Bioactive Components and Anticancer Activities of Spray-Dried New Zealand Tamarillo Powder

Tamarillo fruit contains many phytochemicals that have beneficial therapeutic and nutritional properties. Spray-drying is widely used to preserve fruit puree in powder form. However, to obtain high-quality fruit powder, the optimisation of spray-drying conditions is necessary, as a high drying temperature can damage sensitive bioactive compounds. This study investigated the effects of spray-drying on the microstructure, polyphenolics, total flavonoids, total carotenoids, antioxidant activity, and anticancer capacity of tamarillo powder. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimise the spray-drying process to produce tamarillo powder. The independent variables were inlet drying temperature (120–160 °C), flow rate (1–5 g/mL), and maltodextrin concentration (0–10%). These variables influenced the microstructural attributes, bioactive components, and cytotoxicity of the spray-dried tamarillo powder. The increase in polyphenols and antioxidant activities were favoured under high-temperature spray drying conditions and a low carrier concentration. The optimised spray-drying conditions for producing tamarillo powder with high antioxidant and anticancer activities, high yield, and stable bioactive compounds were found to be at 146.8 °C inlet temperature, and a flow rate of 1.76 g/mL.     

New Cysteine-Containing PEG-Glycerolipid Increases the Bloodstream Circulation Time of Upconverting Nanoparticles

Upconverting nanoparticles have unique spectral and photophysical properties that make them suitable for development of theranostics for imaging and treating large and deep-seated tumors. Nanoparticles based on NaYF₄ crystals doped with lanthanides Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ were obtained by the high-temperature decomposition of trifluoroacetates in oleic acid and 1-octadecene. Such particles have pronounced hydrophobic properties. Therefore, to obtain stable dispersions in aqueous media for the study of their properties in vivo and in vitro, the polyethylene glycol (PEG)-glycerolipids of various structures were obtained. To increase the circulation time of PEG-lipid coated nanoparticles in the bloodstream, long-chain substituents are needed to be attached to the glycerol backbone using ether bonds. To prevent nanoparticle aggregation, an L-cysteine-derived negatively charged carboxy group should be included in the lipid molecule.     

基于数学形态学的表面原子熔融相的 STM图像识别算法

高温扫描隧道显微镜(HT-STM)可以实时原位地捕捉到表面原子的熔化相变过程.在这一原位变温实验中,快速可靠地识别出每帧STM图像中的熔融相十分关键.传统的手工统计方法存在效率低下、随意性大等问题.我们发展出一套基于数学形态学的算法,来自动快速地识别.与人工方法相比,该算法消除了人为主观误差,使确定的边界更加准确、光滑,处理效率提高了266倍.     

High sensitivity dual core photonic crystal fiber sensor for simultaneous detection of two samples

The optical control ability of photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is a distinctive property suitable for improving sensing and plasma performance. This article proposes a dual-core D-channel PCF sensor that can detect two samples simultaneously, which effectively solves the problems of coating difficulty and low wavelength sensitivity. The PCF has four layers of air holes, which dramatically reduces the optical fiber loss and is more conducive to the application of sensors in actual production. In addition, by introducing dual cores on the upper and lower sides of the central air hole, reducing the spacing between the core and the gold nanolayer, a stronger evanescent field can be generated in the cladding air hole. The optical fiber sensor can detect the refractive index of two samples simultaneously with a maximum sensitivity of 21300 nm/RIU. To the best of our knowledge, the sensitivity achieved in this work is the highest sensitivity with the dual sample synchronous detection sensors. The detection range of the refraction index is 1.35-1.41, and the resolution of the sensor is 4.695×10^-6. Overall, the sensor will be suitable for medical detection, organic chemical sensing, analyte detection, and other fields.     

