Correction: Significant field enhancements in an individual silver nanoparticle near a substrate covered with a thin gain film.

Correction for 'Significant field enhancements in an individual silver nanoparticle near a substrate covered with a thin gain film' by Jinhong Xian et al., Nanoscale, 2014, 6, 13994-14001, DOI: 10.1039/C4NR03678F.

Reconstruction of super-resolution STORM images using compressed sensing based on low-resolution raw images and interpolation.

Single-molecule-localization-based super-resolution microscopic technologies, such as stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM), require lengthy runtimes. Compressed sensing (CS) can partially overcome this inherent disadvantage, but its effect on super-resolution reconstruction has not been thoroughly examined. In CS, measurement matrices play more important roles than reconstruction algorithms. Larger measurement matrices have better restricted isometry properties (RIPs). This paper proposes, analyzes, and compares uses of higher resolution cameras and interpolation to achieve better outcomes. Statistical results demonstrate that super-resolution reconstructions is significantly improved by interpolating low-resolution STORM raw images and using point-spread-function-based measurement matrices with better RIPs. The analysis of publically accessible experimental data confirms this conclusion.

Super-resolution imaging of a 2.5 kb non-repetitive DNA in situ in the nuclear genome using molecular beacon probes.

High-resolution visualization of short non-repetitive DNA in situ in the nuclear genome is essential for studying looping interactions and chromatin organization in single cells. Recent advances in fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using Oligopaint probes have enabled super-resolution imaging of genomic domains with a resolution limit of 4.9 kb. To target shorter elements, we developed a simple FISH method that uses molecular beacon (MB) probes to facilitate the probe-target binding, while minimizing non-specific fluorescence. We used three-dimensional stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (3D-STORM) with optimized imaging conditions to efficiently distinguish sparsely distributed Alexa-647 from background cellular autofluorescence. Utilizing 3D-STORM and only 29-34 individual MB probes, we observed 3D fine-scale nanostructures of 2.5 kb integrated or endogenous unique DNA in situ in human or mouse genome, respectively. We demonstrated our MB-based FISH method was capable of visualizing the so far shortest non-repetitive genomic sequence in 3D at super-resolution.

A low cost method for hard x-ray grating interferometry.

Grating interferometry is advantageous over conventional x-ray absorption imaging because it enables the detection of samples constituted by low atomic number elements (low-Z materials). Therefore, it has a potential application in biological science and medical diagnostics. The grating interferometry has some critical optics components such as absorption gratings which are conventionally manufactured by the lithography, electroplating, and molding (LIGA) technique and employing gold as the absorbent material in it. However, great challenge lies in its implementations for practical applications because of the cost and difficulty to achieve high aspect ratio absorbing grating devices. In this paper, we present a low-cost approach that involves using the micro-casting technique with bismuth (Bi) as the absorber in source grating and as well as filling cesium iodide thallium(CsI:Tl) in a periodically structured scintillator. No costly facilities as synchrotron radiation are required and cheap material is used in our approach. Our experiment using these components shows high quality complementary images can be obtained with contrast of absorption, phase and visibility. This alternative method conquers the limitation of costly grating devices for a long time and stands an important step towards the further practical application of grating interferometry.

Statistical precision in super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging.

The super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging (SOFI) technique enhances image spatial resolution by calculating the spatiotemporal cross-cumulants of independent stochastic intensity fluctuations of emitters. Ideally, SOFI eliminates any noise that is not correlated over time, but in practice, due to limited data lengths, the statistical uncertainty of cumulants will affect the continuities and homogeneities of SOFI images. Since the variance and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) characterize cumulant statistical uncertainty, we determined theoretical expressions for these based on a single dataset. From a simulation of temporal fluctuations of blinking fluorescent emitters, we calculated the quantitative relation between the SNR of cumulants and multiple parameters of the blinking signal, such as the on-time ratio, acquisition frame to average blinking rate ratio, sequence length, and photon amplitude, which not only provides a physical interpretation for SOFI phenomena but also theoretical guidance to achieve optimal practical outcomes.

The Reproductive Toxicity of CdSe/ZnS Quantum Dots on the in vivo Ovarian Function and in vitro Fertilization.

