A fast recoiling silk-like elastomer facilitates nanosecond nematocyst discharge.

BACKGROUND: The discharge of the Cnidarian stinging organelle, the nematocyst, is one of the fastest processes in biology and involves volume changes of the highly pressurised (150 bar) capsule of up to 50%. Hitherto, the molecular basis for the unusual biomechanical properties of nematocysts has been elusive, as their structure was mainly defined as a stress-resistant collagenous matrix. RESULTS: Here, we characterise Cnidoin, a novel elastic protein identified as a structural component of Hydra nematocysts. Cnidoin is expressed in nematocytes of all types and immunostainings revealed incorporation into capsule walls and tubules concomitant with minicollagens. Similar to spider silk proteins, to which it is related at sequence level, Cnidoin possesses high elasticity and fast coiling propensity as predicted by molecular dynamics simulations and quantified by force spectroscopy. Recombinant Cnidoin showed a high tendency for spontaneous aggregation to bundles of fibrillar structures. CONCLUSIONS: Cnidoin represents the molecular factor involved in kinetic energy storage and release during the ultra-fast nematocyst discharge. Furthermore, it implies an early evolutionary origin of protein elastomers in basal metazoans.

Surface-enhanced mid-infrared spectroscopy using a quantum cascade laser.

We report on the successful measurement of surface-enhanced infrared vibrational spectra from a few nanometer thick organic semiconductor layers on samples with resonant plasmonic nanoantennas arranged in arrays. For the first time, a setup with a tunable quantum cascade laser as the light source in mid-infrared range is used. The combination of the quantum cascade laser with a microbolometer array for infrared light allows to map an area 2.8 × 3.1 mm(2) with a spatial resolution of about 9 µm, a bandwidth from 1170 to 1300 cm(-1), and a spectral resolution of 2.5 cm(-1) within only five minutes versus 16 hours using a conventional FTIR micro-spectrometer. We present a quantitative comparison of the experimental results from the setup with the quantum cascade laser with those from the FTIR micro-spectrometer.

A quantitative look inside the body: minimally invasive infrared analysis in vivo.

Today's minimally invasive biosensors are often based on chemical reagents and suffer from, e.g., oxygen dependence, toxic reaction products, excess analyte consumption, and/or degradation of the reagents. Here, we show the first successful analyte quantification by means of a minimally invasive sensor in vivo, which does not use chemical reactions. The concentration of glucose is determined continuously in vivo using transcutaneous, fiber-based mid-infrared laser spectroscopy. When comparing the infrared data measured in vivo with the 127 reference readings of glucose obtained in vitro, an overall standard deviation of 17.5% and a median of the absolute values of the relative deviations of 11.0% are achieved. The encouraging results open up the path toward a reagent-free long-term implant for the continuous surveillance of metabolites. In addition, the high sampling rate facilitates important research in body metabolism as well as its application outside the field of medicine such as real-time analyte sensing during fermentation.

Quantum cascade laser-based hyperspectral imaging of biological tissue.

The spectroscopy of analyte-specific molecular vibrations in tissue thin sections has opened up a path toward histopathology without the need for tissue staining. However, biomedical vibrational imaging has not yet advanced from academic research to routine histopathology due to long acquisition times for the microscopic hyperspectral images and/or cost and availability of the necessary equipment. Here we show that the combination of a fast-tuning quantum cascade laser with a microbolometer array detector allows for a rapid image acquisition and bares the potential for substantial cost reduction. A 3.1 x 2.8 mm2 unstained thin section of mouse jejunum has been imaged in the 9.2 to 9.7 µm wavelength range (spectral resolution ~1 cm(-1)) within 5 min with diffraction limited spatial resolution. The comparison of this hyperspectral imaging approach with standard Fourier transform infrared imaging or mapping of the identical sample shows a reduction in acquisition time per wavenumber interval and image area by more than one or three orders of magnitude, respectively.