Adhesion-induced DNA naturation

DNA adsorption and naturation is modeled via two interacting flexible homopolymers coupled to a solid surface. DNA denatures if the entropy gain for unbinding the two strands overcomes the loss of binding energy. When adsorbed to a surface, the entropy gain is smaller than in the bulk, leading to a stronger binding and, upon neglecting self-avoidance, absence of a denatured phase. Now consider conditions where the binding potentials are too weak for naturation, and the surface potential too weak to adsorb single strands. In a variational approach it is shown that their combined action may lead to a naturated adsorbed phase. Conditions for the absence of naturation and adsorption are derived too. The phase diagram is constructed qualitatively.     

NEXAFS characterization of DNA components and molecular-orientation of surface-bound DNA oligomers

Single stranded DNA oligomers (ssDNA) immobilized onto solid surfaces forms the basis for several biotechnological applications such as DNA microarrays, affinity separations, and biosensors. The surface structure of the surface-bound oligomers is expected to significantly influence their biological activity and interactions with the environment. In this study near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) is used to characterize the components of DNA (nucleobases, nucleotides and nucleosides) and the orientation information of surface-bound ssDNA. The K-edges of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen have spectra with features that are characteristic of the different chemical species present in the nucleobases of DNA. The effect of addition of the DNA sugar and phosphate components on the NEXAFS K-edge spectra was also investigated. The polarization-dependent nitrogen K-edge NEXAFS data show significant changes for different orientations of surface bound ssDNA. These results establish NEXAFS as a powerful technique for chemical and structural characterization of surface-bound DNA oligomers.     

Direct observation of azimuthal correlations between DNA in hydrated aggregates

This study revisits the classical x-ray diffraction patterns from hydrated, noncrystalline fibers originally used to establish the helical structure of DNA. We argue that changes in these diffraction patterns with DNA packing density reveal strong azimuthally dependent interactions between adjacent molecules up to approximately 40 A interaxial or approximately 20 A surface-to-surface separations. These interactions appear to force significant torsional "straightening" of DNA and strong azimuthal alignment of nearest neighbor molecules. The results are in good agreement with the predictions of recent theoretical models relating DNA-DNA interactions to the helical symmetry of their surface charge patterns.     

Direct evidence for Ge preferential growth at steps and out-of-phase boundaries of (7 × 7) domains on Si(111) in solid phase epitaxy

Ge solid phase epitaxy on a Si(111) surface has been directly observed by secondary electron surface microscopy which is based on scanning electron microscopy. Ge island formation initially occurs at steps and out-of-phase boundaries of (7 × 7) domains. These results confirm the origin of previously reported mesh patterns of Ge islands grown on Si(111).     

稠密颗粒射流撞击壁面颗粒膜表面波纹特征

采用高速摄像仪对稠密颗粒射流撞击有限尺寸壁面的流动过程进行了实验研究,重点研究了颗粒膜及其表面波纹特征,考察了颗粒粒径、射流速度和固含率等因素对颗粒膜形态和表面波纹的影响.研究结果表明,随着颗粒粒径增大,稠密颗粒撞壁流由颗粒膜向散射模式转变.与液体射流撞壁液膜相比,颗粒膜扩展角较大,射流速度对其影响不显著.稠密颗粒射流撞壁颗粒膜表面波纹存在明显的叠加现象,颗粒膜表面波纹频率比液膜大约低一个数量级.颗粒膜表面波纹主要由射流脉动引起,表面波纹频率与射流脉动频率具有相同的数量级.     

拉直的单个DNA分子的全内反射荧光实时成像研究

全内反射荧光(TIRF)成像技术利用穿透深度仅200 nm左右的隐失波来激发诱导荧光,探测灵敏度和图像信噪比大大提高,成为单分子研究的有力工具。分子梳技术利用DNA末端与固体表面的结合力和周围流体流动产生的侧向力将DNA分子拉伸并平铺在表面上。结合这两种技术,对分子梳拉直的单个DNA分子进行了清晰的实时荧光成像,发现TIRF成像条件下DNA分子与荧光探针YOYO-1组成的复合体可自然避免发生光敏断裂现象;实时监测了单个DNA-YOYO-1复合体的光漂白过程,通过对激发光照射时间与探测器曝光时间进行同步控制,可大幅降低光漂白程度,为拉直的单个DNA分子的长时间实时观察和成像研究优化了实验条件,为实时、可视化地研究其与蛋白质相互作用的动力学过程奠定了基础。     

