Osteoblast responsive biosilica-enriched gelatin microfibrillar microenvironments.

Engineering of scaffolds for bone regeneration is often inspired by the native extracellular matrix mimicking its composite fibrous structure. In the present study, we used low loadings of diatomite earth (DE) biosilica to improve the bone regeneration potential of gelatin electrospun fibrillar microenvironments. We explored the effect of increasing the DE content from 1 % to 3 % and 5 %, respectively, on the physico-chemical properties of the fibrous scaffolds denoted FG_DE1, FG_DE3, FG_DE5, regarding the aqueous media affinity, stability under simulated physiological conditions, morphology characteristics, and local mechanical properties at the surface. The presence of biosilica generated composite structures with lower swelling degrees and higher stiffness when compared to gelatin fibers. Increasing DE content led to higher Young modulus, while the stability of the protein matrix in PBS, at 37 °C, over 21 was significantly decreased by the presence of diatomite loadings. The best preosteoblast response was obtained for FG_DE3, with enhanced mineralization during the osteogenic differentiation when compared to the control sample without diatomite. 5 % DE in FG_DE5 proved to negatively influence cells' metabolic activity and morphology. Hence, the obtained composite microfibrillar scaffolds might find application as osteoblast-responsive materials for bone tissue engineering.

A Nanocomposite Sol-Gel Film Based on PbS Quantum Dots Embedded into an Amorphous Host Inorganic Matrix.

In this study, a sol-gel film based on lead sulfide (PbS) quantum dots incorporated into a host network was synthesized as a special nanostructured composite material with potential applications in temperature sensor systems. This work dealt with the optical, structural, and morphological properties of a representative PbS quantum dot (QD)-containing thin film belonging to the Al2O3-SiO2-P2O5 system. The film was prepared using the sol-gel method combined with the spin coating technique, starting from a precursor solution containing a suspension of PbS QDs in toluene with a narrow size distribution and coated on a glass substrate in a multilayer process, followed by annealing of each deposited layer. The size (approximately 10 nm) of the lead sulfide nanocrystallites was validated by XRD and by the quantum confinement effect based on the band gap value and by TEM results. The photoluminescence peak of 1505 nm was very close to that of the precursor PbS QD solution, which demonstrated that the synthesis route of the film preserved the optical emission characteristic of the PbS QDs. The photoluminescence of the lead sulfide QD-containing film in the near infrared domain demonstrates that this material is a promising candidate for future sensing applications in temperature monitoring.

Effect of P2O5 Content on Luminescence of Reduced Graphene-Oxide-Doped ZnO-P2O5 Nano-Structured Films Prepared via the Sol-Gel Method.

A convenient and low-cost sol-gel approach for the one-step synthesis of ZnO-P2O5-rGO nanostructures with tuned bandgap and fluorescence was investigated. The obtained hybrid nanostructures exploit the properties of zinc oxide, graphene oxide and phosphorous oxide as promising candidates for a wide range of optoelectronic applications. A predominant amorphous structure, ZnO-P2O5-rGO, containing ZnO nanorods was evidenced by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The estimated size of the ZnO nanorods in nanostructures with P2O5 was noticed to decrease when the P2O5/ZnO ratio was increased. The presence of ZnO, P2O5 and rGO was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman investigation. P2O5 was noticed to tune the bandgap and the fluorescence emissions of the nanostructured films, as estimated by UV-Vis-NIR and fluorescence spectroscopy, respectively. The electrical measurements performed at room temperature showed that the main influence on the film's resistivity does not come from the 1% rGO doping but from the P2O5/ZnO ratio. It was found that a 10/90 molar ratio of P2O5/ZnO decreases the resistivity almost seven-fold compared with rGO-doped ZnO films.

Obtaining and conductive properties of a vanadate-borate-phosphate glass.

Vanadate glasses exhibit semiconducting property at certain temperatures. This work demonstrates the conductivity of the composition 45V2O5-25B2O3-30P2O5, which is a new glass in the vanadium-boron-phosphorus ternary system that expands the glass forming area reported in literature data. The glass was obtained through a classical melt-quenching technique. The structural composition of the obtained glass was revealed with Raman spectroscopy and the amorphous characteristic has been highlighted with X-ray diffraction. The characteristic temperatures and the thermal expansion coefficient were determined by dilatometry. Based on the experimental measurements of electrical resistance, mathematical calculations were performed, resulting in a conductivity of 2.04·10-6 S/cm at 125 °C, and an activation energy of 42.91 kJ/mol for this glass. Impedance spectroscopy in DC and AC at 100 V and 100 Hz to 2 MHz, respectively, showed a lower activation energy of about 0.166 eV and transition temperatures of 24 °C and 11 °C, respectively. These results were compared with those from the literature considering the temperatures at which the reported conductivities were measured. This glass has potential applications in electronic devices and temperature sensors.

