Dielectrophoretic deformation of breast cancer cells for lab on a chip applications

This paper presents the development and experimental analysis of a curved microelectrode platform for the DEP deformation of breast cancer cells (MDA‐MB‐231). The platform is composed of arrays of curved DEP microelectrodes which are patterned onto a glass slide and samples containing MDA‐MB‐231 cells are pipetted onto the platform's surface. Finite element method is utilised to characterise the electric field gradient and DEP field. The performance of the system is assessed with MDA‐MB‐231 cells in a low conductivity 1% DMEM suspending medium. We applied sinusoidal wave AC potential at peak to peak voltages of 2, 5, and 10 V_pp at both 10 kHz and 50 MHz. We observed cell blebbing and cell shrinkage and analyzed the percentage of shrinkage of the cells. The experiments demonstrated higher percentage of cell shrinkage when cells are exposed to higher frequency and peak to peak voltage electric field.     

Effects of Rice Husk Derived Amorphous Silica on the Thermal-Mechanical Properties of Unsaturated Polyester Composites

Rice husk is rich in amorphous silica which has found various applications as a filler in rubbers and plastics. In the research described here silica was extracted from rice husk ash in the form of sodium silicate which was used to produced amorphous precipitated silica (PS) and silica aerogel (SA) using a sol – gel process and supercritical drying. These materials were then physically mixed with unsaturated polyester (UP) resin and cured at room temperature to form polymer composites. The experimental results showed that the UP composites with 30% (volume percent) of SA filler had lower density and better thermal insulation than the composites with the same amount of PS. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results showed that the T_onset of the PS and SA composites were slightly delayed by 15 and 10°C, respectively. The tensile stress-strain curves showed that addition of the fillers reduced the tensile strength, but increased the elastic moduli of the UP matrix. PS filled UP composites exhibit higher moduli (higher stiffness) than that of SA filled UP composites. This was due to agglomeration and poor adhesion of the SA particles to the UP matrix while better dispersion was observed for the PS filled composite.     

Synthesis and utilization of chitin-humic acid hybrid as sorbent for Cr(III)

New types of hybrid material have been synthesized by using four different methods of immobilization of humic acid (HA) on chitin. The most stable hybrid material toward the change of medium acidity was then utilized as sorbent for Cr(III).The HA was extracted from peat soil of Gambut District, South Kalimantan, Indonesia, using the recommended procedure of International Humic Substances Society (IHSS), while the chitin was isolated from crab shell waste through deproteination using 3.5% (w/v) NaOH and followed by removal of inorganic impurities using 1 M HCl. The four methods of immobilization of HA on chitin were (i) Method A: chitin powder (4 g) was gently poured into the stirred solution of 0.4 g HA in 40 mL of 0.01 M NaOH. After overnight stirring, the solid was separated, washed with water, and dried in oven at 70 °C. (ii) Method B: gelatinous chitin (40 g) in 250 mL of 0.5 M HCl was reacted with HA (4 g) in 500 mL of 0.5 M NaOH and aged for 24 h. The product was washed with water and dried. (iii) Method C: HA powder (0.5 g) was mixed with the stirred gel of chitin (2.5 g) in 60 mL of CaCl₂ saturated methanol and the mixture was then washed with the mixed solution of 25 mL of 2 M sodium citrate and ethylene glycol 1:1. The solid was separated, washed with water, and dried. (iv) Method D: the solution of HA (0.056 g) in 10 mL of 0.01 M NaOH was reacted with the gel of chitin (0.2 g) in 10 mL of CaCl₂ saturated methanol. After 24 h stirring, the solid was separated from the reaction medium, washed with the mixed solution of 2 M sodium citrate and ethylene glycol 1:1, and followed by washing with water and drying. Parameters investigated in this study consisted of the stability test of the immobilized HA, as well as the rate constant (k₁), capacity (b), and energy (E) of sorption as well as the rate constant of desorption (k₋₁). The k₁ and k₋₁ were determined according to a kinetic model of first order sorption reaching equilibrium, while the b and E were determined according to the Langmuir isotherm model.Compared to HA, Methods, A, C, and D; Method B produced the most stable immobilization of HA on chitin. The hybrid material (Chitin-HA) synthesized through Method B was stable in the acidity range that equivalent to pH 2.0-11.0. At the acidity giving maximum sorption, i.e. pH 5, the presence of immobilized HA on the Chitin-HA enhanced more than three times the k₁ and k₋₁, i.e. from 0.057 min⁻¹ and 8.51 × 10⁻⁴ (min⁻¹) (mol/L) for chitin to 0.183 min⁻¹ and 3.27 × 10⁻³ (min⁻¹) (mol/L) for the Chitin-HA. On the contrary, the presence of HA on Chitin-HA only gave small increase on b and small decrease on E. The values of b and E for Cr(III) on chitin were 1.45 × 10⁻² mol/g and 23.12 kJ/mol, respectively, while those on Chitin-HA were 1.78 × 10⁻² mol/g and 19.95 kJ/mol, respectively.     

Stability study of α-toc/β-CD powders obtained by microwave heating and encapsulation process

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The α-tocopherol (α-toc) degrades faster than both γ- and δ-toc; its degradation rate is 10 times faster than δ-toc. The...     

