Interaction of polyethyleneimine-functionalized ZnO nanoparticles with bovine serum albumin

In biological fluids, nanoparticles are always surrounded by proteins. As the protein is adsorbed on the surface, the extent of adsorption and the effect on the protein conformation and stability are dependent on the chemical nature, shape, and size of the nanoparticle (NP). We have carried out a detailed investigation on the interaction of bovine serum albumin (BSA) with polyethyleneimine-functionalized ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO-PEI). ZnO-PEI was synthesized using a wet chemical method with a core size of ~3-7 nm (from transmission electron microscopy). The interaction of BSA with ZnO-PEI was examined using a combination of calorimetric, spectroscopic, and computational techniques. The binding was studied by ITC (isothermal titration calorimetry), and the result revealed that the complexation is enthalpy-driven, indicating the possible involvement of electrostatic interaction. To investigate the nature of the interaction and the location of the binding site, a detailed domain-wise surface electrostatic potential calculation was performed using adaptive Poisson-Boltzmann software (APBS). The result shows that the protein surface can bind the nanoparticle. On binding ZnO-PEI, the protein gets destabilized to some extent, as displayed by CD (circular dichroism) and FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy. Chemical and thermal denaturation of BSA, when carried out in the presence of ZnO-PEI, also indicated a small perturbation in the protein structure. A comparison of the enthalpy and entropy components of binding with those derived for the interaction of BSA with ZnO nanoparticles explains the effect of hydrophilic cationic species attached on the NP surface. The effect of the NP surface modification on the structure and stability of BSA would find useful applications in nanobiotechnology.     

A manganese-ferritin nanocomposite as an ultrasensitive T2 contrast agent

T(2) contrast is gaining importance in high field strength MRI. We report a strategy for developing a T(2) contrast agent from paramagnetic metal ions synthesized within an engineered protein cage. The manganese-ferritin nanocomposite showed high T(2) relaxivity indicating its potential as an ultrasensitive T(2) contrast agent.     

Evaluation of rheological properties and swelling behaviour of sonicated scleroglucan samples

Scleroglucan is a natural polysaccharide that has been proposed for various applications. However there is no investigation on its property variations when the molecular weight of this polymer is reduced. Scleroglucan was sonicated at two different polymer concentrations for different periods of time and the effect of sonication was investigated with respect to molecular weight variations and rheological properties. Molar mass, estimated by viscometric measurements, was drastically reduced already after a sonication for a few min. Sonicated samples were used for the preparation of gels in the presence of borate ions. The effect of borax on the new samples was investigated by recording the mechanical spectra and the flow curves. A comparison with the system prepared with the dialysed polymer was also carried out. The anisotropic elongation, observed with tablets of scleroglucan and borax, was remarkably reduced when the sonicated samples were used for the preparation of the gels.     

Effects of temperature-dependent material properties and shielding gas on molten pool formation during continuous laser welding of AZ91 magnesium alloy

Laser welding processes are widely used for fabrications in many engineering applications such as aerospace and automotives. In this paper, a moving distributed heat source model based on Goldak's method [1] has been implemented into finite volume thermal simulations in order to predict temperature distributions during the welding process of a magnesium alloy and to study the effects of variations in thermal properties, absorption coefficient and gas shielding on the computed temperature distributions and weld pool dimensions. The main conclusion is the significant effects of varying the thermal conductivity and absorption coefficient of magnesium. Also, it has been seen that the shielding gas, besides its main role of protection against oxidation, has a significant effect on the width of the weld pool. Finally, the obtained results have been compared to the experimental ones and a satisfactory correlation has been observed, indicating the reliability of the model developed in this study.     

The numerical and experimental study of photon diffusion inside biological tissue using boundary integral method

In this study, the diffusion of photons in turbid media, like biological tissue has been studied. Due to scattering and absorption of photons in such media, the study of photon propagation in biological tissue is complicated. The several numerical methods have been presented to simulate the behavior of diffused photons. Recently, Boundary Integral Method (BIM) has been offered to simulate photon migration inside biological tissues. This method has advantage, e.g. lower computational time in compared with other numerical methods. In this study, the accuracy and precision of BIM compares with another numerical method like Monte Carlo technique and finite difference method, and also the calculated results obtained by BIM and Monte Carlo method evaluate with measured results. Furthermore, the effects of scattering and absorption coefficient of tissue on the measured signal are studied.     