Despite the usefulness of quantum dots (QDs) in biomedicine and optoelectronics, their toxicity risks remain a major obstacle for clinical usages. Hence, we studied the reproductive toxicity of CdSe/ZnS QDs on two aspects, (i) in vivo ovarian functions and (ii) in vitro fertilization process. The body weight, estrous cycles, biodistribution of QDs, and oocyte maturation are evaluated on female mice treated with QDs. The mRNA level of the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHr) and luteinizing hormone receptor (LHr) in ovaries are assayed. Then, the matured cumulus-oocyte-complexes are harvested to co-culture with in vitro capacitated sperms, and the in vitro fertilization is performed. The result revealed that QDs are found in the ovaries, but no changes are detected on the behavior and estrous cycle on the female mice. The mRNA downregulations of FSHr and LHr are observed and the number of matured oocytes has shown a significant decrease when the QDs dosage was above 1.0 pmol/day. Additionally, we found the presence of QDs has reduced the in vitro fertilization success rate. This study highly suggests that the exposure of CdSe/ZnS QDs to female mice can cause adverse effects to the ovary functions and such QDs may have limited applications in clinical usage.

A 75-ps Gated CMOS Image Sensor with Low Parasitic Light Sensitivity.

In this study, a 40 × 48 pixel global shutter complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor with an adjustable shutter time as low as 75 ps was implemented using a 0.5-µm mixed-signal CMOS process. The implementation consisted of a continuous contact ring around each p+/n-well photodiode in the pixel array in order to apply sufficient light shielding. The parasitic light sensitivity of the in-pixel storage node was measured to be 1/8.5 × 107 when illuminated by a 405-nm diode laser and 1/1.4 × 104 when illuminated by a 650-nm diode laser. The pixel pitch was 24 µm, the size of the square p+/n-well photodiode in each pixel was 7 µm per side, the measured random readout noise was 217 e(-) rms, and the measured dynamic range of the pixel of the designed chip was 5500:1. The type of gated CMOS image sensor (CIS) that is proposed here can be used in ultra-fast framing cameras to observe non-repeatable fast-evolving phenomena.

Early exposure of rotating magnetic fields promotes central nervous regeneration in planarian Girardia sinensis.

Magnetic field exposure is an accepted safe and effective modality for nerve injury. However, it is clinically used only as a supplement or salvage therapy at the later stage of treatment. Here, we used a planarian Girardia sinensis decapitated model to investigate beneficial effects of early rotary non-uniform magnetic fields (RMFs) exposure on central nervous regeneration. Our results clearly indicated that magnetic stimulation induced from early RMFs exposure significantly promoted neural regeneration of planarians. This stimulating effect is frequency and intensity dependent. Optimum effects were obtained when decapitated planarians were cultured at 20 °C, starved for 3 days before head-cutting, and treated with 6 Hz 0.02 T RMFs. At early regeneration stage, RMFs exposure eliminated edema around the wound and facilitated subsequent formation of blastema. It also accelerated cell proliferation and recovery of neuron functionality. Early RMFs exposure up-regulated expression of neural regeneration related proteins, EGR4 and Netrin 2, and mature nerve cell marker proteins, NSE and NPY. These results suggest that RMFs therapy produced early and significant benefit in central nervous regeneration, and should be clinically used at the early stage of neural regeneration, with appropriate optimal frequency and intensity.

Nanoscale three-dimensional single particle tracking by light-sheet-based double-helix point spread function microscopy.

The double-helix point spread function (DH-PSF) microscopy has become an essential tool for nanoscale three-dimensional (3D) localization and tracking of single molecules in living cells. However, its localization precision is limited by fluorescent contrast in thick samples because the signal-to-noise ratio of the system is low due to the inherent low transfer function efficiency and background fluorescence. Here we combine DH-PSF microscopy with light-sheet illumination to eliminate out-of-focus background fluorescence for high-precision 3D single particle tracking. To demonstrate the capability of the method, we obtain the single fluorescent bead image with light-sheet illumination, with three-dimensional localization accuracy better than that of epi-illumination. We also show that the single fluorescent beads in agarose solution can be tracked, which demonstrates the possibility of our method for the study of dynamic processes in complex biological specimens.

Quantitative analysis of fringe visibility in grating-based x-ray phase-contrast imaging.

The newly developed x-ray differential phase-contrast imaging technique has attracted increasing research interest. In this study, we quantitatively analyze the fringe visibility obtained in differential phase-contrast imaging. Numerical results of the visibility for polychromatic x rays with different structure heights of absorption gratings are shown and discussed. Furthermore, the fringe visibility of the nonabsorption grating approach is calculated, and based on the results, we conclude that this approach can potentially be applied for higher x-ray photon energies. These analytic results will be useful for designing a differential phase-contrast imaging system for different applications.

Obligate anaerobic Salmonella typhimurium strain YB1 treatment on xenograft tumor in immunocompetent mouse model.

