Enhancement of optical birefringence in tellurite glasses containing silver nanoparticles induced via thermal poling

Wavelength-selective enhancement of optical birefringence has been observed in a tellurite glass containing silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) induced via thermal poling. The birefringence appears as an optical rotation of linearly polarized light; a large optical rotation is observed at around the wavelength of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Ag NPs. The optic axis is oriented along the electric field applied during the thermal poling, suggesting that birefringence induced in the glass matrix through the thermal poling is drastically enhanced by the NPs at around the LSPR. Because of the birefringence of the matrix, the wavelength of LSPR shifts depending on the polarization state of the incident light, which in turn induces the polarization dependence of the real part of the refractive index via the Kramers–Kronig relation.     

A correction method for measuring turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rate by PIV

The accuracy of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation rate measured by PIV is studied. The critical issue for PIV-based dissipation measurements is the strong dependency on the spatial resolution, Δx, as reported by Saarenrinne and Piirto (Exp Fluids Suppl:S300–S307, 2000). When the PIV spacing is larger than the Kolmogorov scale, η, the dissipation is underestimated because the small scale fluctuations are filtered. For the case of Δx smaller than the Kolmogorov scale, the error rapidly increases due to noise. We introduce a correction method to eliminate the dominant error for the small Δx case. The correction method is validated by using a novel PIV benchmark, random Oseen vortices synthetic image test (ROST), in which quasi-turbulence is generated by randomly superposing multiple Oseen vortices. The error of the measured dissipation can be more than 1,000% of the analytical dissipation for the small Δx case, while the dissipation rate is underestimated for the large Δx case. Though the correction method does not correct the underestimate due to the low resolution, the dissipation was accurately obtained within a few percent of the true value by using the correction method for the optimal resolution of η/10 < Δx < η/2.     

Detection of interfacial phenomena with osteoblast-like cell adhesion on hydroxyapatite and oxidized polystyrene by the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation

The adhesion process of osteoblast-like cells on hydroxyapatite (HAp) and oxidized polystyrene (PSox) was investigated using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM), and atomic force microscope (AFM) techniques in order to clarify the interfacial phenomena between the surfaces and cells. The interfacial viscoelastic properties (shear viscosity (η(ad)), elastic shear modulus (μ(ad)), and tan δ) of the preadsorbed protein layer and the interface layer between the surfaces and cells were estimated using a Voigt-based viscoelastic model from the measured frequency (Δf) and dissipation shift (ΔD) curves. In the ΔD-Δf plots, the cell adhesion process on HAp was classified as (1) a mass increase only, (2) increases in both mass and ΔD, and (3) slight decreases in mass and ΔD. On PSox, only ΔD increases were observed, indicating that the adhesion behavior depended on the surface properties. The interfacial μ(ad) value between the material surfaces and cells increased with the number of adherent cells, whereas η(ad) and tanδ decreased slightly, irrespective of the surface. Thus, the interfacial layer changed the elasticity to viscosity with an increase in the number. The tan δ values on HAp were higher than those on PSox and exceeded 1.0. Furthermore, the pseudopod-like structures of the cells on HAp had periodic stripe patterns stained with a type I collagen antibody, whereas those on PSox had cell-membrane-like structures unstained with type I collagen. These results indicate that the interfacial layers on PSox and HAp exhibit elasticity and viscosity, respectively, indicating that the rearrangements of the extracellular matrix and cytoskeleton changes cause different cell-surface interactions. Therefore, the different cell adhesion process, interfacial viscoelasticity, and morphology depending on the surfaces were successfully monitored in situ and evaluated by the QCM-D technique combined with other techniques.     

Effect of interfacial proteins on osteoblast-like cell adhesion to hydroxyapatite nanocrystals

A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) technique was employed to detecting the protein adsorption and subsequent osteoblast-like cell adhesion to hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocrystals. The interfacial phenomena with the preadsorption of three proteins (albumin (BSA), fibronectin (Fn), and collagen (Col)), the subsequent adsorption of fetal bovine serum (FBS), and the adhesion of the cells were investigated. The QCM-D measured the frequency shift (Δf) and dissipation energy shift (ΔD), and the viscoelastic properties of the adlayers were evaluated using ΔD-Δf plot and Voigt-based viscoelastic model. The Col adsorption significantly showed higher Δf, ΔD, elasticity, and viscosity values as compared to the BSA and Fn adsorption, and the subsequent FBS adsorption depended on the preadsorbed proteins. The ΔD-Δf plot of the cell adhesion also showed a different behavior depending on the surfaces, and the Fn- and Col-modified surfaces showed the rapid mass and ΔD changes by forming the viscous interfacial layers with cell adhesion, indicating that the processes were affected by the cellular reaction through the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The confocal laser scanning microscope images of adherent cells showed a different morphology and pseudopod on the surfaces. The cells adhered to the surfaces modified with the Fn and Col had significantly uniaxially expanded shapes and fibrous pseudopods, and those modified with the BSA had a round shape. Therefore, the different cell-protein interactions would cause the arrangement of the ECM and the cytoskeleton changes at the interfaces, and these phenomena were successfully detected by the QCM-D and Voigt-based model.     

Effect of preparative conditions on crystallinity of apatite particles obtained from simulated body fluids

Preparation of colloidal hydroxyapatite (HAp) particles under body fluid conditions was investigated with focusing on the effect of preparative conditions on crystallinity of the resulting particles. Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane was added to 1.5SBF (a solution having 1.5 times higher ion concentrations than those of a simulated body fluid, SBF) to increase the solution pH, which resulted in induction of homogeneous nucleation of HAp in the solution. Colloidal HAp particles having diameters about 300 nm were obtained. When the reaction was proceeded at 70°C and the sample was dried by heating, it was effective to obtain HAp particles having high crystallinity. Experimental results support that remaining water in the sample contributed to increase HAp crystallinity.     

Oxo-tethered ruthenium(II) complex as a bifunctional catalyst for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation and H2 hydrogenation

Newly developed oxo-tethered Ru amido complexes (R,R)-1 and their HCl adducts (R,R)-2 exhibited excellent catalytic performance for both asymmetric transfer hydrogenation and the hydrogenation of ketonic substrates under neutral conditions without any cocatalysts to give chiral secondary alcohols with high levels of enantioselectivity.     

Immobilization of folic acid on Eu3+-doped nanoporous silica spheres

Folic acid (FA) was immobilized on Eu(3+)-doped nanoporous silica spheres (Eu:NPSs) through mediation of the 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane adlayer. The ordered nanopores of Eu:NPS were preserved by the immobilization. The FA-immobilized Eu:NPSs showed the characteristic photoluminescence peak due to interactions between the FA molecules and Eu(3+) ions, and highly dispersed stability in phosphate buffered saline.     

In situ measurement of crystallization of oxide thin films during irradiation with pulsed UV laser in chemical solution deposition process

The epitaxial and polycrystalline growth of lanthanum strontium manganite films on single crystalline strontium titanate and lanthanum aluminate substrates, respectively, under the irradiation with XeCl lasers in the excimer laser-assisted metal organic deposition (ELAMOD) process have been previously reported. In order to investigate the growth phenomena, we monitored the thermal radiation from the sample surfaces irradiated with a pulsed ultraviolet laser in situ with near-infrared sensors. The cooling of the lanthanum strontium manganite films on strontium titanate substrates was significantly slower than that of films on lanthanum aluminate substrates. A similar behavior was also observed by the numerical simulation study. This difference in the cooling decay curves may play an important role in the mode by which crystal growth occurs in the ELAMOD process.