Plasmon-enhanced two-channel in situ Kretschmann ellipsometry of protein adsorption, cellular adhesion and polyelectrolyte deposition on titania nanostructures.

Plasmon-enhanced in situ spectroscopic ellipsometry was realized using the Kretschmann geometry. A 10-µL flow cell was designed for multi-channel measurements using a semi-cylindrical lens. Dual-channel monitoring of the layer formation of different organic structures has been demonstrated on titania nanoparticle thin films supported by gold. Complex modeling capabilities as well as a sensitivity of ~40 pg/mm2 with a time resolution of 1 s was achieved. The surface adsorption was enhanced by the titania nanoparticles due to the larger specific surface and nanoroughness, which is consistent with our previous results on titanate nanotubes.

Incubator proof miniaturized Holomonitor to in situ monitor cancer cells exposed to green tea polyphenol and preosteoblast cells adhering on nanostructured titanate surfaces: validity of the measured parameters and their corrections.

The in situ observation of cell movements and morphological parameters over longer periods of time under physiological conditions is critical in basic cell research and biomedical applications. The quantitative phase-contrast microscope applied in this study has a remarkably small size, therefore it can be placed directly into a humidified incubator. Here, we report on the successful application of this M4 Holomonitor to observe cancer cell motility, motility speed, and migration in the presence of the green tea polyphenol, epigallocatechin gallate, as well as to monitor the adhesion of preosteoblast cells on nanostructured titanate coatings, relevant for biomedical applications. A special mechanical stage was developed to position the sample into that range of the optical arrangement where digital autofocusing works with high reproducibility and precision. By in-depth analyzing the obtained single cell morphological parameters, we show that the limited vertical resolution of the optical setup results in underestimated single cell contact area and volume and overestimated single cell averaged thickness. We propose a simple model to correct the recorded data to obtain more precise single cell parameters. We compare the results with the kinetic data recorded by a surface sensitive optical biosensor, optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy.

Enhanced protein adsorption and cellular adhesion using transparent titanate nanotube thin films made by a simple and inexpensive room temperature process: application to optical biochips.

A new type of titanate nanotube (TNT) coating is investigated for exploitation in biosensor applications. The TNT layers were prepared from stable but additive-free sols without applying any binding compounds. The simple, fast spin-coating process was carried out at room temperature, and resulted in well-formed films around 10nm thick. The films are highly transparent as expected from their nanostructure and may, therefore, be useful as coatings for surface-sensitive optical biosensors to enhance the specific surface area. In addition, these novel coatings could be applied to medical implant surfaces to control cellular adhesion. Their morphology and structure was characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and their chemical state by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). For quantitative surface adhesion studies, the films were prepared on optical waveguides. The coated waveguides were shown to still guide light; thus, their sensing capability remains. Protein adsorption and cell adhesion studies on the titanate nanotube films and on smooth control surfaces revealed that the nanostructured titanate enhanced the adsorption of albumin; furthermore, the coatings considerably enhanced the adhesion of living mammalian cells (human embryonic kidney and preosteoblast).