Dielectric data of binary mixtures of 1,2-butanediol with 2-ethyl-1-hexanol and 1,4-dioxane at T = (298.2, 308.2, and 318.2) K

Relative permittivity measurements were made on binary mixtures of (1,2-butanediol + 2-ethyl-1-hexanol) and (1,2-butanediol + 1,4-dioxane) for various concentrations at T = (298.2, 308.2, and 318.2) K. The molecular dipole moments were determined using Guggenheim–Debye method in the temperature range of (298.2 to 318.2) K. The variations of effective dipole moment and correlation factor, g, with the mole fraction in these materials were investigated using Kirkwood–Frohlich equation. The pure compounds showed a negative and small temperature coefficient of effective dipole moment. In order to obtain valuable information about heterogeneous interaction (interactions between the unlike molecules), the Kirkwood correlation factor, the Bruggeman dielectric factor and the excess permittivity were calculated. In addition, in order to predict the permittivity data of polar-apolar binary mixtures, five mixing rules were applied.     

Targetry for 48V production and the nuclear model calculation on the charge particle induced reaction on Ti target

The radionuclide vanadium-48 (T _1/2?=?16?d, ?? ⁺=?49.5?%) could be employed to positron emission tomography. In this Study, ⁴⁸V excitation function for the ^nat/49/48Ti(p,x)⁴⁸V and the ⁴⁸Ti(d,2n)⁴⁸V nuclear reactions were calculated by ALICE/ASH code. Then recommended thickness of the targets according to the SRIM-2010 code was calculated; consequently, the theoretical integral yields were computed for all reactions by the computer software. As a result, the ⁴⁸Ti(p,n)⁴⁸V reaction was determined as the best reaction. Ti target was prepared by sedimentation method to produce ⁴⁸V throughout accelerator proton bombardment.     

Numerical investigation of natural convection in a rectangular enclosure due to partial heating and cooling at vertical walls

A comprehensive numerical investigation on the natural convection in a rectangular enclosure is presented. The flow is induced due to the constant partial heating at lower half of the left vertical wall and partial cooling at upper half of the right vertical wall along with rest walls are adiabatic. In this investigation the Special attention is given to understand the effect of aspect ratio and heat source intensity i.e. Rayleigh number, Ra, on the fluid flow configuration as well as on the local and average heat transfer rates. The range of Rayleigh (Ra) and aspect ratio (A) is taken [10³, 10⁶] and [0.5, 4] respectively. The results are presented in terms of stream function (ψ), temperature (θ) and heat transfer rates (local Nusselt numbers Nu_L, and average Nusselt numbers Nu). The numerical experiments show that increasing of Ra implies the enhancement of thermal buoyancy force, which in turn increases the thermal convection in the cavity. As a result, the local as well as average heat transfer rate is expected to increase. The local transfer rate (Nu_L) is increases in the small region near the left vertical wall of the left wall of the cavity and after that it is decreases in the middle portion of heated region. And, it start to increase near to the middle point of left wall. It is also observed that the local heat transfer is increases as increases the aspect ratio. The average heat transfer rate (Nu) is increases as the aspect ratio A increases from 0.5 to 1 and beyond that it is decreases smoothly. It is also found that the heat transfer rate attains its maximum value at aspect ratio one.     

Internal-external resonance of beams on non-linear viscoelastic foundation traversed by moving load

Vibration of a finite Euler–Bernoulli beam, supported by non-linear viscoelastic foundation traversed by a moving load, is studied and the Galerkin method is used to discretize the non-linear partial differential equation of motion. Subsequently, the solution is obtained for different harmonics using the Multiple Scales Method (MSM) as one of the perturbation techniques. Free vibration of a beam on non-linear foundation is investigated and the effects of damping and non-linear stiffness of the foundation on the responses are examined. Internal-external resonance condition is then stated and the frequency responses of different harmonics are obtained by MSM. Different conditions of the external resonance are studied and a parametric study is carried out for each case. The effects of damping and non-linear stiffness of the foundation as well as the magnitude of the moving load on the frequency responses are investigated. Finally, a thorough local stability analysis is performed on the system.