Matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation processing of triacetate-pullulan polysaccharide thin films for drug delivery systems

We report the first successful deposition of triacetate-pullulan polysaccharide thin films by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation. We used a KrF* excimer laser source (λ = 248 nm, τ ≈ 20 ns) operated at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. We demonstrated by FTIR that our thin films are composed of triacetate-pullulan maintaining its chemical structure and functionality. The dependence on incident laser fluence of the induced surface morphology is analysed.     

Modeling and analysis of uranium isotope enrichment by chemical exchange

Starting with an accurate mathematical model a theoretical study for the analysis of the separation of uranium isotopes by chemical exchange has been presented. The experimental data used in this study were obtained by reverse breakthrough technique and the numerical algorithm developed for simulation in previous studies was adapted and found to be suitable for this kind of processes. The model parameters were identified from experimental data and simulations were carried out for different experimental conditions. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Nitrogen isotope exchange between nitric oxide and nitric acid

The rate of nitrogen isotope exchange between NO and HNO₃ has been measured as a function of nitric acid concentration of 1.5–4M·1^–1. The exchange rate law is shown to beR=k[HNO₃]²[N₂O₃] and the measured activation energy isE=67.78kJ ·M^–1 (16.2 kcal·M^–1). It is concluded that N₂O₃ participates in¹⁵N/¹⁴N exchange between NO and HNO₃ at nitric acid concentrations higher than 1.5M·1^–1.     

Structural and optical characterization of undoped, doped, and clustered ZnO thin films obtained by PLD for gas sensing applications

The synthesis by pulsed laser deposition technique of zinc oxide thin films suitable for gas sensing applications is herein reported. The ZnO targets were irradiated by an UV KrF^* (λ = 248 nm, τ_FWHM ∼7 ns) excimer laser source, operated at 2.8 J/cm² incident fluence value, whilst the substrates consisted of SiO₂(0 0 1) wafers heated at 150 °C during the thin films growth process. The experiments were performed in an oxygen dynamic pressure of 10 Pa. Structural and optical properties of the thin films were investigated. The obtained results have demonstrated that the films are c-axis oriented. Their average transmission in the visible-infrared spectral region was found to be about 85%. The equivalent refractive indexes and extinction coefficients were very close to those of the tabulated reference values. Doping with 0.5% Au and coating with 100 pulses of Au clusters caused but a very slight decrease (with a few percent) of both transmission and refractive index values. The coatings with the most appropriate optical properties as waveguides have been selected and their behavior was tested for butane sensing.     

Matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation of poly(d,l-lactide) thin films for controlled-release drug systems

We report the successful deposition of the porous polymer poly(d,l-lactide) by matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) using a KrF* excimer laser (248 nm, τ = 7 ns) operated at 2 Hz repetition rate. The chemical structure of the starting materials was preserved in the resulting thin films. Fluence played a key role in optimizing our depositions of the polymer. We demonstrated MAPLE was able to improve current approaches to grow high quality thin films of poly(d,l-lactide), including a porosity control highly required in targeted drug delivery.     

Subpicosecond laser ablation of copper and fused silica: Initiation threshold and plasma expansion

We investigated the subpicosecond laser ablation of copper and fused silica under 100 fs laser irradiation at 800 nm in vacuum by means of fast plume imaging and time- and space-resolved optical emission spectroscopy. We found that, to the difference of copper ablation, the laser-generated plasma from a fused silica target exhibited one “main” component only. The “slow” plasma component, observed during copper ablation and usually assigned to optical emission from nanoparticles was not detected by either plasma fast imaging or optical emission spectroscopy even when fused silica targets were submitted to the highest incident fluences used in our experiments. The characteristic expansion velocity of this unique component was about three times larger than the velocity of the fast plume component observed during copper ablation. The dependence of laser fluence on both plasma expansion and ablation rate was investigated and discussed in terms of ablation efficiency and initiation mechanisms.     

Isotopic fingerprint of the middle Olt River basin,Romania

One of the most important tributaries of the Danube River in Romania, the Olt River, was characterized in its middle catchment in terms of the isotopic composition using continuous flow–isotope ratio mass spectrometry (CF–IRMS). Throughout a period of 10 months, from November 2010 to August 2011, water samples from the Olt River and its more important tributaries were collected in order to investigate the seasonal and spatial isotope patterns of the basin waters. The results revealed a significant difference between the Olt River and its tributaries, by the fact that the Olt River waters show smaller seasonal variations in the stable isotopic composition and are more depleted in ¹⁸O and ²H. The waters present an overall enrichment in heavy isotopes during the warm seasons.     

Ion‐exchange resins. III. Functionalization–morphology correlations in the synthesis of some macroporous,strong basic anion exchangers and uranium‐sorption properties evaluation

The synthesis and characterization of a series of macroporous, strong basic anion exchangers (SBAEs), with an average pore radius higher than 50 nm, and the evaluation of their sorption properties for uranyl chlorocomplexes from HCl solutions are reported. Finely divided macroporous styrene–divinylbenzene (S–DVB) copolymers with a narrow distribution of beads sizes, diameters within the range of 90–200 μm, were prepared for this purpose with 2‐ethyl‐1‐hexanol as a porogen, at a high dilution of monomers (D ≥ 0.55 mL/mL). Chloromethyl groups were introduced with (CH₂O)_n/Me₃SiCl as a chloromethylation agent in the presence of a Lewis acid as a catalyst (TiCl₄, SnCl₄, and FeCl₃) in CHCl₃ as a reaction medium. SnCl₄ and FeCl₃ gave comparable chloromethylation degrees in the same reaction conditions. TiCl₄ was not efficient as a catalyst in the chloromethylation with this reagent. Diethyl‐2‐hydroxyethylamine was used as a tertiary amine to prepare SBAEs. Structural and morphological characteristics were determined after every functionalization step of the macroporous network. Both the chloromethylation, in the presence of FeCl₃ as a catalyst, and the amination reactions determined a significant decrease of the pore volume, in the whole range of the nominal crosslinking degree, comparative with the starting copolymer. The specific surface area and the average pore radius varied in a different way as a function of the nominal crosslinking degree. Thus, the specific surface area increased and the average pore radius decreased after chloromethylation and amination for copolymers with a DVB content lower than 10 wt %. Small decreases of the specific surface area and the average pore radius were observed after chloromethylation and amination reactions for copolymers with a DVB content higher than 10 wt %. SBAEs were also characterized by thermogravimetric analysis and sorption capacity for uranyl chlorocomplexes. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2451–2461, 2004