A magneto-optical microscope for quantitative measurement of magnetic microstructures.

An optical system is presented to quantitatively map the stray magnetic fields of microscale magnetic structures, with field resolution down to 50 µT and spatial resolution down to 4 µm. The system uses a magneto-optical indicator film (MOIF) in conjunction with an upright reflective polarizing light microscope to generate optical images of the magnetic field perpendicular to the image plane. A novel single light path construction and discrete multi-image polarimetry processing method are used to extract quantitative areal field measurements from the optical images. The integrated system including the equipment, image analysis software, and experimental methods are described. MOIFs with three different magnetic field ranges are calibrated, and the entire system is validated by measurement of the field patterns from two calibration samples.

Potency and selective toxicity of tetra(hydroxyphenyl)- and tetrakis(dihydroxyphenyl)porphyrins in human melanoma cells, with and without exposure to red light.

A series of tetra(hydroxyphenyl)-(2-, 3- and 4-hydroxy; THPP) and tetrakis(dihydroxyphenyl)porphyrins (2,3-, 2,4-, 2,5-, 3,4-, and 3.5-dihydroxy; TDHPP) was synthesized and tested for toxicity in HeLa cells and human melanoma cell lines. Irradiation of drug-treated cells with > 600 nm light greatly increased the toxicity of all drugs except the 2,5- and 3,5-TDHPP. The THPP were more toxic than TDHPP in all cell lines, with or without irradiation; of the dihydroxy derivatives, the 3,4- and 2,4-isomers were the most toxic and the 2,5-isomer was the least toxic. The MM96E melanoma cell line, shown previously to be sensitive to hydrogen peroxide and superoxide ion, was not hypersensitive to killing by any of the above agents. HeLa cells, which lacked glutathione-S-transferase activity, were sensitive to the 4- and 2,3-isomers after irradiation; similar amounts of all drugs were taken up by HeLa cells. The pigmented melanoma cell line MM418, resistant to UV-B and in situ-generated hydrogen peroxide but sensitive to glutathione (GSH) depletion, was found to be resistant to the 2,3-isomer (no irradiation) and sensitive to the 3,4-isomer. The results indicate that (1) phototoxicity in these phenylporphyrins is not mediated by superoxide ions or hydroxyl radicals, (2) toxicity is dependent on the orientation of the hydroxy groups, (3) GSH transferase and possibly GSH itself offer protection from the 4- and 3,4-derivatives, respectively, and (4) the 3,4-derivative and analogues of similar selectivity should be evaluated further for the treatment of primary melanoma.