Electrorheology in nanopores via lattice Boltzmann simulation

The conductance of ionic species through a cylindrical nanochannel is explored by means of a mesoscopic lattice Boltzmann numerical method. It is shown that in the absence of any external voltage, the ionic profiles develop a considerable amount of structure within the channel. The details of this structure depend on the ionic density, channel length, and Debye length. In the presence of a trans-membrane electrostatic potential, less structure is observed and Ohm's law is found to hold.     

Towards a mesoscopic model of water-like fluids with hydrodynamic interactions

We present a mesoscopic lattice model for non-ideal fluid flows with directional interactions, mimicking the effects of hydrogen bonds in water. The model supports a rich and complex structural dynamics of the orientational order parameter, and exhibits the formation of disordered domains whose size and shape depend on the relative strength of directional order and thermal diffusivity. By letting the directional forces carry an inverse density dependence, the model is able to display a correlation between ordered domains and low density regions, reflecting the idea of water as a denser liquid in the disordered state than in the ordered one.     

Comparison of two different isolation methods of benzimidazoles and their metabolites in the bovine liver by solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography–diode array detection

A new analytical method that uses high performance liquid chromatography–diode array detector (HPLC–DAD) was developed for the analysis of 14 benzimidazoles residues, including metabolites, in bovine liver. Samples were extracted using two different extraction procedures: with phosphate buffer after enzymatic hydrolysis (method A) or using organic solvent, i.e. acetonitrile (method B). Then, samples were purified on a strong cation exchange (SCX) cartridge and analyzed in HPLC/DAD. The recovery percentages, obtained spiking the matrix (liver) at concentrations of 500 and 100 μg kg^?1 with a standard mixture of benzimidazoles, were in the range 6–101% and 80–102% for methods A and B, respectively. The repeatability of the methods was assessed in all cases by the % of correlation value (CV) that was lower than 19%. The limits of quantification (LOQs) in the matrix for methods A and B were in the range 40–60 and 20–50 μg kg^?1, respectively. The best of the two methods, method B, was used for the analysis of 10 bovine liver samples.     

Surface roughness-hydrophobicity coupling in microchannel and nanochannel flows

An approach based on a lattice version of the Boltzmann kinetic equation for describing multiphase flows in nano- and microcorrugated devices is proposed. We specialize it to describe the wetting-dewetting transition of fluids in the presence of nanoscopic grooves etched on the boundaries. This approach permits us to retain the essential supramolecular details of fluid-solid interactions without surrendering--actually boosting--the computational efficiency of continuum methods. The method is used to analyze the importance of conspiring effects between hydrophobicity and roughness on the global mass flow rate of the microchannel. In particular we show that smart surfaces can be tailored to yield very different mass throughput by changing the bulk pressure. The mesoscopic method is also validated quantitatively against the molecular dynamics results of [Cottin-Bizonne, Nat. Mater. 2, 237 (2003)].     

Preturbulent regimes in graphene flow

We provide numerical evidence that electronic preturbulent phenomena in graphene could be observed, under current experimental conditions, through current fluctuations, echoing the detachment of vortices past localized micron-sized impurities. Vortex generation, due to micron-sized constriction, is also explored with special focus on the effects of relativistic corrections to the normal Navier-Stokes equations. These corrections are found to cause a delay in the stability breakout of the fluid as well as a small shift in the vortex shedding frequency.     

Lattice boltzmann versus molecular dynamics simulation of nanoscale hydrodynamic flows

A fluid flow in a simple dense liquid, passing an obstacle in a two-dimensional thin film geometry, is simulated by molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulation and compared to results of lattice Boltzmann (LB) simulations. By the appropriate mapping of length and time units from LB to MD, the velocity field as obtained from MD is quantitatively reproduced by LB. The implications of this finding for prospective LB-MD multiscale applications are discussed.     

Density fluctuations in lattice-Boltzmann simulations of multiphase fluids in a closed system

A two-dimensional single component two-phase lattice Boltzmann model was used to simulate the Rayleigh–Taylor instability in a closed system. Spatiotemporally variable densities were generated by gravity acting on the fluid density. The density fluctuations were triggered by rapid changes in the fluid velocity induced by changes in the interface geometry and impact of the dense fluid on the rigid lower boundary of the computational domain. The ratio of the maximum density fluctuations to the maximum fluid velocity increased more rapidly at low velocities than at high velocities. The ratio of the maximum density fluctuations in the dense phase to its maximum velocity was on the order of the inverse of the sound speed. The solution became unstable when the density-based maximum local Knudsen number exceeded 0.13.     

Integral form of the Boltzmann equation for the forced diffusion of charged particles in anisotropically scattering media

Summary According to a recently proposed integral formulation of the Boltzmann equation for test particles in an external force field, the present paper shows how it is actually possible to reduce the original transport problem to the solution of a system of linear integral equations in one variable for a wide and physically meaningful class of interaction laws between test particles and host medium. The feasibility study deals mainly with anisotropic scattering, and provides the kernels of the final integral system to be solved. The explicit analytic form of such kernels has been explicitly worked out for some interaction models of particular interest.

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Sommario Sulla base di una recente formulazione della teoria del trasporto di particelle in presenza di una forza esterna, il presente lavoro mostra come il problema considerato sia riconducibile, per varie e significative leggi di interazione tra le particelle e il mezzo in cui diffondono, a un sistema di equazioni integrali lineari in una variabile indipendente. Viene studiato soprattutto lo scattering anisotropo, e sono ricavati in forma esplicita i kernel del sistema integrale per alcuni modelli di interazione di maggiore interesse.

     

Alkannin/shikonin mixture from roots of Onosma echioides (L.) L.: extraction method study and quantification

This work reports the extraction procedures of alkannin/shikonin mixture from roots of six populations of Onosma echioides, by means of three extraction techniques: Soxhlet extraction, maceration and rapid solid-liquid dynamic extraction (RSLDE). Five solvents with different polarity (hexane, petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol) were also studied. Analysis of the extracts was performed by an HPLC-DAD (diode array detector) system. The most efficient extraction technique was Soxhlet procedure using ethyl acetate for 6 h. Studied samples of O. echioides showed an alkannin/shikonin content in the range of 0.02-0.24 mg/kg. Other naphthoquinone derivatives (deoxyalkannin/deoxyshikonin and 5,8-dihydroxy-2-(4-methyl-6-oxo-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-yl)-[1,4]naphthoquinone and arnebin-6) were found for the first time in O. echioides and characterized in the extracts using HPLC-MS apparatus equipped with an ESI ionization source.     

Analysis of the volatile compounds of Teucrium flavum L. subsp. flavum (Lamiaceae) by headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography with flame ionisation and mass spectrometric detection

In this study, a headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) method, in combination with gas chromatography flame ionisation detector and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, has been developed for use in the analysis of the volatile compounds of Teucrium flavum L. subsp. flavum, a plant whose particular fragrance is used in the preparation of flavoured wines, bitters and liqueurs, or as a substitute for hops in the flavouring of beer. The tested fibres were 100?μm poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), the 65?μm PDMS/divinylbenzene (DVB) and 50/30?μm DVB-carboxen-PDMS. The best fibre was found to be PDMS when working in the following conditions: 60°C temperature, 30?min extraction time, 30?mg sample amount, 1?mm sample particle size. The HS-SPME method permitted the identification (95.8-97.8%) of 76 (dry) and 66 (fresh) different volatiles. In addition, we discovered that the presence of water in the sample can enhance the absolute quantity of alcoholic compounds such as 1-octen-3-ol and reduce the presence of esters such as methyl geranate.