Shaping in the Third Direction: Self-Assembly of Convex Colloidal Photonic Crystals on an Optical Fiber Tip by Hanging Drop Method.

High-quality convex colloidal photonic crystals can be grown on the tip of an optical fiber by self-assembly using the hanging drop method. They are convex-shaped, produce the diffraction of reflecting light with high efficiency (blazing colors), and have a high curvature. The convex colloidal crystals are easily detachable and, as free-standing objects, they are mechanically robust, allowing their manipulation and use as convex reflective diffraction devices in imaging spectrometers. Currently, the same characteristics are obtained by using gratings-based structures. The optical fiber/colloidal crystal interface is disordered; thus, no light diffraction can be registered. The ordering at this interface was highly increased by forming a polystyrene spacer on the optical fiber tip, which served as a self-assembly substrate for silica colloid, as a mechanical bond between the fiber and the crystal, and as a filler reservoir for an inverse-opal synthesis. The silica opal-like grown on the optical fiber tip can be transformed into a high-quality polystyrene (blazing colors) inverse-opal by using the polystyrene spacer as a filler. We found that the colloidal crystal axisymmetric self-assembles onto the optical fiber tip only if a maximum volume of the colloid drop is settled on a flat end of the polystyrene spacer.

Hydroxyapatite-bioglass nanocomposites: Structural, mechanical, and biological aspects.

This research work focuses on the fabrication and study of a series of nanocomposites consisting of two types of hydroxyapatite (HA), obtained by precipitate (HAP) and sol-gel (HAG) methods, and a boro-silico-phosphate bioglass. The microstructure and chemical, mechanical, and biological properties as functions of three factors, namely (i) the type of hydroxyapatite, (ii) glass content, and (iii) sintering temperature, were investigated. It was found that all of these factors affect the final composition and microstructure, especially, porosity, which shows significantly lower values for HAP-based composites than for HAG-based ones and higher values for higher glass content. This, in turn, has an impact on the microhardness, which exhibits a strong correlation with porosity, as well as on the mineralization capability and cell viability due to the different dissolution rate.

Mathematical formalism of femtosecond laser-deoxyribonucleic acid interaction: thermal evolution.

A novel analytical formalism is proposed based upon Quantum heat transport equation in order to describe the femtoseconds/picoseconds laser pulses interaction with the Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The formalism generates solutions based upon inputs as: voltage, laser beam intensity and laser - DNA interaction time. Thermal waves induced inside irradiated DNA are defined and accounted for. Analytical simulations show that the optimum regime of laser - DNA interaction was reached for a potential carrier generated at the interface equal to 3.5 × 10-3 eV. It has to be mentioned that the formalism breaks down if the potential carrier generated at the interface is inferior to 10-2 eV. Accordingly, for pulse duration inferior to 1 ps, the laser beam spatial-temporal distribution has an essential role in defining the shape and magnitude of the thermal distribution within the irradiated DNA strands.

Nanostructured PbS-Doped Inorganic Film Synthesized by Sol-Gel Route.

IV-VI semiconductor quantum dots embedded into an inorganic matrix represent nanostructured composite materials with potential application in temperature sensor systems. This study explores the optical, structural, and morphological properties of a novel PbS quantum dots (QDs)-doped inorganic thin film belonging to the Al2O3-SiO2-P2O5 system. The film was synthesized by the sol-gel method, spin coating technique, starting from a precursor solution deposited on a glass substrate in a multilayer process, followed by drying of each deposited layer. Crystalline PbS QDs embedded in the inorganic vitreous host matrix formed a nanocomposite material. Specific investigations such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical absorbance in the ultraviolet (UV)-visible (Vis)-near infrared (NIR) domain, NIR luminescence, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to obtain a comprehensive characterization of the deposited film. The dimensions of the PbS nanocrystallite phase were corroborated by XRD, SEM-EDX, and AFM results. The luminescence band from 1400 nm follows the luminescence peak of the precursor solution and that of the dopant solution. The emission of the PbS-doped film in the NIR domain is a premise for potential application in temperature sensing systems.

