抗原变异可使得多种致病微生物易于逃避宿主免疫应答。表达在感染红细胞表面的恶性疟原虫红细胞表面蛋白1（PfPMP1）与感染红细胞、内皮细胞、树突状细胞以及胎盘的单个或多个受体作用，在黏附及免疫逃避中起关键的作用。每个单倍体基因组var基因家族编码约60种成员，通过启动转录不同的var基因变异体为抗原变异提供了分子基础。

疟原虫var基因转换速率变化导致抗原变异[英]／Paul H, Robert P, Christodoulou Z, et al//Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

A high-intensity electron gun based on field emission from a film of aligned carbon nanotubes has been made. The gun consists of a nanotube film with a 1-millimeter-diameter grid about 20 micrometers above it. Field-emission current densities of about 0.1 milliampere per square centimeter were observed for applied voltages as low as 200 volts, and current densities greater than 100 milliamperes per square centimeter have been realized at 700 volts. The gun is air-stable, easy and inexpensive to fabricate, and functions stably and reliably for long times (short-term fluctuations are on the order of 10 percent). The entire gun is only about 0.2 millimeter thick and can be produced with virtually no restrictions on its area, from less than 1 square millimeter to hundreds of square centimeters, making it suitable for flat panel display applications.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/270/5239/1179.full.pdf

A Carbon Nanotube Field-Emission Electron Source

Recent startling interest for lanthanide luminescence is stimulated by the continuously expanding need for luminescent materials meeting the stringent requirements of telecommunication, lighting, electroluminescent devices, (bio-)analytical sensors and bio-imaging set-ups. This critical review describes the latest developments in (i) the sensitization of near-infrared luminescence, (ii) “soft” luminescent materials (liquid crystals, ionic liquids, ionogels), (iii) electroluminescent materials for organic light emitting diodes, with emphasis on white light generation, and (iv) applications in luminescent bio-sensing and bio-imaging based on time-resolved detection and multiphoton excitation (500 references).

/pdf/lanthanide-luminescence-for-functional-materials-and-bio-1w9cppwf8r.pdf

Lanthanide luminescence for functional materials and bio-sciences

Lanthanide-based luminescent hybrid materials.

The term photonic crystals appears because of the analogy between electron waves in crystals and the light waves in artificial periodic dielectric structures. During the recent years the investigation of one-, two-and three-dimensional periodic structures has attracted a widespread attention of the world optics community because of great potentiality of such structures in advanced applied optical fields. The interest in periodic structures has been stimulated by the fast development of semiconductor technology that now allows the fabrication of artificial structures, whose period is comparable with the wavelength of light in the visible and infrared ranges.

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel5/6354/16969/00781867.pdf

Photonic crystals

Stable dispersions of monodisperse colloidal silica spheres containing a dye or fluorophore have been synthesized according to a general procedure and dispersed in polar and apolar liquids. The procedure consists of the coupling of the dye to a silane coupling agent, (3++minopropyl)triethoxysilane, and the controllable incorporation of the reaction product into the silica sphere. The silica spheres are prepared from tetraethoxysilane in mixtures of ammonia, water, and ethanol. The composition of the silica spheres can be controlled in such a way that the organic groups can be placed on the surface, in a thin shell inside the particle or distributed through the volume of an inner core. Fluorescein isothiocyanate was used to make easily bleachable, fluorescent silica spheres. Hydrophilic charge stabilized and organophilic sterically stabilized 1-octadecanol-coated dyed silica systems were synthesized and dispersed in several solvents. All the particles were characterized after the several reaction steps by static and dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The fluorescent spheres were further characterized by fluorescence spectroscopy and confocal scanning laser fluorescence microscopy. Great effort was taken to prepare monodisperse dispersions free of clusters of particles. Such model dispersions are required for (scattering) studies of interparticle interactions in (concentrated) systems. Therefore, the several steps of the synthesis and optical characterization are described in detail.

