its stability for a safe release was developed. In this work, the biomaterial developed started by the preparation of an oil-in-water nanoemulsion using with a cytocompatible copolymer (Pluronic F 127) coated with a positively charged protein (gelatin), designed as G-Cur-NE, to mitigate the cytotoxicity issue of curcumin. These G-Cur-NE showed excellent capacity to stabilize curcumin, to increase its bio-accessibility, while allowing to arrest its autoxidation during its successful application as an anticancer agent proved by the disintegration of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells as a proof of concept.

Triplet-triplet annihilation based near infrared to visible molecular photon upconversion.

Triplet-triplet annihilation based molecular photon upconversion (TTA-UC) is an exciting research area for a broad range of photonic applications due to its tunable spectral range and possible operation at non-coherent solar irradiance. Most of the TTA-UC studies are limited to Visible to Visible (Vis to Vis) energy upconversion. However, for several practical photonic applications, efficient near infrared (NIR) to Vis upconversion is preferred. Examples include, (i) photovoltaics where TTA-UC could lead to utilization of a larger part of the solar spectrum and (ii) in NIR stimulated biological applications where the deep penetration and non-invasive nature of NIR light coupled to TTA-UC offers new opportunities. Although, NIR to Vis TTA-UC is known since 2007, the recent five years have witnessed quite a progress in terms of the development of new chromophores, hybrid systems and fabrication techniques to increase the UC quantum yield at low excitation intensity. With this tutorial review we are reviewing recent progress, identifying existing challenges and discus possible future directions and opportunities.

Protein Cohabitation: Improving the Photochemical Stability of R-Phycoerythrin in the Solid State.

The poor photochemical stability of R-phycoerythrin (R-PE) has been a bottleneck for its broad-spectrum applications. Inspired by nature, we studied a sustainable strategy of protein cohabitation to enhance R-PE stability by embedding it in a solid matrix of gelatin. Both pure R-PE and fresh phycobiliprotein (PBP) extracts recovered from Gracilaria gracilis were studied. The incorporation of R-PE in the gelatin-based films (gelatin-RPE and gelatin-PBPs) has improved its photochemical stability for at least 8 months, the longest time period reported so far. These results were evidenced by not only absorption but also emission quantum yield measurements (Φ). Moreover, the photostability of gelatin-RPE films upon continuous excitation with an AM1.5G solar simulator was tested and found to remain stable for 23 h after initial decreasing up to 250 min. In the end, another approach was established to allow 100% photostability for a 3 h exposure to an AM1.5G solar simulator by doping the gelatin-based film including R-Phycoerythrin with n-propyl gallate stabilized with Tween 80, allowing their use as naturally based optically active centers in photovoltaic applications.

Near-Infrared Optogenetic Genome Engineering Based on Photon-Upconversion Hydrogels.

Photon upconversion (UC) from near-infrared (NIR) light to visible light has enabled optogenetic manipulations in deep tissues. However, materials for NIR optogenetics have been limited to inorganic UC nanoparticles. Herein, NIR-light-triggered optogenetics using biocompatible, organic TTA-UC hydrogels is reported. To achieve triplet sensitization even in highly viscous hydrogel matrices, a NIR-absorbing complex is covalently linked with energy-pooling acceptor chromophores, which significantly elongates the donor triplet lifetime. The donor and acceptor are solubilized in hydrogels formed from biocompatible Pluronic F127 micelles, and heat treatment endows the excited triplets in the hydrogel with remarkable oxygen tolerance. Combined with photoactivatable Cre recombinase technology, NIR-light stimulation successfully performs genome engineering resulting in the formation of dendritic-spine-like structures of hippocampal neurons.

Recent Progress in Photon Upconverting Gels.

Recent progress in the development of gels showing triplet-triplet annihilation based photon upconversion (TTA-UC) is reviewed. Among the two families of upconverting gels reported, those display TTA-UC based on molecular diffusion show performances comparable to those in solutions, and the TTA-UC therein are affected by dissolved molecular oxygen. Meanwhile, air-stable TTA-UC is achieved in organogels and hydrogels by suitably accumulating TTA-UC chromophores which are stabilized by hydrogen bonding networks of the gelators. The unique feature of the air-stable upconverting gels is that the self-assembled nanostructures are protected from molecular oxygen dissolved in the microscopically interconnected solution phase. The presence of the bicontinuous structures formed by the upconverting fibrous nanoassemblies and the solution phase is utilized to design photochemical reaction systems induced by TTA-UC. Future challenges include in vivo applications of hydrogels showing near infrared-to-visible TTA-UC.

Simple and Versatile Platform for Air-Tolerant Photon Upconverting Hydrogels by Biopolymer-Surfactant-Chromophore Co-assembly.

Exploration of triplet-triplet annihilation based photon upconversion (TTA-UC) in aqueous environments faces difficulty such as chromophores insolubility and deactivation of excited triplets by dissolved oxygen molecules. We propose a new strategy of biopolymer-surfactant-chromophore coassembly to overcome these issues. Air-stable TTA-UC with a high upconversion efficiency of 13.5% was achieved in hydrogel coassembled from gelatin, Triton X-100 and upconverting chromophores (triplet sensitizer and emitter). This is comparable to the highest UC efficiency observed to date for air-saturated aqueous UC systems. Moreover, this is the first example of air-stable TTA-UC in the form of hydrogels, widening the applicability of TTA-UC in biological applications. The keys are two-fold. First, gelatin and the surfactant self-assemble in water to give a developed hierarchical structure with hydrophobic domains which accommodate chromophores up to high concentrations. Second, thick hydrogen-bonding networks of gelatin backbone prevent O2 inflow to the hydrophobic interior, as evidenced by long acceptor triplet lifetime of 4.9 ms. Air-stable TTA-UC was also achieved for gelatin with other nonionic surfactants (Tween 80 and Pluronic f127) and Triton X-100 with other gelling biopolymers (sodium alginate and agarose), demonstrating the versatility of current strategy.

