Agata Scordino

INFLUENCE OF THE PRESENCE OF ATRAZINE IN WATER ON THE IN-VIVO DELAYED LUMINESCENCE OF ACETABULARIA ACETABULUM

Abstract This article shows that the photoinduced delay luminescence in the seconds time range emitted from a unicellular alga Acetabuluria acetabulum is influenced in selective way by the presence of atrazine in the matrix. The presence of atrazine is noticeable up to a concentration of about 0.5 μg l −1 . The presented phenomenon suggests the possibility of analyzing trace elements in water, destined to be used for drinking, using a physical parameter related to a biological system and could make possible the development of a new methodology for monitoring water pollution.

Analogous features of delayed luminescence from Acetabularia acetabulum and some solid state systems

This paper compares some features of the delayed luminescence in the seconds range emitted from an unicellular alga Acetabularia acetabulum and from some solid state systems. Results lead us to think that such delayed luminescence is connected to the dimension of the ordered structures present in both biological and solid state systems. In particular, for the biological system examined, these structures are thought to be those which contribute to the dynamic formation of the cytoskeleton.

Laser-ultraviolet-A-induced ultraweak photon emission in mammalian cells

Photobiological research in the last 30 yr has shown the existence of ultraweak photon emission in biological tissue, which can be detected with sophisticated photomultiplier systems. Although the emission of this ultraweak radiation, often termed biophotons, is extremely low in mammalian cells, it can be efficiently increased by ultraviolet light. Most recently it was shown that UV-A (330 to 380 nm) releases such very weak cell radiation in differentiated human skin fibroblasts. Based on these findings, a new and powerful tool in the form of UV-A-laser-induced biophotonic emission of cultured cells was developed with the intention to detect biophysical changes between carcinogenic and normal cells. With suspension densities ranging from 1 to 8 x 10(6) cells/mL, it was evident that an increase of the UV-A-laser-light induced photon emission intensity could be observed in normal as well as melanoma cells. Using this new detection procedure of ultraweak light emission, photons in cell suspensions as low as 100 microL could be determined, which is a factor of 100 lower compared to previous procedures. Moreover, the detection procedure has been further refined by turning off the photomultiplier system electronically during irradiation leading to the first measurements of induced light emission in the cells after less than 10 micros instead of 150 ms, as reported in previous procedures. This improvement leads to measurements of light bursts up 10(7) photons/s instead of several hundred as found with classical designs. Overall, we find decreasing induction ratings between normal and melanoma cells as well as cancer-prone and melanoma cells. Therefore, it turns out that this highly sensitive and noninvasive device enables us to detect high levels of ultraweak photon emission following UV-A-laser-induced light stimulation within the cells, which enables future development of new biophysical strategies in cell research.

Role of water content in dielectric properties and delayed luminescence of bovine Achilles’ tendon

In order to investigate the role of water network in collagen structure, measurement of dielectric permittivity was performed on bovine Achilles’ tendon as a function of water content. The data show a sudden decrease of the permittivity at each measured frequency value when the tendon humidity decreases. A similar behaviour is shown by the total number of photons emitted in delayed luminescence (DL) experiments. The comparison of the two results is in agreement with the hypothesis that DL is connected to the excitation and subsequent decay of collective electronic states, whose properties depend on the organized structure of the system.

Discrimination between normal and cancer cells by using spectral analysis of delayed luminescence.

In our present studies, the time-resolved emission spectrum of delayed luminescence of cell cultures of human fibroblast and human melanoma have been measured using a sophisticated single photon device. Noticeable differences have been found both in the emission spectra, which are time dependent, and in the timing aspects of the different spectral components. This powerful and noninvasive technique can be applied in all fields of skin research, such as the investigation of skin abnormalities and to test the effect of products involved in regeneration, antiaging, and UV-light protection in order to prevent skin cancer.

