Molecular Engineering of Surfaces by Plasma Copolymerization and Enhanced Cell Attachment and Spreading

The plasma copolymerization of acrylic acid and methyl vinyl ketone with 1,7-octadiene is reported. A range of surfaces including hydrocarbon plasma polymer, carbonyl-containing plasma copolymer and carboxyl-containing plasma copolymers have been prepared and characterized by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The stability of these surfaces in water has been assessed at 37°C. The influence of their functional group chemistries on the attachment and spreading of osteoblast-like (ROS 17/2.8) and bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) has been explored. The data reported show a strong correlation between the carboxyl group and the attachment and spreading of both ROS cells and BMSC. This relationship has been explored in some detail with the ROS cells. Actin-staining by direct immunofluorescence was used to visualize changes in cytoskeleton of ROS cells with substratum chemistry. As the concentration of the carboxyl groups increased cell number and cell spreading were notably enhanced. As few as 5 carboxyls per 100 carbons were sufficient to support good attachment and with cells showing well-defined polygonal cell morphology. Although cells attached to a hydrocarbon plasma polymer surface these cells had failed to spread. The attachment and spreading of BMSC were compared on a carboxyl-containing surface and on a hydrocarbon surface. There was a more marked difference in the number of cells that had attached to these two surfaces (cf. ROS cells). The spreading on the carboxyl surface was much more typical of BMSC. Results from an extended culture using primary cultures of bone marrow cells (BMC) are reported. These cells were not trypsinized and appear to be less sensitive to differences in surface chemistry (cf. BMSC). Even so, the results at 10 days indicate much greater biosynthetic activity on the carboxyl-containing surface.     

57Fe Mössbauer study of the Nurina–003 ordinary chondrite meteorite

Nurina–003 is a Group LL5/br Ordinary Chondrite meteorite which was recovered in the Nullarbor Desert (Australia) in 1986. The degree of weathering is classified as moderate to severe. We have characterised the Fe-bearing phases in Nurina–003 by ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer Spectroscopy over the temperature range 5–295 K. The spectra are dominated by Olivine and also contain Pyroxene, Troilite and a Ferric component that is (super)paramagnetic at 295 K. We clearly see the effects of the magnetic ordering of the Olivine phase in the 5 K spectrum.     

Study of the composite based on iron-containing nanoparticles dispersed in the polyethylene matrix

A composite representing a system of iron-based nanoparticles about 5 nm in size embedded in a high-pressure polyethylene matrix has been studied. The technology of preparation of this material has been described. The transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and nuclear gamma-resonance spectroscopy data presented have been used to establish the volumes of the metal and oxide phases of a nanoparticle and the composition of its oxide shell.     

High-resolution in-beam particle spectroscopy --New results on prompt proton emission from 58Cu

Prompt proton decay lines in ⁵⁸Cu have been studied by means of high-resolution in-beam particle-γ coincidence spectroscopy using the GAMMASPHERE Ge-detector array in conjunction with a dedicated set of ancillary detectors including four ΔE-E silicon-strip telescopes. High-spin states in ⁵⁸Cu have been populated via the heavy-ion fusion-evaporation reaction ²⁸Si(³⁶Ar, 1α1p1n) at 148 MeV beam energy. The full-width at half maximum for the proton peak could be reduced significantly compared to earlier experiments. The results indicate that only one prompt proton decay branch exists in the decay-out of the well-deformed band of ⁵⁸Cu. Received: 11 March 2002 / Accepted: 10 April 2002     

Mössbauer Study of Materials Displaying Colossal Magnetic Resistivity

Hyperfine Interactions - In the last decade the discovery of colossal magnetoresistance in Mn based perovskites brought various perovskite and spinel materials, displaying the effect of...     

An efficient serial distributed arithmetic algorithm for FPGA implementation of digital up conversion

This article deals with a computationally efficient serial distributed arithmetic algorithm producing a device efficient field programmable gate array implementation. The proposed algorithm takes half the computations time as compared to the conventional symmetric algorithms. The algorithm is analyzed for a direct conversion transmitter of ionospheric radar. Matching and buffering criterion are used to reduce the arithmetic process. The algorithm can be extended to applications with similar characteristics, particularly for System On Chip (SOC) techniques. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 11: 24–29, 2005     

Modification of fluorophore photophysics through peptide-driven self-assembly

We describe the formation of self-assembling nanoscale fibrillar aggregates from a hybrid system comprising a short polypeptide conjugated to the fluorophore fluorene. The fibrils are typically unbranched, approximately 7 nm in diameter, and many microns in length. A range of techniques are used to demonstrate that the spectroscopic nature of the fluorophore is significantly altered in the fibrillar environment. Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy reveals changes in the guest fluorophore, consistent with energy migration and excimer formation within the fibrils. We thus demonstrate the use of self-assembling peptides to drive the assembly of a guest moiety, in which novel characteristics are observed as a consequence. We suggest that this method could be used to drive the assembly of a wide range of guests, offering the development of a variety of useful, smart nanomaterials that are able to self-assemble in a controllable and robust fashion.