Realisierung des 3 He-Kreislaufs zur 3 He-Magnet-Resonanz-Tomographie

Realisierung des 3He-Kreislaufs zur 3He-Magnet-Resonanz-Tomographie In der vorliegenden Dissertation wurde ein 3He-Kreislauf für die 3He-Magnet-Resonanz-Tomographie realisiert. Dazu wurde eine einfache Methode entwickelt, mit deren Hilfe es möglich ist,die Kernspinpolarisation von hyperpolarisiertem 3He bei hohen Drucken zu bestimmen.Bei einem Druck von ca. 3 bar konnte die Polarisation bis auf einen relativen Fehlervon etwa 5 % genau bestimmt werden. Zum Transport des polarisierten 3He wurden Magnetfelder konstruiert, die in einem Volumenbis zu V = 13,8 l ein homogenes Führungsfeld bereitstellen. Diese besitzen eineabschirmende Wirkung auf äußere Felder, und die benötigten magnetischen Flußdichten vonetwa 8 Gauá werden durch Permanentmagneten erzeugt. Bei geschwindigkeitsgewichteten Untersuchungen an zylindrischen Phantomen und Probandenkonnte laminare Strömung von 3He-Luftgemischen mit der Methode der 3He-vMRT bestimmtwerden. Bei zweidimensionalen Untersuchungen ließen sich laminare Strömungsprofile mitihren absoluten, ortsabhängigen Geschwindigkeiten ermitteln, während eindimensionalenMessungen ebenfalls laminare Strömungsprofile zeigten. Mit einer eigens entwickelten He-Aufbereitung wurden bis zu 95,8 % des eingeatmetenHeliums aus dem ausgeatmeten Gas zurückgewonnen. Der Anfangsgehalt an Helium betrugetwa 2 % und konnte um mehr als 6 Größenordnungen angereichert werden. Die Gasreinheitreichte aus, um eine erneute Polarisation des 3He zu ermöglichen. Die erreichteMaximalpolarisation lag dabei nur geringfügig unter der mit originalem 3He.

DNA block copolymers – from micelles to machines

DNA block copolymer, a new class of hybrid material composed of a synthetic polymer and an oligodeoxynucleotide segment, owns unique properties which can not be achieved by only one of the two polymers. Among amphiphilic DNA block copolymers, DNA-b-polypropylene oxide (PPO) was chosen as a model system, because PPO is biocompatible and has a Tg < 0 °C. Both properties might be essential for future applications in living systems. During my PhD study, I focused on the properties and the structures of DNA-b-PPO molecules. First, DNA-b-PPO micelles were studied by scanning force microscopy (SFM) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). In order to control the size of micelles without re-synthesis, micelles were incubated with template-independent DNA polymerase TdT and deoxynucleotide triphosphates in reaction buffer solution. By carrying out ex-situ experiments, the growth of micelles was visualized by imaging in liquid with AFM. Complementary measurements with FCS and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) confirmed the increase in size. Furthermore, the growing process was studied with AFM in-situ at 37 °C. Hereby the growth of individual micelles could be observed. In contrast to ex-situ reactions, the growth of micelles adsorbed on mica surface for in-situ experiments terminated about one hour after the reaction was initiated. Two reasons were identified for the termination: (i) block of catalytic sites by interaction with the substrate and (ii) reduced exchange of molecules between micelles and the liquid environment. In addition, a geometrical model for AFM imaging was developed which allowed deriving the average number of mononucleotides added to DNA-b-PPO molecules in dependence on the enzymatic reaction time (chapter 3). Second, a prototype of a macroscopic DNA machine made of DNA-b-PPO was investigated. As DNA-b-PPO molecules were amphiphilic, they could form a monolayer at the air-water interface. Using a Langmuir film balance, the energy released owing to DNA hybridization was converted into macroscopic movements of the barriers in the Langmuir trough. A specially adapted Langmuir trough was build to exchange the subphase without changing the water level significantly. Upon exchanging the subphase with complementary DNA containing buffer solution, an increase of lateral pressure was observed which could be attributed to hybridization of single stranded DNA-b-PPO. The pressure versus area/molecule isotherms were recorded before and after hybridization. I also carried out a series of control experiments, in order to identify the best conditions of realizing a DNA machine with DNA-b-PPO. To relate the lateral pressure with molecular structures, Langmuir Blodgett (LB) films were transferred to highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and mica substrates at different pressures. These films were then investigated with AFM (chapter 4). At last, this thesis includes studies of DNA and DNA block copolymer assemblies with AFM, which were performed in cooperation with different group of the Sonderforschungsbereich 625 “From Single Molecules to Nanoscopically Structured Materials”. AFM was proven to be an important method to confirm the formation of multiblock copolymers and DNA networks (chapter 5).