Optimal Halbach permanent magnet designs for maximally pulling and pushing nanoparticles

Optimization methods are presented to design Halbach arrays to maximize the forces applied on magnetic nanoparticles at deep tissue locations. In magnetic drug targeting, where magnets are used to focus therapeutic nanoparticles to disease locations, the sharp fall off of magnetic fields and forces with distances from magnets has limited the depth of targeting. Creating stronger forces at a depth by optimally designed Halbach arrays would allow treatment of a wider class of patients, e.g. patients with deeper tumors. The presented optimization methods are based on semi-definite quadratic programming, yield provably globally optimal Halbach designs in 2 and 3-dimensions, for maximal pull or push magnetic forces (stronger pull forces can collect nanoparticles against blood forces in deeper vessels; push forces can be used to inject particles into precise locations, e.g. into the inner ear). These Halbach designs, here tested in simulations of Maxwell's equations, significantly outperform benchmark magnets of the same size and strength. For example, a 3-dimensional 36 element 2000 cm³ volume optimal Halbach design yields a 5× greater force at a 10 cm depth compared to a uniformly magnetized magnet of the same size and strength. The designed arrays should be feasible to construct, as they have a similar strength (≤1 T), size (≤2000 cm³), and number of elements (≤36) as previously demonstrated arrays, and retain good performance for reasonable manufacturing errors (element magnetization direction errors ≤5°), thus yielding practical designs to improve magnetic drug targeting treatment depths.     

Semiconductor Behavior and Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in e-Beam Evaporated Co/TiO2 Multilayer Thin Films

Physics of the Solid State - The Co/TiO2 multilayer thin films have been deposited by e-beam evaporation method on glass substrates in vacuum and annealed in air at 773 K for 1 h. The crystal...     

Adsorption of strontium ions from aqueous solution on Pakistani coal

Summary The adsorption of strontium ions from aqueous solution on a Pakistani coal powder has been studied as a function of shaking time, amount of adsorbent, pH, and strontium ion concentration. Conditions for the maximum adsorption of strontium ions have been established. Results reveal that the diffusion of strontium ions into the pores of coal powder occurs during the adsorption process and intra-particle diffusion controls the kinetics of the process. The Langmuir and D-R adsorption equations are valid over the entire range of studied concentration. The influence of different anions on the adsorption of strontium ions was also studied.     

Synthesis of dirhodium[3H]tetraacetate

Realizing a need for labeled dirhodium tetraacetate [Rh₂/OAc/₄] for binding studies by the equilibrium dialysis procedure, we have established a method for the preparation and purification of [³H]Rh₂/OAc/₄. This is obtained with a tritium label of a sufficiently high specific activity in the methyl group of acetate residues. The method consists of replacement of the existing acetate bridge by [³H]OAc^–. A typical preparation involves refluxing Rh₂/OAc/₄ with [³H]NaOAc in dry ethanol at 80°C for 6 h. The reaction time is critical for obtaining the product with a high specific activity. A simple purification of reaction products yields the compound of interest with a high specific activity, i. e., 315±10 Ci per mol of Rh₂/OAc/₄ and in satisfactory yield /87% of the starting material., This labeled material can be synthesized with greatly increased specific activity /of tritium in acetate groups/ by employing [³H]NaOAc without prior dilution. The labeled Rh₂/OAc/₄ is stable and yields a characteristic product with adenylic acid.     

An accurate and reproducible method for the quantitative analysis of isoflavones and their metabolites in rat plasma using liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry combined with photodiode array detection

To study the safety and potential health benefits of soy isoflavones, a rapid and simple method based on liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (LC/MS) and photodiode array detector (PDA) was developed for the determination of isoflavones in rat plasma. The analytes included daidzein, genistein, glycitein, equol, 4-ethyl phenol, and biochanin A over a concentration range of 1.0-4320.0 nM using 75 microL of rat plasma. Rat plasma samples were hydrolyzed by adding an enzyme mixture from Helix pomatia containing glucuronidase and sulfatase to convert the isoflavone beta-glycosides daidzin, genistin, and glycitin to their active aglycone forms. A liquid-liquid extraction method using ethyl acetate as the extraction solvent was used to extract aglycones and the internal standards (phenolphthalein beta-D glucuronide, 4-methylumbelliferyl sulfate, and apigenin) from digested plasma samples. The extract was evaporated to dryness under a nitrogen stream, reconstituted with 0.1% formic acid in water-acetonitrile (85 + 15), and injected into a Zorbax SB-CN reversed-phase column (4.6 x 75 mm, 3.5 microm particle size). The Micromass ZQ detector was operated in the positive ion selected-ion monitoring mode. The flow rate for LC was 1.0 mL/min, with a split where 25% of the effluent was introduced into the electrospray ionization probe of the MS instrument and 75% into the PDA. The chromatographic run time was 16.0 min, with delay of 10 min/injection. The interday precision and accuracy of the standard samples were <2.6% relative standard deviation and <10% relative error, respectively. Recovery of the reported isoflavones with this method varied from 86 to 100%.     

Detection, characterization and identification of crucifer phytoalexins using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

We have analyzed 23 crucifer phytoalexins (e.g. brassinin, dioxibrassinin, cyclobrassinin, brassicanals A and C) by HPLC with diode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS) using both negative and positive ion modes. Positive ion mode ESI-MS appeared more sensitive than negative ion mode ESI-MS in detecting this group of compounds. A new HPLC separation method, new LC-MS and LC-MS(2) data and proposed fragmentation pathways, LC retention times, and UV spectra for selected compounds are reported.