Photoinduced Br Desorption from CsBr Thin Films Grown on Cu(100)

Thin films of CsBr deposited onto metals such as copper are potential photocathode materials for light sources and other applications. We investigate desorption dynamics of Br atoms from CsBr films grown on insulator (KBr, LiF) and metal (Cu) substrates induced by sub-bandgap 6.4 eV laser pulses. The experimental results demonstrate that the peak kinetic energy of Br atoms desorbed from CsBr/Cu films is much lower than that for the hyperthermal desorption from CsBr/LiF films. Kelvin probe measurements indicate negative charge at the surface following Br desorption from CsBr/Cu films. Our ab initio calculations of excitons at CsBr surfaces demonstrate that this behavior can be explained by an exciton model of desorption including electron trapping at the CsBr surface. Trapped negative charges reduce the energy of surface excitons available for Br desorption. We examine the electron-trapping characteristics of low-coordinated sites at the surface, in particular, divacancies and kink sites. We also provide a model of cation desorption caused by Franck-Hertz excitation of F centers at the surface in the course of irradiation of CsBr/Cu films. These results provide new insights into the mechanisms of photoinduced structural evolution of alkali halide films on metal substrates and activation of metal photocathodes coated with CsBr

Towards engineering heart tissues from bioprinted cardiac spheroids.

Currentin vivoandin vitromodels fail to accurately recapitulate the human heart microenvironment for biomedical applications. This study explores the use of cardiac spheroids (CSs) to biofabricate advancedin vitromodels of the human heart. CSs were created from human cardiac myocytes, fibroblasts and endothelial cells (ECs), mixed within optimal alginate/gelatin hydrogels and then bioprinted on a microelectrode plate for drug testing. Bioprinted CSs maintained their structure and viability for at least 30 d after printing. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promoted EC branching from CSs within hydrogels. Alginate/gelatin-based hydrogels enabled spheroids fusion, which was further facilitated by addition of VEGF. Bioprinted CSs contracted spontaneously and under stimulation, allowing to record contractile and electrical signals on the microelectrode plates for industrial applications. Taken together, our findings indicate that bioprinted CSs can be used to biofabricate human heart tissues for long termin vitrotesting. This has the potential to be used to study biochemical, physiological and pharmacological features of human heart tissue

Autoassemblage de monocouches organiques à faible température

A température ambiante, la plupart des monocouches constituées de molécules formées de chaînes alcanes présentent des phases caractérisées par la rotation des chaînes autour de leur axe moléculaire. Afin d obtenir un ordre cristallin, il est impératif de réduire l énergie du système. De nouvelles sous-phases liquides utilisant des agents cryoprotectifs permettent d accéder à des températures plus faibles que la température de glace de l eau. Les monocouches de surfactants tels que les acides gras ou les phospholipides ont été préparées à volume et pression surfacique constants. L étude de la stabilité des films par refroidissement a été effectuée par des isothermes de Langmuir et GIXOS et celle de l ordre dans le plan par GIXD. Les molécules adoptent des phases cristallines qui sont induites par un processus d autoassemblage d origine exclusivement entropique et dont la densité de compactage est similaire à celle d un monocristal à trois dimensions. La technique d XPCS a enfin été employée pour relier la dynamique de surface du système étudié à la formation des phases cristallines.At ambient temperature monolayer phases of most alkane chain molecules exhibit phases, characterised by the rotation of the chain around the molecular axis. Consequently, these phases are only weakly ordered rather than crystalline. In order to achieve crystalline ordering, the energy of the system needs to be reduced. New cryo-protective liquid subphases extend the accessible range to much lower temperatures than the freezing threshold of water. Monolayers of common surfactants like fatty acids and phospholipids were prepared under constant volume/constant surface pressure conditions and their phase behaviour was studied upon cooling. First insights into film stability and evolution upon cooling were achieved by Langmuir isotherms and GIXOS, while the in-plane ordering was investigated by GIXD. The molecules were found to adapt crystalline phases by a purely entropy driven self-assembly process, reaching packing densities similar to three dimensional single crystals. The evolution of the structure parameters compare to those of bulk alkanes undergoing the rotator-crystalline phase transition. XPCS was employed to relate the surface dynamics of the system to the appearance of crystalline phases. The phase transition was found to be accompanied by a change of the dynamics from propagating to overdamped capillary waves.GRENOBLE1-BU Sciences (384212103) / SudocSudocFranceF