烃在四种典型活性炭中吸附状态随温度变化的~1H NMR和~2H NMR的研究

本文观察了吸附在四种孔结构活性炭中苯,环已烷和正已烷的~1H NMR和笊代苯的~2H NMR谱线在297～195 κ温度范围内的变化。在室温下被吸附的上述各种化合物的~1H NMR及~2H NMR谱均为一条线宽不同的单峰,且随温度下降而增宽。在~2H NMR谱中发现,当以对数表示的谱线半高宽和绝对温度倒数的直线关系上出现拐点时,同时可观察到固体粉末谱线。除2~#活性炭外,最初出现固体粉末谱的温度大致相同。这暗示粉末谱是毛细管中三维类液体固化的结果。文内就所观察到的现象进行了初步讨论。     

Diffusion-limited aggregation: A relationship between surface thermodynamics and crystal morphology

We have combined the original diffusion-limited aggregation model introduced by Witten and Sander with the surface thermodynamics of the growing solid aggregate. The theory is based on the consideration of the surface chemical potential as a thermodynamic function of the temperature and nearest-neighbor configuration. The Monte Carlo simulations on a two-dimensional square lattice produce the broad range of shapes such as fractal dendritic structures, densely branching patterns, and compact aggregates. The morphology diagram illustrating the relationship between the model parameters and cluster geometry is presented and discussed.     

壁面涂层构型对垂直降膜流动特性的影响

利用特种表面涂层材料对实验管壁进行改性,使液膜形成沟流,实现液膜的内外表面溶液重新掺混;管外涂层的不同构型形成表面张力梯度表面,在吸收过程中可引导液滴向液膜方向运动,促进液膜扰动,从而达到强化传质的目的.通过液膜流动的可视化照片和液膜波动特性的实验结果,对不同状况下的流动形态进行初步分析.     

Surface wettability of silicon substrates enhanced by laser ablation

Laser–ablation techniques have been widely applied for removing material from a solid surface using a laser–beam irradiating apparatus. This paper presents a surface–texturing technique to create rough patterns on a silicon substrate using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser system. The different degrees of microstructure and surface roughness were adjusted by the laser fluence and laser pulse duration. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a 3D confocal laser–scanning microscope are used to measure the surface micrograph and roughness of the patterns, respectively. The contact angle variations between droplets on the textured surface were measured using an FTA 188 video contact angle analyzer. The results indicate that increasing the values of laser fluence and laser pulse duration pushes more molten slag piled around these patterns to create micro-sized craters and leads to an increase in the crater height and surface roughness. A typical example of a droplet on a laser–textured surface shows that the droplet spreads very quickly and almost disappears within 0.5167 s, compared to a contact angle of 47.9° on an untextured surface. This processing technique can also be applied to fabricating Si solar panels to increase the absorption efficiency of light.     

Sub-micron scale patterning using femtosecond laser and self-assembled monolayers interaction

Standard positive photoresist techniques were adapted to generate sub-micron scale patterns of gold substrate using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and femtosecond laser. Self-assembled monolayers formed by the adsorption of alkanethiols onto gold substrate are employed as very thin photoresists. The process underlying photopatterning of SAMs on gold is well-known at the phenomenological level. Alkanethiolates formed by the adsorption of alkanethiols are oxidized on exposure to UV light in the presence of air to alkylsulfonates. Specifically, it is known that deep UV light of wavelength less than 200 nm is necessary for oxidation to occur. In this study, solid state femtosecond laser of wavelength 800 nm is applied for photolithography. The results show that ultrafast laser of near infrared (NIR) range wavelength can replace deep UV laser source for photopatterning using thin organic films. The essential basis of our approach is the photochemical excitation of specific reactions in a particular functional group (in this case a thiolate sulfur atom) distributed with monolayer coverage on a solid surface. Femtosecond laser photolithography could be applied to fabricate the patterning of surface chemical structure and the creation of three-dimensional nanostructures by combination with suitable etching methods.     

Bridging biomolecules with nanoparticles: surface‐enhanced Raman scattering from colon carcinoma and normal tissue

In order to get insight into the chemical heterogeneities of solid tumors, here we report the first surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) experiment from normal and altered epithelial layer in human colon carcinoma tissues. The Ag colloidal nanoparticles that can be incorporated into the interstitial space in solid tumors or those penetrating into cytoplasm or nucleus of many cells allowed high quality SERS signal. Different tissue structures of tumor and normal colon have characteristic features in SERS spectra. Prominent SERS features of malignant tissue spectra are related to the strong enhancement of the bands preponderantly attributable to DNA or RNA bases. The preliminary studies demonstrate that it is possible to probe Ag colloidal nanoparticles adsorption onto the tissue resulting in a strong molecular signaling with high specificity and rapid acquisition time using visible laser line excitation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Separation of chiral molecules by temperature programmed desorption

The Monte Carlo simulation method was used to model thermal desorption of a pair of enantiomers from a solid surface with a chiral periodic pattern of active sites. The main objective of the study was to determine the optimal number of the active sites and their spatial distribution within the unit cell of the surface to achieve the most efficient separation of the enantiomers. For that purpose we tested the series of chiral patterns which were found previously for the equilibrium adsorption. Temperature programmed desorption spectra were calculated using a square lattice of adsorption sites in which the active sites were distributed spatially according to the candidate patterns. Additionally, influence of relaxation of the adsorbed layer on the relative shift of the TPD peaks of the enantiomers was assessed and the key factors affecting the chiral separation were identified.     