UHPLC-UV/PDA Method Validation for Simultaneous Quantification of Luteolin and Apigenin Derivatives from Elaeis guineensis Leaf Extracts: An Application for Antioxidant Herbal Preparation

Luteolin and apigenin derivatives present in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) leaves (OPL) are reported to possess excellent antioxidant properties relating to numerous health benefits. To meet the global demand for flavonoids, OPL, which is plentifully generated as an agricultural by-product from oil palm plantations, can be further exploited as a new source of natural antioxidant compounds. However, to produce a standardized herbal preparation, validation of the quantification method for these compounds is required. Therefore, in this investigation, we developed and validated an improved and rapid analytical method, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with ultraviolet/photodiode array (UHPLC-UV/PDA) for the quantification of 12 luteolin and apigenin derivatives, particularly focusing on flavonoid isomeric pairs: orientin/isoorientin and vitexin/isovitexin, present in various OPL extracts. Several validation parameters were assessed, resulting in the UHPLC-UV/PDA technique offering good specificity, linearity, accuracy, precision, and robustness, where the values were within acceptable limits. Subsequently, the validated method was employed to quantify luteolin and apigenin derivatives from OPL subjected to different drying treatments and extraction with various solvent systems, giving total luteolin (TLC) and apigenin content (TAC) in the range of 2.04–56.30 and 1.84–160.38 µg/mg extract, respectively. Additionally, partial least square (PLS) analysis disclosed the combination of freeze dry-aqueous methanol yielded OPL extracts with high TLC and TAC, which are strongly correlated with antioxidant activity. Therefore, we provide the first validation report of the UHPLC-UV/PDA method for quantification of luteolin and apigenin derivatives present in various OPL extracts, suggesting that this approach could be employed in standardized herbal preparations by adopting orientin, isoorientin, vitexin, and isovitexin as chemical markers.     

Oxidative Stress and DNA Damage Effect of Dioscorea hispida Dennst. on Placental Tissues of Rats

Dioscorea hispida Dennst. locally known as “ubi gadung” has been used as a traditional remedy and source of carbohydrate among Malaysians. To assess the effect of Dioscorea hispida aqueous extract (DHAE) on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their effects on DNA damage in Sprague Dawley rat’s placental tissues, pregnant rats were randomly divided into four groups. The animals were orally treated with distilled water (negative control) and three different concentrations of DHAE (250, 500 and 1000 mg/kg body weight (BW)) from gestation day 6 until 20. The oxidative stress in placental tissues was evaluated at day 21 by measuring the level of ROS, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lipid peroxidation biomarker, malondialdehyde (MDA) while comet assay was used for DNA damage. There was no significant production of ROS and SOD activities in all groups. Significant changes were observed in the MDA level at 1000 mg/kg BW DHAE. Comet assay revealed a significant increase (p < 0.05) of DNA damage on animals treated with 250 and 500 mg/kg BW DHAE but not at the highest concentration. It was postulated that the placental cells could have undergone necrosis which destroys all components including DNA. This occurrence simultaneously reduces the levels of DNA damage which can be represented by lower level of tail moments. This finding correlates with our histopathological examination where necrotic cells of spongiotrophoblast were observed in the basal zone of placental tissue. The high amount of hydrogen cyanide and other compounds in 1000 mg/kg BW DHAE could elevate the lipid peroxidation and directly induce cell necrosis which requires further investigation.     

Dielectrophoresis applications in biomedical field and future perspectives in biomedical technology

Dielectrophoresis (DEP) is a technique to manipulate trajectories of polarisable particles in nonuniform electric fields by utilizing unique dielectric properties. The manipulation of a cell using DEP has been demonstrated in various modes, thereby indicating potential applications in the biomedical field. In this review, recent DEP applications in the biomedical field are discussed. This review is intended to highlight research work that shows significant approach related to DEP application in biomedical field reported between 2016 and 2020. First, single-shell model and multiple-shell model of cells are introduced. Current device structures and recently introduced electrode patterns for DEP applications are discussed. Second, the biomedical uses of DEP in liquid biopsies, stem cell-based therapies, and diagnosis of infectious diseases due to bacteria and viruses are presented. Finally, the challenges in DEP research are discussed, and the reported solutions are explained. DEP's potential research directions are mentioned.     

Silver nanocombs and branched nanowires formation in aqueous binary surfactants solution

The field emission characteristics of patterned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) the average diameter of which is 16?nm cathodes on substrates with different surface treatments were investigated. The surface treatments of the substrate were performed by nickel electroless plating and palladium coating, which is an activation procedure of electroless plating. CNTs were patterned on the surface-treated substrate with radius of 200???m through conventional photolithography process. Two deposition methods, electrophoresis deposition and spray deposition, were used to investigate the effects of deposition methods on field emission characteristics of the cathodes. It was revealed that the two deposition methods showed similar turn-on field trends, which means that the different surface morphologies of the substrates have more influence on the field emission characteristics than the different deposition methods performed in this study. Through the surface treatments, the roughness of the surface increased and cathodes with a high roughness factor showed better field emission characteristics compared to non-treated ones.     

On the effects of NBTI degradation in p-MOSFET devices

This paper presents the effects of interface trap concentration and threshold voltage shift on NBTI degradation in p-MOSFETs. To explore the degradation mechanisms, transistors having an EOT of 1.1 nm and 5 nm were simulated by applying various stress conditions. The NBTI degradation mechanism was studied by varying the gate voltage, temperature and substrate doping level. The simulations show NBTI degradation in terms of the threshold voltage shift, ΔV_th and number of interface traps, ΔN_it. The simulation results show an improved degradation trend in terms of ΔV_th and ΔN_it when the substrate doping level is increased.