Shaping in the Third Direction; Fabrication of Hemispherical Micro-Concavity Array by Using Large Size Polystyrene Spheres as Template for Direct Self-Assembly of Small Size Silica Spheres.

Silica and polystyrene spheres with a small size ratio (r = 0.005) form by sequential hanging drop self-assembly, a binary colloidal crystal through which calcination transforms in a silica-ordered concavity array. These arrays are capable of light Bragg diffraction and shape dependent optical phenomena, and they can be transformed into inverse-opal structures. Hierarchical 2D and 3D super-structures with ordered concavities as structural units were fabricated in this study.

Investigations Regarding the Addition of ZnO and Li2O-TiO2 to Phosphate-Tellurite Glasses: Structural, Chemical, and Mechanical Properties.

Phosphate and tellurite glasses can be used in optics, optoelectronics, magneto-optics, and nuclear and medical fields. Two series of phosphate-tellurite glasses, (50-x)ZnO-10Al2O3-40P2O5-xTeO2 and (40-x)Li2O-10Al2O3-5TiO2-45P2O5-xTeO2 (x = 5, 10), were synthesized by a non-conventional wet-route, and the mechanical properties as key performance measures for their application in optoelectronics were investigated. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) measurements revealed the vitreous nature of the investigated materials. Instrumented indentation tests allowed the calculation of hardness (H) and Young's modulus (E) using the Oliver and Pharr model. The influence of increasing the TeO2 content, as well as the substitution of ZnO by Li2O-TiO2, on the variation of hardness, Young's modulus, penetration depth (PD), and fracture toughness (FT) was evaluated in both series. As a general trend, there is a decrease in the hardness and Young's modulus with increasing penetration depth. The addition of Li2O and TiO2 instead of ZnO leads to improved hardness and elastic modulus values. Regarding the H/E ratio, it was found that the samples with lower TeO2 content should be significantly more crack-resistant compared to the higher TeO2 content samples. The H3/E2 ratio, being lower than 0.01, revealed a poor resistance of these glasses to plastic deformation. At the same time, a decrease of the fracture toughness with increasing TeO2 content was noticed for each glass series. Based on dilatometry measurements, the thermal expansion coefficient as well as the characteristic temperatures of the glasses were measured. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (FESEM-EDX) revealed a uniform distribution of the elements in the bulk samples. The mechanical properties of these vitreous materials are important in relation to their application as magneto-optical Faraday rotators in laser cavities.

Shaping in the Third Direction; Synthesis of Patterned Colloidal Crystals by Polyester Fabric-Guided Self-Assembly.

A polyester fabric with rectangular openings was used as a sacrificial template for the guiding of a sub-micron sphere (polystyrene (PS) and silica) aqueous colloid self-assembly process during evaporation as a patterned colloidal crystal (PCC). This simple process is also a robust one, being less sensitive to external parameters (ambient pressure, temperature, humidity, vibrations). The most interesting feature of the concave-shape-pattern unit cell (350 µm × 400 µm × 3 µm) of this crystal is the presence of triangular prisms at its border, each prism having a one-dimensional sphere array at its top edge. The high-quality ordered single layer found inside of each unit cell presents the super-prism effect and left-handed behavior. Wider yet elongated deposits with ordered walls and disordered top surfaces were formed under the fabric knots. Rectangular patterning was obtained even for 20 µm PS spheres. Polyester fabrics with other opening geometries and sizes (~300-1000 µm) or with higher fiber elasticity also allowed the formation of similar PCCs, some having curved prismatic walls. A higher colloid concentration (10-20%) induces the formation of thicker walls with fiber-negative replica morphology. Additionally, thick-wall PCCs (~100 µm) with semi-cylindrical morphology were obtained using SiO2 sub-microspheres and a wavy fabric. The colloidal pattern was used as a lithographic mask for natural lithography and as a template for the synthesis of triangular-prism-shaped inverted opals.

Nano-FTIR spectroscopic identification of prebiotic carbonyl compounds in Dominion Range 08006 carbonaceous chondrite.