/pdf/synthesis-and-characterization-of-colloidal-dispersions-of-2za40ktrfk.pdf

Synthesis and characterization of colloidal dispersions of fluorescent, monodisperse silica spheres

https://web.science.uu.nl/scm/articles/1992/VanBlaaderen_JColloidInterfaceSci_1992.pdf

Monodisperse Colloidal Silica Spheres from Tetraalkoxysilanes: Particle Formation and Growth Mechanism

Monodisperse, colloidal silica spheres were prepared from tetraethoxysilane (TES) in mixtures of ammonia, water, and ethanol. The surface of the particles could be coated through a subsequent chemical reaction with the silane coupling agent 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS). Also, a new kind of monodisperse, colloidal silica spheres (organo-silica spheres) was prepared starting from mixtures of APS and TES. Organo-silica spheres synthesized with equal amounts of APS and TES were found to contain as much as 37% of the total amount of APS. The amount taken up by the particles, and therefore also the particle properties, depended on the initial composition of the mixture of alkoxides. It is argued that the most important reaction by which APS is incorporated into the particles is through an alcohol-producing condensation reaction with a silanol group bonded to a silicon atom that was part of a TES molecule. Because of this proposed mechanism, it is argued that this base-catalyzed method of making hybrid organic-silica particles will also be applicable to mixtures of other organoalkoxides. The organo-silica spheres differed from silica spheres prepared with TES alone in the following aspects: The negative surface charge in the mixture of water, ammonia and ethanol was reduced, the mass density was lower (e.g., 1.51 g/cm3 compared to 1.98 g/cm3), the microporosity was larger, and the siloxane structure was less condensed. The particle refractive index was higher, but the differences were small (around 0.02). It was shown that particles with APS on the surface could be grown larger with a silica layer prepared from TES. Organo-silica particles and silica-coated organo-silica particles were surface coated with stearyl alcohol. The resulting stability in several solvents was assessed. The different colloidal systems were characterized by static and dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, elemental analysis, nitrogen adsorption measurements, electrophoresis, and qualitative 13C and quantitative 19 Si solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

/pdf/synthesis-and-characterization-of-monodisperse-colloidal-1zjvatiy3w.pdf

Synthesis and Characterization of Monodisperse Colloidal Organo-silica Spheres

Optical waveguide amplifiers based on polymer materials offer a low-cost alternative for inorganic waveguide amplifiers. Due to the fact that their refractive index is similar to that of standard optical fibers, they can be easily coupled to existing fibers with low coupling losses. Doping the polymer with rare-earth ions that yield optical gain is not straightforward, as the rare-earth salts are poorly soluble in the polymer matrix. This review article focuses on two different approaches to dope a polymer waveguide with rare-earth ions. The first approach is based on organic cage-like complexes that encapsulate the rare-earth ion and are designed to provide coordination sites to bind the rare-earth ion and to shield it from the surrounding matrix. These complexes also offer the possibility of attaching a highly absorbing antenna group, which increases the pump efficiency significantly. The second approach to fabricate rare-earth doped polymer waveguides is obtained by combining the excellent properties of SiO2 as a host for rare-earth ions with the easy processing of polymers. This is done by doping polymers with Er-doped silica colloidal spheres.

Rare-earth doped polymers for planar optical amplifiers

Fluorescent nanoparticles have been synthesized with a metal core, silica-spacer shell, and a dye-labeled silica shell. Cascade-yellow-labeled, silver-core and carboxyfluorescein-labeled, gold-core nanoparticles with dye–metal distances of 24–25 nm exhibit fluorescence enhancement factors as high as 12.5 and 6.8, respectively. Cascade-yellow-labeled, gold-core particles with a dye–metal distance of ∼15 nm show significant fluorescence quenching.

A. van Blaaderen

Papers

Synthesis and characterization of colloidal dispersions of fluorescent, monodisperse silica spheres

Monodisperse Colloidal Silica Spheres from Tetraalkoxysilanes: Particle Formation and Growth Mechanism

Synthesis and Characterization of Monodisperse Colloidal Organo-silica Spheres

Rare-earth doped polymers for planar optical amplifiers

Fluorescence Enhancement by Metal- Core/Silica-Shell Nanoparticles**