Statin-boosted cellular uptake of penetratin due to reduced membrane dipole potential

Since cell penetrating peptides are promising tools for delivery of cargo into cells, factors limiting or facilitating their cellular uptake are intensely studied. Using labeling with pH-insensitive and pH-sensitive dyes we report that escape of penetratin from acidic endo-lysosomal compartments is retarded compared to its cellular uptake. The membrane dipole potential, known to alter transmembrane transport of charged molecules, is shown to be negatively correlated with the concentration of penetratin in the cytoplasmic compartment. Treatment of cells with therapeutically relevant concentrations of atorvastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase and cholesterol synthesis, significantly increased the release of penetratin from acidic endocytic compartments in two different cell types. This effect of atorvastatin correlated with its ability to decrease the membrane dipole potential. These results highlight the importance of the dipole potential in regulating cellular uptake of cell penetrating peptides and suggest a clinically relevant way of boosting this process.

Optical pH imaging of concrete exposed to chemically corrosive environments

Major types of chemical concrete degradation such as carbonation, leaching and acid attacks are strongly associated with decreasing internal or external pH. Thus a precise determination of the latter is crucial for the assessment regarding the degree of corrosion and corresponding development of prevention strategies. Conventional pH measure methods for concrete, such as phenolphthalein indicator, pore solution extractions and flat surface electrodes have proven to contain significant limitations and inadequacies. This contribution presents the application of sensor foils based on luminescent pH sensitive dyes entrapped in a polymeric hydrogel matrix, to quantify and image the distribution of surface pH of concrete based construction materials. An imaging technique called time-domain dual lifetime referencing (t-DLR) was used, which suppresses artifacts from scattering of the background and other light inhomogeneities. Using this methodology high-resolution pH profiles of concrete samples exposed to carbonation and biogenic acid corrosion were recorded.

Sorption of hydrophilic dyes on anodic aluminium oxide films and application to pH sensing

The sorption of selected hydrophilic pH-sensitive dyes (bromophenol blue, bromothymol blue, bromocresol purple, alizarin red, methyl orange, congo red, rhodamine 6G) on films of anodized aluminium oxide (AAO) was investigated in this study.

Sensitive colorimetric sensors for visual detection of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide

Reusable, solid-supported colorimetric sensors, prepared from tertiary amino alcohols and pH-sensitive dyes, can detect ppm levels of gaseous CO2 and SO2.

Halochromic Textile Materials as Innovative pH-Sensors

Recently, an increasing interest in pH-sensitive textiles is recognized. These chromic textiles can be used as flexible sensors for various applications. The aim of the current research is to develop textile pH-sensors through the application of pH-sensitive dyes on various textile materials using different techniques. The results of our study show that halochromic dyes can be incorporated into conventional textiles by a conventional dyeing technique. Also coating the fabrics with a sol-gel layer containing the halochromic dye proved to be successful. The majority of these developed materials showed a clearly visible color change with a pH-variation. The response of the sensors was dependent on the density of the fabric but was generally relatively fast, especially for the sol-gel treated fabrics. The halochromic coloration of nanofibres was realized by directly adding the dyes during the fiber formation, which was shown to be highly effective. Again, a clear halochromic shift was observed. The response of these sensors was fast thanks to the high porosity of nanofibrous non-wovens. Yet, it should be kept in mind that the halochromic behavior of the dyes in the textile matrix altered compared to their behavior in solution which is most likely attributed to dye-fiber interactions. Generally we can conclude that various coloration techniques showed to be effective for the development of innovative textile pH-sensors.