National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC

Other

Kimberly Butler

Dorina Florentina Sava Gallis

Lauren E S Rohwer

Dorina F Sava Gallis

Charles Jeffrey Brinker

Paul N Durfee

Jacob Ivan Deneff

The invention provides a powerful design strategy towards next-generation, multiplexed, lifetime-encoded tags via engineering intermetallic energy transfer in heterometallic metal-organic frameworks based on nonanuclear metal clusters. Precise manipulation of the luminescence decay dynamics over a wide microsecond regime can be achieved owing to the control over metal ordering in these systems. As an example of the invention, a novel, dynamic double encoding method that uses the braille alphabet was achieved by incorporating the materials into photocurable inks patterned on glass and interrogated via digital high-speed imaging. The facile synthesis and interrogation of these heterometallic metal-organic frameworks having complex and tunable optical properties enables next-generation, multiplexed optical tags.

Tunable rare earth metal-organic frameworks for complex optical tags

A rapid and facile design strategy to create a highly complex optical tag with programmable, multimodal photoluminescent properties is described. This is achieved via intrinsic and biomolecule-fluorophore hidden signatures. As a first covert feature of the tag, an intricate novel heterometallic near-infrared (NIR) emitting mesoporous metal-organic framework (MOF) was synthesized comprising homometallic hexanuclear clusters based on Nd and Yb. To generate controlled, multimodal, and tailorable emission with difficult to counterfeit features, the NIR emissive MOF was post-synthetically modified via a fluorescent biomolecule labeling design strategy. The surface attachment of several distinct fluorophores, including the simultaneous attachment of up to three distinct fluorescently labeled DNA oligos was demonstrated, with excitation and emission properties across the visible spectrum (480-800 nm). The DNA inclusion as a secondary covert element in the tag was demonstrated via detection of SYBR Gold dye association.

Mixed cluster heterometallic metal-organic frameworks for complex optical tags

Optical tags provide a way to identify assets quickly and unambiguously, an application relevant to anti-counterfeiting and protection of valuable resources or information. The present invention is directed to a tag fluorophore that encodes multilayer complexity in a family of heterometallic rare-earth metal-organic frameworks (RE-MOFs) based on highly connected polynuclear clusters and carboxylic acid-based linkers. Both overt (visible) and covert (near infrared, NIR) properties with concomitant multi-emissive spectra and tunable luminescence lifetimes impart both intricacy and security. Tag authentication can be validated with a variety of orthogonal detection methodologies. The relationships between structure, composition, and optical properties of the family of RE-MOFs can be used to create a large library of rationally designed, highly complex, difficult to counterfeit optical tags.

Optical tags comprising rare earth metal-organic frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) comprising amines on the organic linker can be used for cell targeting. In particular, primary amine groups represent one of the most versatile chemical moieties for conjugation to biologically relevant molecules, including antibodies and enzymes. Different chemical conjugation schemes can be used to conjugate biological molecules to the amino functionality on the organic linker. For example, carbodiimide chemistry can be used to link a primary amine to available carboxyl groups on the protein. For example, sulfhydryl crosslinking chemistry can be used via Traut's reagent scheme. As a demonstration of the invention, the ability of EpCAM antibody-targeted MOFs to bind to a human epithelial cell line (A549), a common target for imaging studies, was confirmed with confocal microscopy.

Targeted near-infrared imaging by metal-organic frameworks

A motorized cart assembly includes a cart that has a basket, a collapsible frame and a plurality of wheels. The basket has a height that is greater than a width of the basket to accommodate tent poles and a tent. The frame includes a pole support for insertably receiving a respective one of the tent poles to vertically orient the respective tent pole. A drive unit is coupled to the cart and the drive unit is in mechanical communication with respective ones of the wheels. The drive unit rotates the respective wheels when the drive unit is turned on thereby facilitating the cart to be self propelled. The drive unit is in wireless communication with a personal electronic device for remotely controlling the drive unit.

Motorized cart assembly

In one aspect, the disclosure provides mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNPs), monodisperse populations of MSNPs and related protocells which exhibit cell binding specificity. For example, MSNPs and protocells of the disclosure may be used to target specific delivery of therapeutic agents to CD19 or EGFR expressing cancer cells, or target specific delivery of therapeutic agents to other cell types. Related protocells, pharmaceutical compositions and therapeutic and diagnostic methods are also provided.

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Albuquerque, NM, United States of America

Kimberly Butler