The present authors have previously reported a novel approach to genetically engineer Salmonella typhimurium for the medically important therapeutic strategy of using bacterial agents to target malignant tumors in a breast cancer tumor-bearing nude mouse model. However, studying an immunocompromised mouse model for cancer therapy is insufficient, as certain crucial information about the influence of the immune system may be missing. In the present study, inoculation of the Salmonella strain, YB1, into a colon cancer tumor-bearing immunocompetent mouse model was investigated. The present study determined the tumor targeting efficiency, antitumor potential, the effects of multiple treatments and the systemic toxicity. Intravenous inoculation of YB1 in BALB/c mice exhibited high antitumor effects and also greatly increased the tumor targeting ability and safety compared with the previously-reported nude mouse model. In addition, repeated administration of YB1 further enhanced this effect. Furthermore, no marked toxicity was observed with YB1 treatment, while the VNP20009 and SL7207 strains demonstrated certain adverse effects. The findings of the present study indicate that the YB1 strain is effective and safe in targeting a colon cancer tumor in an immunocompetent mouse model.

Fast stimulated emission nanoscopy based on single molecule localization.

For super-resolution microscopy methods based on single molecule stochastic switching and localization, to simultaneously improve the spatial-temporal resolution, it is necessary to maximize the number of photons that can be collected from single molecules per unit time. Here, we describe a novel approach to enhance the signal intensity (collected photons per second) from fluorescence probes by introducing a stimulated emission (SE) optical process. This process is based on the following two properties: first, with reasonable parameters, the photon emission rate can be significantly increased with SE; and second, the SE photons, which are spatially coherent with the stimulation beam, are more favorable for collection than fluorescence. Theoretical results have shown that signal intensity from a single fluorescent molecule can be greatly improved with SE. We therefore showed, using SE in combination with single molecule localization methodology, that fast imaging at a rate of 0.05 s per reconstructed image with lateral resolutions of ∼30 nm can be obtained.

3D localization of high particle density images using sparse recovery.

If particles are too close in space, their images may be overlapped when they are observed with microscopes because of diffraction limitation, which makes them difficult to be distinguished or localized. This limitation also affects the efficiency of localization of those single-particle-localization microcopies, such as stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) and (fluorescence) photoactivated localization microscopy [(F)PALM]. In this work, we developed a 3D sparse recovery (3D-SR) method, with the aim of localizing particles with high density in three dimensions, which cannot be resolved using original STROM or (F)PALM. A cylindrical lens was introduced to a traditional wide-field microscope in order to form the 3D point spread function for 3D-SR. The performance of the 3D-SR method was evaluated using simulation. Simulated results demonstrated that, even for particle densities as high as 4 µm-2 on a transversal projection, particles could still be localized with high accuracy. The standard deviations were found to be 25.59 nm along the transverse direction and 50.42 nm along the axial direction. Compared with the existing 3D localization methods used in high particle density cases, such as 3D-DAOSTORM, 3D-SR allows a higher activated fluorophore density per frame.

Characteristic analysis of broadband plasmonic emitting devices based on transformation optics.

The crescent nanostructure with gain medium inside is theoretically studied to analyze the characteristic of plasmonic emitting with wide bandwidth. An accurate analytical model is built based on the transformation optics. In this model, the poles of the electrostatic potential function are in the second and the fourth quadrant of the complex plane if the imaginary part of the relative permittivity of the gain medium is larger than the loss compensation threshold, and then the extinction cross section is to be negative by integrating the electrostatic potential over the half complex plane via an inverse Fourier transform. The positive extinction cross section corresponds to absorption, and the negative corresponds to emission. The proposed analytical model agrees well with the numerical simulation results based on the finite element method, to give a physical insight into the loss compensation property of the plasmonic nanostuctures. Results show that the negative extinction cross section is realizable by introducing the gain medium into a plasmonic crescent nanowire, which is equivalent to an emitting device with wide bandwidth.

Photochemically grown silver nanodecahedra with precise tuning of plasmonic resonance.

The ability to control the local surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) absorption peaks of silver nanoparticles will greatly broaden the scope of their practical application. Conventional methods tune the LSPR peaks by modifying the shape or size of the silver nanoparticles. Here, we present a novel method to tune the LSPR band by controlling the particle corner sharpness. A modified photochemical method was used to prepare silver nanoparticles. It was found that the nanoparticles irradiated using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with a wavelength of 455 nm were decahedral, although the reaction temperature was different. However, the in-plane dipole LSPR peak of the as-prepared silver nanodecahedra exhibited an evident red shift from 460 nm to 500 nm during the synthesis process, and the wavelength of the LSPR peak increased linearly as the reaction time increased. A numerical simulation conducted to investigate the mechanism behind the shift revealed that the red shift of the LSPR peak was mainly induced by the evolution of the corner sharpness of the silver nanodecahedra. These results demonstrated the effectiveness of the method in precisely tuning the LSPR peak by controlling the reaction time. By turning off the irradiation light, the photochemical process could be immediately terminated, and the LSPR peak of the silver nanoparticles remained constant. Compared with conventional methods, the present tuning precision can reach 1 nm.