Meteorites contain organic matter that may have contributed to the origin of life on Earth. Carbonyl compounds such as aldehydes and carboxylic acids, which occur in meteorites, may be precursors of biologically necessary organic materials in the solar system. Therefore, such organic matter is of astrobiological importance and their detection and characterization can contribute to the understanding of the early solar system as well as the origin of life. Most organic matter is typically sub-micrometer in size, and organic nanoglobules are even smaller (50-300 nm). Novel analytical techniques with nanoscale spatial resolution are required to detect and characterize organic matter within extraterrestrial materials. Most techniques require powdered samples, consume the material, and lose petrographic context of organics. Here, we report the detection of nanoglobular aldehyde and carboxylic acids in a highly primitive carbonaceous chondrite (DOM 08006) with ~ 20 nm spatial resolution using nano-FTIR spectroscopy. Such organic matter is found within the matrix of DOM 08006 and is typically 50-300 nm in size. We also show petrographic context and nanoscale morphologic/topographic features of the organic matter. Our results indicate that prebiotic carbonyl nanoglobules can form in a less aqueous and relatively elevated temperature-environment (220-230 °C) in a carbonaceous parent body.

A New Zinc Phosphate-Tellurite Glass for Magneto-Optical Applications.

This work investigates the structural, magnetic and magneto-optical properties of a new zinc phosphate-tellurite glass belonging to the 45ZnO-10Al2O3-40P2O5-5TeO2 system. The glass was prepared by a wet method of processing the starting reagents followed by suitable melting-stirring-quenching-annealing steps. Specific parameters such as density, average molecular mass, molar volume, oxygen packaging density, refractive index, molar refractivity, electronic polarizability, reflection loss, optical transmission, band gap and optical basicity have been reported together with thermal, magnetic and magneto-optical characteristics. Absorption bands appear in the blue and red visible region, while over 600 nm the glass becomes more transparent. FTIR and Raman spectra evidenced phosphate-tellurite vibration modes proving the P2O5 and TeO2 network forming role. Magnetic measurements reveal the diamagnetic character of the Te-doped glass with an additional weak ferromagnetic signal, specific to diluted ferromagnetic oxides. Positive Faraday rotation angle with monotonous decreasing value at increasing wavelength was evidenced from magneto-optical measurements. The final product is a composite material comprising of a non-crystalline vitreous phase and Te-based nanoclusters accompanied by oxygen vacancies. The metallic-like Te colloids are responsible for the dark reddish color of the glass whereas the accompanying oxygen vacancies might be responsible for the weak ferromagnetic signal persisting up to room temperature.

An Analytical Multiple-Temperature Model for Flash Laser Irradiation on Single-Layer Graphene.

A Multiple-Temperature Model is proposed to describe the flash laser irradiation of a single layer of graphene. Zhukovsky's mathematical approach is applied to solve the Fourier heat equations based upon quantum concepts, including heat operators. Easy solutions were inferred with respect to classical mathematics. Thus, simple equations were set for the electrons and phonon temperatures in the case of flash laser treatment of a single layer of graphene. Our method avoids the difficulties and extensive time-consuming nonequilibrium green function method or quantum field theories when applied in a condensed matter. Simple expressions were deduced that could prove useful for researchers.

Taurine activates GABAergic networks in the neocortex of immature mice.

Although it has been suggested that taurine is the main endogenous neurotransmitter acting on glycine receptors, the implications of glycine receptor-mediated taurine actions on immature neocortical networks have not been addressed yet. To investigate the influence of taurine on the excitability of neuronal networks in the immature neocortex, we performed whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from visually identified pyramidal neurons and interneurons in coronal slices from C57Bl/6 and GAD67-green fluorescent protein (GFP) transgenic mice (postnatal days 2-4). In 46% of the pyramidal neurons bath-application of taurine at concentrations ≥ 300 µM significantly enhanced the frequency of postsynaptic currents (PSCs) by 744.3 ± 93.8% (n = 120 cells). This taurine-induced increase of PSC frequency was abolished by 0.2 µM tetrodotoxin (TTX), 1 µM strychnine or 3 µM gabazine, but was unaffected by the glutamatergic antagonists 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) and (±) R(-)-3-(2-carboxypiperazine-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid (CPP), suggesting that taurine specifically activates GABAergic network activity projecting to pyramidal neurons. Cell-attached recordings revealed that taurine enhanced the frequency of action potentials (APs) in pyramidal neurons, indicating an excitatory action of the GABAergic PSCs. In order to identify the presynaptic targets of taurine we demonstrate that bath application of taurine induced in GAD67-GFP labeled interneurons an inward current that is mainly mediated by glycine receptors and can generate APs in these cells. We conclude from these results that taurine can enhance network excitability in the immature neocortex by selectively activating GABAergic interneurons via interactions with glycine receptors.