Use of quartz crystal nanobalance to study the binding and stabilization of albumin and doxycycline on a thin layer of hydroxyapatite

This study reports the use of quartz crystal nanobalance (QCN) to study the adsorption of two model molecules namely albumin and doxycycline by hydroxyapatite (HA). The work focuses on the deposition of a stable coating of HA on the quartz crystal, modification of the coating using doxycycline and its subsequent effects on albumin adsorption. The uniformity and thickness of the HA coating has been studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The functional groups to ascertain the presence of the selected moieties have been characterized by Raman spectroscopy. The results indicate that the mass of albumin deposited on the surface of the HA coated quartz crystal functionalized with doxycycline shows a substantial increase when compared to the standard HA coated quartz crystal. The adsorbed albumin has also been found to be retained for an enhanced period of time. This surface immobilization of doxycycline and subsequent albumin adsorption seem to be a promising approach to confer biomaterials with antithrombogenic and antibacterial surfaces.     

Effective mass anisotropy of hot electrons in nonparabolic conduction bands of n-doped InGaAs films using ultrafast terahertz pump-probe techniques

The anisotropic effective mass of energetic electrons in an isotropic, nonparabolic conduction band is revealed using ultrafast THz-pump-THz-probe techniques in a n-doped InGaAs semiconductor thin film. A microscopic theory is applied to identify the origin of the observed anisotropy and to show that the self-consistent light-matter coupling contributes significantly to the THz response.     

Length scales at which classical elasticity breaks down for various materials

At what characteristic length scale does classical continuum elasticity cease to accurately describe small deformation mechanical behavior? The two dominant physical mechanisms that lead to size dependency of elastic behavior at the nanoscale are surface energy effects and nonlocal interactions. The latter arises due to the discrete structure of matter and the fluctuations in the interatomic forces that are smeared out within the phenomenological elastic modulus at coarser sizes. While surface energy effects have been well characterized in the literature, little is known about the length scales at which nonlocal effects manifest for different materials. Using a combination of empirical molecular dynamics and lattice dynamics (empirical and ab initio), we provide estimates of nonlocal elasticity length scales for various classes of materials: semiconductors, metals, amorphous solids, and polymers.     

不同堆构条件下颗粒柱有效质量的涨落

利用静态颗粒特性实验仪研究了不同堆构条件下颗粒柱有效质量的涨落.发现当只有一种颗粒堆构时涨落随着颗粒柱与颗粒的直径比的增大而减小,除此之外,当有不同颗粒堆构时涨落还随着不同大小颗粒的堆构位置而变化,可将这种现象的机理归结为颗粒柱中的颗粒数量的异同以及颗粒柱与限界之间摩擦力方向的不确定性.     

Structural,electronic, optical,elastic and thermal properties of ZnXAs<Subscript>2</Subscript> (X = Si and Ge) chalcopyrite semiconductors

We report first principles calculations of solid state properties of ZnSiAs₂ and ZnGeAs₂ chalcopyrite semiconductors. The structural properties are calculated using a Full Potential Linearized Augmented Plane Wave method (FP-LAPW) of the Density Functional Theory (DFT). A Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA) scheme proposed by Wu and Cohen (WC) has been chosen to calculate electronic and optical properties. Optical features such as dielectric functions, refractive indices, extinction coefficient, optical reflectivity, absorption coefficients and optical conductivities were calculated for photon energies up to 30 eV. The elastic constants at equilibrium in tetragonal structure are also determined. Temperature effect on the volume, thermal expansion, heat capacity, Debye temperature, entropy, Grüneisen parameter and bulk modulus were calculated employing the quasi-harmonic Debye model at different temperatures and pressures and the silent results were interpreted. Finally using semi-empirical relation, we determined the hardness of the materials which attributed to different covalent bonding strengths.     