Sampling grating approach for X-ray differential phase contrast imaging.

Grating-based X-ray differential phase contrast imaging (GDPCI) typically employs the phase-stepping technique to extract an object's phase information. This method requires heavy radiation dosage and is time consuming. Another potential approach is the reverse projection (RP) method, which, however, relies on a synchrotron radiation source to obtain highly sensitive differential phase contrast(DPC) signal. Here, we present an alternative approach that enables the RP method to be used with a conventional X-ray source and substantially improves the sensitivity of the DPC signal by replacing the analyzer grating of the GDPCI with a sampling grating. This development represents a significant step towards obtaining fast and low-dosage DPC images in medical, biological, and industrial applications.

Large Energy Storage Density and High Thermal Stability in a Highly Textured (111)-Oriented Pb0.8Ba0.2ZrO3 Relaxor Thin Film with the Coexistence of Antiferroelectric and Ferroelectric Phases.

A highly textured (111)-oriented Pb0.8Ba0.2ZrO3 (PBZ) relaxor thin film with the coexistence of antiferroelectric (AFE) and ferroelectric (FE) phases was prepared on a Pt/TiOx/SiO2/Si(100) substrate by using a sol-gel method. A large recoverable energy storage density of 40.18 J/cm(3) along with an efficiency of 64.1% was achieved at room temperature. Over a wide temperature range of 250 K (from room temperature to 523 K), the variation of the energy density is within 5%, indicating a high thermal stability. The high energy storage performance was endowed by a large dielectric breakdown strength, great relaxor dispersion, highly textured orientation, and the coexistence of FE and AFE phases. The PBZ thin film is believed to be an attractive material for applications in energy storage systems over a wide temperature range.

Three dimensional multi-molecule tracking in thick samples with extended depth-of-field.

We present a non-z-scanning multi-molecule tracking system with nano-resolution in all three dimensions and extended depth of field (DOF), which based on distorted grating (DG) and double-helix point spread function (DH-PSF) combination microscopy (DDCM). The critical component in DDCM is a custom designed composite phase mask (PM) combining the functions of DG and DH-PSF. The localization precision and the effective DOF of the home-built DDCM system based on the designed PM were tested. Our experimental results show that the three-dimensional (3D) localization precision for the three diffraction orders of the grating are σ(-1st)(x, y, z) = (6.5 nm, 9.2nm, 23.4 nm), σ(0th)(x, y, z) = (3.7 nm, 2.8nm, 10.3 nm), and σ(+1s)(x, y, z) = (5.8 nm, 6.9 nm, 18.4 nm), respectively. Furthermore, the total effective DOF of the DDCM system is extended to 14 µm. Tracking experiment demonstrated that beads separated over 12 µm along the axial direction at some instants can be localized and tracked successfully.

Dynamic fluorescence lifetime imaging based on acousto-optic deflectors.

We report a dynamic fluorescence lifetime imaging (D-FLIM) system that is based on a pair of acousto-optic deflectors for the random regions of interest (ROI) study in the sample. The two-dimensional acousto-optic deflector devices are used to rapidly scan the femtosecond excitation laser beam across the sample, providing specific random access to the ROI. Our experimental results using standard fluorescent dyes in live cancer cells demonstrate that the D-FLIM system can dynamically monitor the changing process of the microenvironment in the ROI in live biological samples.

Significant field enhancements in an individual silver nanoparticle near a substrate covered with a thin gain film.

In this paper, we propose a method to significantly enhance the local-field of a gap plasmonic system by placing a metallic nanoparticle in close proximity to a substrate covered with a thin film using a gain material (∼100 nm thickness). Compared with a conventional dielectric substrate, the thin gain film can contribute to several, or dozens, of times more intense local electric fields in the gap between the particle and the substrate. We use the finite difference time domain method to numerically analyze the influences of the gain coefficient of the film and of the other parameters on the field enhancement. The numerical results show that there is an optimal refractive index of the gain film that enables us to achieve a maximal field enhancement for a given NP radius. Moreover, the optimal refractive index of the gain film can be incorporated into any available materials using metal nanoparticles with an appropriate radius.