A Hydrogel/Carbon-Nanotube Needle-Free Device for Electrostimulated Skin Drug Delivery.

The permeability of skin allows passive diffusion across the epidermis to reach blood vessels but this is possible only for small molecules such as nicotine. In order to achieve transdermal delivery of large molecules such as insulin or plasmid DNA, permeability of the skin and mainly the permeability of the stratum corneum skin layer has to be increased. Moreover, alternative routes that avoid the use of needles will improve the quality of life of patients. A method known as electropermeabilisation has been shown to increase skin permeability. Herein, we report the fabrication of an innovative hydrogel made of a nanocomposite material. This nanocomposite device aims to permeabilise the skin and deliver drug molecules at the same time. It includes a biocompatible polymer matrix (hydrogel) and double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) in order to bring electrical conductivity and improve mechanical properties. Carbon nanotubes and especially DWCNTs are ideal candidates, combining high electrical conductivity with a very high specific surface area together with a good biocompatibility when included into a material. The preparation and characterization of the nanocomposite hydrogel as well as first results of electrostimulated transdermal delivery using an ex vivo mouse skin model are presented.

Doping characteristics of iodine on as-grown chemical vapor deposited graphene on Pt.

Using laboratory X-ray photoelectron emission microscopy (XPEEM), we investigated the doping efficiency and thermal stability of iodine on as-grown graphene on Pt. After iodine adsorption of graphene in saturated vapor of I2, monolayer and bilayer graphene exhibited work function of 4.93 eV and 4.87 eV, respectively. Annealing of the doped monolayer graphene at 100 °C led to desorption of hydrocarbons, which increased the work function of monolayer graphene by ~0.2 eV. The composition of the polyiodide complexes evolved upon a step-by-step annealing at temperatures from 100 °C to 300 °C while the work-function non-monotonically changed with decreasing iodine content. The iodine dopant was stable at relatively high temperature as a significant amount of iodine remained up to the annealing temperature of 350 °C.

Combined use of hard X-ray phase contrast imaging and X-ray fluorescence microscopy for sub-cellular metal quantification.

Hard X-ray fluorescence microscopy and magnified phase contrast imaging are combined to obtain quantitative maps of the projected metal concentration in whole cells. The experiments were performed on freeze dried cells at the nano-imaging station ID22NI of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). X-ray fluorescence analysis gives the areal mass of most major, minor and trace elements; it is validated using a biological standard of known composition. Quantitative phase contrast imaging provides maps of the projected mass and is validated using calibration samples and through comparison with Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy. Up to now, absolute quantification at the sub-cellular level was impossible using X-ray fluorescence microscopy but can be reached with the use of the proposed approach.