Magnetic nanocomposite spinel and FeCo core-shell and mesoporous systems

The fabrication of condensed silica and mesoporous silica coated spinel CoFe₂O₄ and FeCo alloy magnetic nanocomposites are reported. The encapsulation of well-defined 5 nm thick uniform silica layer on CoFe₂O₄ magnetic nanoparticles was performed. The formation of mesopores in the shell was a consequence of removal of organic group of the precursor through annealing. The NiO nanoparticles were loaded into the mesoporous silica. The mesoporous silica shells leads to a larger coercivity than that of pure CoFe₂O₄ magnetic nanoparticles due to the decrease of interparticle interactions and magneto-elastic anisotropy. In addition, the FeCo nanoparticles were coated by condensed and mesoporous silica. The condensed silica can protect the reactive FeCo alloy from oxidation up to 300 °C. However, saturation magnetization of FeCo nanoparticles coated by silica after 400 °C annealing is dramatically decreased due to the oxidation of the FeCo core. The mesoporous silica coated magnetic nanostructure loaded with NiO as a final product could be used in the field of biomedical applications.     

Effects of lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation on expression of growth-associated genes by corticospinal neurons

Background  

Inflammation around cell bodies of primary sensory neurons and retinal ganglion cells enhances expression of neuronal growth-associated genes and stimulates axonal regeneration. We have asked if inflammation would have similar effects on corticospinal neurons, which normally show little response to spinal cord injury. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was applied onto the pial surface of the motor cortex of adult rats with or without concomitant injury of the corticospinal tract at C4. Inflammation around corticospinal tract cell bodies in the motor cortex was assessed by immunohistochemistry for OX42 (a microglia and macrophage marker). Expression of growth-associated genes c-jun, ATF3, SCG10 and GAP-43 was investigated by immunohistochemistry or in situ hybridisation.     

Crystallographic and structural characterization of heterometallic platinum complexes Part VI. Heterohexanuclear complexes

This review classifies and analyzes heterohexanuclear platinum clusters into seven types of metal combinations:Pt₅M, Pt₄M₂, Pt₃M₃, Pt₂M₄, PtM₅, Pt₂M₃M′, and Pt₂M₂M₂′. The crystals of these clusters generally belong to six crystal classes: monoclinic, triclinic, orthorhombic, tetragonal, trigonal and cubic. Among the wide range of stereochemistry adopted by these clusters, octahedral and capped square-pyramidal are the most common. Although platinum is classified as a soft metal atom, it bonds to a variety of soft, borderline and hard metals. Nineteen different heterometal ions are involved in hexanuclear platinum clusters. The shortest Pt-M bond distance in the case of M being a non-transition element is 2.395(4) Å for germanium and for M being a transition metal ion it is 2.402(2) Å for Cobalt. The shortest Pt-Pt bond distance observed in these clusters is 2.532 Å. Several relationships between the structural parameters are identified and discussed. Some clusters exist in two isomeric forms and some show crystallographically independent molecules within the same crystal. Such isomers and independent molecules are examples of distortion isomerism.      

Crystallographic and structural characterization of heterometallic platinum compounds part IV: heterotetranuclear clusters

This review includes over two hundred heterotetranuclear platinum clusters. The clusters are of the compositions Pt₃M, Pt₃M₂, PtM₃, Pt′₂MM′, PtM₂M′ and PtMM′M”. There are twenty five different M atoms (transition and non-transition) as a partner(s) of platinum. The four metal atoms are found in a tetrahedral, planar-rhombohedral, butterfly, spited-triangular, cubane, eight — and oligo-membered rings and a unique structures. There is wide variety of the ligands from uni to- undecadentate, with the most common P and C donor sites. The shortest Pt-M (transition) versus Pt-M (non-transition) bond distances are 2.4833(8)Å (M=Pd) vs. 2.4365(5)Å (Ge). Several relationships between the various structural parameters were found and are discussed.      

Selective X-ray generation by heavy ions (Part 2) measurement of the concentration distribution of ion-implanted antimony in silicon by the use of selective heavy ion X-ray excitation

This investigation demonstrates how the total, concentration distribution of antimony, previously implanted into silicon at 100 keV, may be elucidated without recourse to the usual radioactive isotope techniques. It uses the fact that 100 keV Kr⁺ ions can preferentially excite characteristic X-rays from antimony, even in the presence of a huge excess of silicon. The resultant high sensitivity for the detection of antimony in silicon is accompanied by the fact that the X-rays arise predominantly from less than one hundred Angstroms below the surface of the specimen. Thus bombardment by 100 keV Kr⁺ íons is used ín conjunction with an anodic stripping technique (which removes 169±20 Å at a time) to obtain the antimony distribution profile in silicon. Consideration is also given to the possibility of obtaining the implanted antimony range distribution by using 100 keV Kr⁺ ions to detect the antimony and simultaneously remove silicon by sputtering.