All solid state ion-conducting cesium source for atomic clocks

Cesium containing glass with solid metal electrodes was used as a Cs atom source in a high vacuum system. A silver anode provides an injection source of highly mobile ions which sweep Cs to the cathode surface, from which they evaporate into the vacuum. Cathode metallization with finger patterns was used leaving bare glass for Cs evaporation. Laser absorption measurements show Cs vapor generation synchronous with an applied DC voltage.     

Estimating critical surface tension from droplet spreading area

Critical surface tension (CST) is a measure of solid surface tension and is mainly determined by measuring the contact angle of a droplet on a target solid surface. The concept of CST makes it possible to determine solid surface tension without any unprovable assumptions such as the Fowkes hypothesis. However, it requires somewhat special devices and skills for measuring the contact angle. In this work, we propose a simple method to determine the CST of a solid by measuring the droplet spreading area. This method is developed by combining the conventional CST with a simple analytical droplet model. The difference in estimated CSTs between our method and the conventional one is within 3.0%. Our method enables a quick and simple evaluation of the solid surface tension without special devices for measuring the contact angle.     

Surface studies by electron diffraction

The problems in the analysis of surface structures by means of electron diffraction, particularly at low energy, are reviewed. A brief introduction is given to the basic scattering and diffraction phenomena occurring at a solid surface after which the nature of the experimental diffraction data is described. The theoretical interpretation of the diffracted intensity by various kinematical and dynamical methods is outlined and the present difficulties in obtaining a complete surface structure determination are examined. The different types of ordered and disordered layers which may be formed on a surface—usually by adsorption of foreign species—are discussed and the interpretation of the corresponding diffraction patterns is illustrated by some examples.     

Stability of negative ions near the surface of a solid

Stationary states of molecular negative ions (anions) near the surface of a solid are investigated. The lone electron is assumed to interact with a diatomic molecule and the surface of the solid. The energies of electron levels are determined by solving the 2D Schrödinger equation. It is shown that its stable solutions exist at distances from the surface greater than some critical distance, otherwise the electron is detached from the anion. In the case of attraction between the electron and the solid, the interaction potential between the anion and the solid appears to have the Lennard-Jones form and the ion is separated from the surface by some equilibrium distance.     

Surface dynamics and breakdown patterns of a random solid subject to a biased 3D etching

We propose a selective disaggregation model in three dimensions with a mixed Brownian-deterministic motion of the etchant particle driven by a tuning parameter taking into account the presence of an external field. The width of the surface sites in saturation is described by the Edwards-Wilkinson scaling law as in a ballistic selective decay process. Besides, we consider the surfaces resulting when the solid substrate is completely eroded up to the electrical breakdown. In this situation, we analyse the effects of the etchant particle motion on the topology and conductivity of the residual substrate and we compare the relevant patterns with the ones related to the classical percolation theory. These results may interpret some recent experimental findings in electrochemical nanotechnology.     

EPR of Charge Carriers Stabilized at the Surface of Metal Oxides

Some cases of formation and stabilization of charge carriers (electron and holes) at the surface of solid oxides are discussed. Charge carriers can be simultaneously or independently stabilized at the surface metal oxides. In the former case, they usually derive from a process of charge separation in the solid triggered by above band gap irradiation. In the second case, the charge carrier isolation is the result of a chemical alteration of the stoichiometric equilibrium of the solid either by matter addition or by effect of chemical impurities (valence induction). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is highly suited to monitor the process of charge separation and to characterize electron or hole centers stabilized in the solid or at its surface. In this paper examples of trapped electron and/or trapped hole centers as detected by continuous-wave EPR at the surface of simple binary oxides are discussed with particular emphasis to the formation mechanism, the EPR parameters and the chemical reactivity.     

Manipulation of subwavelength optical fields and resonant field enhancements of a silver-shell nanocylinder pair and chain waveguides with different core–shell patterns

Near field optical properties and surface plasmon resonances on a pair of silver-shell nanocylinder and nanochain waveguides with different core–shell patterns which interact with incident plane wave along chain axis are numerically investigated by using the finite element method. Simulation results show that the peak wavelengths and resonant field enhancements are highly tunable by using the nanoshell particles instead of solid ones, revealing a critical relationship among the wavelengths and illuminated direction of incident light, interparticle spacing, radii, and medium of dielectric holes and the patterns of chain waveguides. Besides, nanochain waveguides with different patterns of core–shell that are operated on resonant multipolar modes can provide higher propagation intensities and the transmission ability can be increased by decreasing the size of nanocylinders along the chain axis.