ABSTRACT
Ongoing advances in both imaging and treatment for oncology purposes have seen a significant rise in the use of not only the individual imaging modalities, but also their combination in single systems such as Positron Emission Tomography combined with Computed Tomography (PET-CT) and PET-MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) when planning for advanced oncology treatment, the most demanding of which is proton therapy. This has identified issues in the availability of suitable materials upon which to support the patient undergoing imaging and treatment owing to the differing requirements for each of the techniques. Sandwich composites are often selected to solve this issue but there is little information regarding optimum materials for their cores. In this paper, we presented a range of materials which are suitable for such purposes and evaluated the performance for use in terms of PET signal attenuation, proton beam stopping, MRI signal shading and X-Ray CT visibility. We found that Extruded Polystyrene offers the best compromise for patient support and positioning structures across all modalities tested, allowing for significant savings in treatment planning time and delivering more efficient treatment with lower margins.
ABSTRACT
In this work, we have shown that a 100 MHz Love wave device can be used to determine whether room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are Newtonian fluids and have developed a technique that allows the determination of the density-viscosity product, ρη, of a Newtonian RTIL. In addition, a test for a Newtonian response was established by relating the phase change to insertion loss change. Five concentrations of a water-miscible RTIL and seven pure RTILs were measured. The changes in phase and insertion loss were found to vary linearly with the square root of the density-viscosity product for values up to (ρη)(1/2) ~ 10 kg m(-2) s(-1/2). The square root of the density-viscosity product was deduced from the changes in either phase or insertion loss using glycerol as a calibration liquid. In both cases, the deduced values of ρη agree well with those measured using viscosity and density meters. Miniaturization of the device, beyond that achievable with the lower-frequency quartz crystal microbalance approach, to measure smaller volumes is possible. The ability to fabricate Love wave and other surface acoustic wave sensors using planar metallization technologies gives potential for future integration into lab-on-a-chip analytical systems for characterizing ionic liquids.
ABSTRACT
A microfluidic device designed for electrochemical studies on a microliter scale has been utilized for the examination of impurity levels in ionic liquids (ILs). Halide impurities are common following IL synthesis, and this study demonstrates the ability to quantify low concentrations of halide in a range of ILs to levels of approximately 5 ppm, even in ILs not currently measurable using other methods such as ion chromatography. To validate the mixer device, the electrochemistry of ferrocene was also examined and compared with spectroscopic and bulk electrochemistry measurements. An automated "sample preparation, delivery, and calibration" method was developed, and the chip successfully used for linear sweep, cyclic voltammetry (under both quiescent and steady-state flowing conditions), square wave voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry. An effective method of electrochemically cleaning the electrodes is also presented.
ABSTRACT
Quartz crystal impedance analysis has been developed as a technique to assess whether room-temperature ionic liquids are Newtonian fluids and as a small-volume method for determining the values of their viscosity-density product, rho eta. Changes in the impedance spectrum of a 5-MHz fundamental frequency quartz crystal induced by a water-miscible room-temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimiclazolium trifluoromethylsulfonate ([C4mim][OTf]), were measured. From coupled frequency shift and bandwidth changes as the concentration was varied from 0 to 100% ionic liquid, it was determined that this liquid provided a Newtonian response. A second water-immiscible ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [C4mim][NTf2], with concentration varied using methanol, was tested and also found to provide a Newtonian response. In both cases, the values of the square root of the viscosity-density product deduced from the small-volume quartz crystal technique were consistent with those measured using a viscometer and density meter. The third harmonic of the crystal was found to provide the closest agreement between the two measurement methods; the pure ionic liquids had the largest difference of approximately 10%. In addition, 18 pure ionic liquids were tested, and for 11 of these, good-quality frequency shift and bandwidth data were obtained; these 12 all had a Newtonian response. The frequency shift of the third harmonic was found to vary linearly with square root of viscosity-density product of the pure ionic liquids up to a value of square root(rho eta) approximately 18 kg m(-2) s(-1/2), but with a slope 10% smaller than that predicted by the Kanazawa and Gordon equation. It is envisaged that the quartz crystal technique could be used in a high-throughput microfluidic system for characterizing ionic liquids.
ABSTRACT
SU-8 is a technologically important photoresist used extensively for thefabrication of microfluidics and MEMS, allowing high aspect ratio structures to beproduced. In this work we report the use of SU-8 as a Love wave sensor guiding layerwhich allows the possibility of integrating a guiding layer with flow cell during fabrication.Devices were fabricated on ST-cut quartz substrates with a single-single finger design suchthat a surface skimming bulk wave (SSBW) at 97.4 MHz was excited. SU-8 polymer layerswere successively built up by spin coating and spectra recorded at each stage; showing afrequency decrease with increasing guiding layer thickness. The insertion loss andfrequency dependence as a function of guiding layer thickness was investigated over thefirst Love wave mode. Mass loading sensitivity of the resultant Love wave devices wasinvestigated by deposition of multiple gold layers. Liquid sensing using these devices wasalso demonstrated; water-glycerol mixtures were used to demonstrate sensing of density-viscosity and the physical adsorption and removal of protein was also assessed usingalbumin and fibrinogen as model proteins.