Sensitivity improvement of aluminum-based far-ultraviolet nearly guided-wave surface plasmon resonance sensor

An aluminum (Al) based nearly guided-wave surface plasmon resonance (NGWSPR) sensor is investigated in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) region. By simultaneously optimizing the thickness of Al and dielectric films, the sensitivity of the optimized Al-based FUV-NGWSPR sensor increases from 183°/RIU to 309°/RIU, and its figure of merit rises from 26.47 RIU^-1 to 32.59 RIU^-1 when the refractive index of dielectric increases from 2 to 5. Compared with a traditional FUV-SPR sensor without dielectric, the optimized FUV-NGWSPR sensor can realize simultaneous improvement of sensitivity and figure of merit. In addition, the FUV-NGWSPR sensor with realistic materials (diamond, Ta₂O₅, and GaN) is also investigated, and 137.84%, 52.70%, and 41.89% sensitivity improvements are achieved respectively. This work proposes a method for performance improvement of FUV-SPR sensors by exciting nearly guided-wave, and could be helpful for the high-performance SPR sensor in the short-wavelength region.     

The existence and stability of bulk nanobubbles:a long-standing dispute on the experimentally observed mesoscopic inhomogeneities in aqueous solutions

In theory,nanobubbles can stably exist with a lifetime of microseconds at most,but numerous experimental observations demonstrate that nanobubbles in bulk solution can be stable from hours to weeks.Although various conjectures on the stability mechanism of bulk nanobubbles,such as the contaminant mechanism,skin mechanism,surface zeta potential mechanism,are proposed,there has not yet been a unified conclusion.Since bulk nanobubbles show great potential in a wide spectrum of applications and are relevant to a number of unsolved questions on cavitation and nucleation,the debate over their stability mechanisms has been active.In the past,extensive studies have been carried out to understand the mechanism of nanobubble stability,and important insights have already been provided.This paper will provide a brief overview of our current understanding of the unexpected stability of bulk nanobubbles.     

银纳米颗粒对聚合物太阳能电池性能的提高

采用水溶性银纳米颗粒附着在反型太阳能电池的电子传输层上,用以提高有机太阳能电池的短路电流。所制备的器件结构为ITO/ZnO/Ag NPs/P3HT(Poly 3-hexylthiophene):PC_[60]BM/MoO₃/Ag。其金属银纳米颗粒的表面等离激元在410 nm处出现了共振吸收峰,半峰全宽约为60 nm。器件的光电流在可见光范围内均有所增加,短路电流相对于标准器件提高了20.2%,光电转化效率相对提高了17.2%。     

Au@碳球复合结构中Au颗粒位置调控光吸收

采用时域有限差分（FDTD）法研究Au纳米颗粒@碳球（AuNPs@CS）复合结构的光吸收控制。发现Au纳米颗粒@碳球复合结构中Au颗粒的位置可以控制复合结构光吸收。模型计算中选取两粒Au纳米颗粒以最佳深度（0 nm）嵌入碳球表面。当两粒Au颗粒球心与碳球球心夹角为22.5°和45°时,复合结构光吸收较单一碳球光吸收明显增强;当夹角为315°、270°、180°、90°时,光吸收增量逐渐减小;当夹角为337.5°时,光吸收量低于单一碳球。这一结果主要归因于Au纳米颗粒位置变化可引起表面等离子体光强度和光散射方向的变化。改变碳球表面Au纳米颗粒的数量和位置,可以进一步调节AuNPs@CS复合结构的光吸收。     

MoSi_2(001)表面的氧吸附行为

运用第一原理密度泛函理论方法,首先计算了MoSi_2各清洁表面的表面能,(001)Si-|-Si断面具有较低的表面能,是MoSi_2最可能的解理面;通过生成能及键布居分析研究了单氧原子、双氧原子及氧分子在(001)Si-|-Si断面的吸附行为,发现单氧原子在空位处吸附最稳定,此时O极易与Si结合,得到的Si-O-Si键长及键角与SiO_2的非常接近,表明低浓度下O极易与表面的Si结合生成SiO_2;双氧原子发生空位+顶位吸附时O原子除与Si有强作用外,可与Mo有一定相互作用;氧分子以平行的方式接近空位最有利于吸附,此时氧分子最易分解为氧原子,发生氧原子在空位的吸附.