Advanced research equipment for fast ultraweak luminescence analysis

This article describes new advanced research equipment for fast ultraweak luminescence analysis, which can detect at high sensitivity photons after ultraviolet A laser irradiation in biological probes as well as plant, animal, and human cells. The design and construction of this equipment, developed at the Southern National Laboratory of the National Nuclear Physics Institute, is described with the first experimental results and future developments. The setup, employing a photomultiplier tube working in single photon counting mode, allows accurate and reliable photoluminescence measurements with excitation wavelengths in the range 337–700 nm and the emission wavelength in the range 400–800 nm. With respect to the traditional setup, this new equipment is able to perform measurements starting at a few microseconds after the laser irradiation is switched off and with a large detection efficiency (about 10% of the total solid angle). Moreover, the adopted design assures a low background noise level. A further...

‘Simultaneous’ measurements of delayed luminescence and chloroplast organization in Acetabularia acetabulum

Abstract This paper reports results of ‘simultaneous’ measurements of chloroplast streaming and delayed luminescence of Acetabularia cells. We show that freezing in liquid nitrogen or incubation in chloroform affects significantly and rapidly both the organelle motility and delayed luminescence decay. Results suggest the idea that delayed luminescence is related to the integrity of the dynamic chloroplast organization.

Single seed viability checked by delayed luminescence

Time resolved spectral components of delayed luminescence (DL) from single dry soybean seeds were measured using a device with single photon sensitivity. The seeds were aged by a thermal treatment to change their viability. A correlation was observed between the seeds viability and some DL parameters, i.e. the total number of photons emitted and the relative decay probability of excited states. This relevant result confirms the close connection between the state of biological systems and their DL, and it can allow the development of a quick selection technique for single dry seeds, a goal impossible up today.

Detailed Analysis of Apoptosis and Delayed Luminescence of Human Leukemia Jurkat T Cells after Proton Irradiation and Treatments with Oxidant Agents and Flavonoids

Following previous work, we investigated in more detail the relationship between apoptosis and delayed luminescence (DL) in human leukemia Jurkat T cells under a wide variety of treatments. We used menadione and hydrogen peroxide to induce oxidative stress and two flavonoids, quercetin, and epigallocatechin gallate, applied alone or in combination with menadione or H2O2. 62 MeV proton beams were used to irradiate cells under a uniform dose of 2 or 10 Gy, respectively. We assessed apoptosis, cell cycle distributions, and DL. Menadione, H2O2 and quercetin were potent inducers of apoptosis and DL inhibitors. Quercetin decreased clonogenic survival and the NAD(P)H level in a dose-dependent manner. Proton irradiation with 2 Gy but not 10 Gy increased the apoptotic rate. However, both doses induced a substantial G2/M arrest. Quercetin reduced apoptosis and prolonged the G2/M arrest induced by radiation. DL spectroscopy indicated that proton irradiation disrupted the electron flow within Complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, thus explaining the massive necrosis induced by 10 Gy of protons and also suggested an equivalent action of menadione and quercetin at the level of the Fe/S center N2, which may be mediated by their binding to a common site within Complex I, probably the rotenone-binding site.

Delayed luminescence of microalgae as an indicator of metal toxicity

The delayed luminescence (DL) (i.e. the photo-induced photon emission long after the illumination is switched off) of unicellular green algae samples has been measured when different concentrations of heavy metals are added to the standard culture medium, with the aim of assessing the DL as a promising approach for assaying the toxicity of contaminants such as metals. In particular, samples of freshwater green micro-algae Selenastrum capricornutum have been used. Concentrations of cadmium, chromium, lead and copper, ranging from 10−5 to 10−2 M, have been tested. The analysis of the decay trends, in the time interval from tens of microseconds to seconds, of the DL spectral components demonstrates that the DL parameters are sensitive to the presence of such pollutants. More precisely, the performed analysis allowed us to determine phenomenological relationships between the DL parameters and the metal concentration that could be used in view of the possibility of realizing a biosensor for water pollution detection. Attempts to distinguish between different contaminants are also described. Results of this preliminary study show that the DL measure based technique is suitable as a general bioassay of metal contamination and it could also be used to test the efficiency in bioavailability studies.