Effect of Y3+ substitution on the structural,dielectric, and electrical properties of nanosized ZnAl 2 O 4 spinel

In the present work, we have studied the structural, dielectric, and electrical properties of a series of nanosized $\mathrm{ZnAl}_{2-2x}\mathrm{Y}_{2x}\mathrm{O}_{4}$ ( $x = 0.00$ , 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, 0.05, 0.07, and 0.10) system prepared by chemical coprecipitation method. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) was carried out to study the influence of $\mathrm{Y}^{3+}$ substitution on the crystal structure of these samples. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) images reveal the nanocrystalline nature of the samples. The Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra confirmed the preference of $\mathrm{Y}^{3+}$ ions at the octahedral B site. The variation of dielectric constant and loss tangent (1 kHz to 1 MHz) at room temperature for all the samples show the normal behavior of spinel compounds. AC conductivity study reveals that the conduction is due to small polaron hopping. The electrical modulus analysis shows that nanocrystalline $\mathrm{ZnAl}_{2-2x}\mathrm{Y}_{2x}\mathrm{O}_{4}$ system exhibits non-Debye-type relaxation. The DC electrical resistivity measured in the temperature range 303–373 K was found to increase with temperature and yttrium content.     

Direct observation of large electronic domains with memory effect in doped manganites

We use a spatially resolved, direct spectroscopic probe for electronic structure with an additional sensitivity to chemical compositions to investigate high-quality single crystal samples of La(1/4)Pr(3/8)Ca(3/8)MnO3, establishing the formation of distinct insulating domains embedded in the metallic host at low temperatures. These domains are found to be at least an order of magnitude larger in size compared to previous estimates and exhibit memory effects on temperature cycling in the absence of any perceptible chemical inhomogeneity, suggesting long-range strains as the probable origin.     

WDM-OTDM based spectral efficient hybrid multiplexing technique inherent with properties of bandwidth elasticity and scalability

In this paper a hybrid multiplexing technique has been presented that merges WDM and OTDM multiplexing technologies. The WDM-OTDM hybrid realizes wavelength parallel bus architecture and is inherent with features of high spectral efficiency, high scalability and bandwidth elasticity. Simulations and experiments were carried out to investigate the selection of most suitable modulation format, dispersion compensation technique and erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) noise figure for WDM-OTDM hybrid, where link lengths exceeding 500 km at high Q-values was achieved.     

Effect of ZnO on phase emergence, microstructure and surface modifications of calcium phosphosilicate glass/glass-ceramics having iron oxide

The effect of ZnO on phase emergence and microstructure properties of glass and glass-ceramics with composition 25SiO₂-50CaO-15P₂O₅-(10 − x)Fe₂O₃-xZnO (where x = 0, 2, 5, 7 mol%) has been studied. They have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Surface modifications of these glass-ceramics in simulated body fluid have been studied using Fourier transform infrared reflection spectroscopy (FTIR), XPS and SEM. Results have shown a decrease in the fraction of non-bridging oxygen with increase in zinc oxide content. Emergence of crystalline phases in glass-ceramics at different heat treatment temperatures was studied using XRD. When glass is heat treated at 800 °C calcium phosphate, hematite and magnetite are developed as major phases in the glass-ceramics samples with ZnO up to 5 mol%. In addition to these, calcium silicate (Ca₃Si₂O₇) phase is also observed when glass is heat treated at 1000 °C. The microstructure of the glass-ceramics heat treated at 800 °C exhibits the formation of nano-size (40-50 nm) grains. On heat treatment at 1000 °C crystallites grow to above 50 nm size and more than one phase are observed in the microstructure. The formation of thin flake-like structure with coarse particles is observed at high zinc oxide concentration (x = 7 mol%). In vitro studies have shown the surface modifications and formation of Ca-P-rich layer on the glass-ceramics when immersed in simulated body fluids (SBF) for different durations. The bioactive response was found to depend on ZnO content.     

Mössbauer and magnetic studies on nanocrystalline NiFe2O4 particles prepared by ethylene glycol route

NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles have been synthesized by co-precipitation method at 145°C in N₂ atmosphere using ethylene glycol as solvent and capping agent. This gives the promising synthesis route for nanoparticles at low temperature. The as-synthesized NiFe₂O₄ is subsequently heated at 400°C, 500°C, 700°C and 800°C. Crystallite size increases with the heat treatment temperature. The heat treatment temperature has direct effect on the electron paramagnetic resonance and intrinsic magnetic properties. The room temperature Mössbauer spectrum of the 800°C heated sample shows the two sextets pattern indicating that the sample is ferrimagnetic and Fe^3?+? ions occupy both tetrahedral and octahedral sites of spinel structure.