Surface-Active Ionic Liquid Cholinium Dodecylbenzenesulfonate: Self-Assembling Behavior and Interaction with Cellulase.

The conventional sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (NaDBS) has been converted into an efficient and nontoxic anionic surface-active ionic liquid, cholinium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (Cho[DBS]). We have investigated its self-assembling behavior, interaction with the enzyme cellulase, and ecotoxicity. The surface-active properties at the air-liquid interface and the aggregation behavior of Cho[DBS] in water have been determined using tensiometry, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), conductometry, and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The enzyme activity was observed using dinitro salicylic acid analysis. The enhanced enzyme activity was explained through active-site exfoliation and structural constancy of cellulase in the micellar medium using the results from fluorescence, circular dichroism, DLS, and ITC. The nontoxic nature was confirmed by toxicity analysis on the freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus sp.

Illuminating microemulsions: ionic liquid-CdS quantum dots hybrid materials as potential white light harvesting systems.

Microemulsions (MEs) comprising of 2-hydroxyethylammonium formate, (HO-EAF), isooctane and dioctylsulfosuccinate proliniumisopropylester ([ProC3]AOT) have been constructed and used to prepare and stabilize CdS Quantum Dots (QDs) at room temperature. Such hybrid materials exhibited tunable light emission wherein the photoluminescence chromaticity could be precisely adjusted to pure white with a quantum efficiency (QE) of ∼43%, by adjusting the droplet size of MEs.

Unusually high thermal stability and peroxidase activity of cytochrome c in ionic liquid colloidal formulation.

Ionic liquid (IL) surfactant choline dioctylsulfosuccinate, [Cho][AOT], formed polydispersed vesicular structures in the IL, ethylmethylimidazolium ethylsulfate, [C2mim][C2OSO3]. Cytochrome c dissolved in such a colloidal medium has shown very high peroxidase activity (∼2 times to that in neat IL and ∼4 times to that in an aqueous buffer). Significantly, the enzyme retained both structural stability and functional activity in IL colloidal solutions up to 180 °C, demonstrating the suitability of the system as a high temperature bio-catalytic reactor.

Thermodynamic investigations of protein's behaviour with ionic liquids in aqueous medium studied by isothermal titration calorimetry.

BACKGROUND: While a number of reports appear on ionic liquids-proteins interactions, their thermodynamic behaviour using suitable technique like isothermal titration calorimetry is not systematically presented. METHODS: Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) is a key technique which can directly measure the thermodynamic contribution of IL binding to protein, particularly the enthalpy, heat capacities and binding stoichiometry. SCOPE OF REVIEW: Ionic liquids (ILs), owing to their unique and tunable physicochemical properties have been the central area of scientific research besides graphene in the last decade, and growing unabated. Their encounter with proteins in the biological system is inevitable considering their environmental discharge though most of them are recyclable for a number of cycles. In this article we will cover the thermodynamics of proteins upon interaction with ILs as osmolyte and surfactant. The up to date literature survey of IL-protein interactions using isothermal titration calorimetry will be discussed and parallel comparison with the results obtained for such studies with other techniques will be highlighted to demonstrate the accuracy of ITC technique. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS AND GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Net stability of proteins can be obtained from the difference in the free energy (ΔG) of the native (folded) and denatured (unfolded) state using the Gibbs-Helmholtz equation (ΔG=ΔH-TΔS). Isothermal titration calorimetry can directly measure the heat changes upon IL-protein interactions. Calculation of other thermodynamic parameters such as entropy, binding constant and free energy depends upon the proper fitting of the binding isotherms using various fitting models.

Spontaneous Formation of Multiarchitecture Vesicles of [C8mim]Br + [Na]DBS in Aqueous Medium: Synergic Interplay of Electrostatic, Hydrophobic, and π-π Stacking Interactions.

A mixture of a cationic surface active ionic liquid, [C8mim]Br and anionic surfactant, [Na]DBS has been shown to form unilamellar vesicles in water over an exceptionally wide mole fraction range of [C8mim]Br (x1 = 0.2 to 0.8). Formation of vesicles has been evidenced from transmission electron microscopy (TEM), cryo-TEM and atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging. Cryo-TEM imaging of an equimolar mixture showed multiarchitectural unilamellar vesicles (spherical, tubular, and ribbon). Such complex architectures were earlier reported for Janus dendrimers of different structures (Science, 2010, 328, 1014). The synergism between oppositely charged single chain surfactants to form bilayer structures has been explained based on the evidence of π-π stacking interaction from 2D NOESY measurements, Coulombic interactions from zeta potential measurements and magnitude of interaction parameter from the critical aggregation concentration. The aggregation concentrations were measured from tensiometry and fluorescence using pyrene as a polarity probe. The phase behavior at different mixture compositions has been revealed from turbidity measurements and visual inspection. Hydrodynamic radii of self-assembled structures in the bulk solution phase were measured from dynamic light scattering. Vesicles formed have been explored as delivery vehicles for proteins using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as model.