Dipole reorientation and local density of optical states influence the emission of light-emitting electrochemical cells

Herein, we analyze the temporal evolution of the electroluminescence of light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs), a thin-film light-emitting device, in order to maximize the luminous power radiated by these devices. A careful analysis of the spectral and angular distribution of the emission of LECs fabricated under the same experimental conditions allows describing the dynamics of the spatial region from which LECs emit, i.e. the generation zone, as bias is applied. This effect is mediated by dipole reorientation within such an emissive region and its optical environment, since its spatial drift yields a different interplay between the intrinsic emission of the emitters and the local density of optical states of the system. Our results demonstrate that engineering the optical environment in thin-film light-emitting devices is key to maximize their brightness

The Effect of UV Illumination on the Room Temperature Detection of Vaporized Ammonium Nitrate by a ZnO Coated Nanospring-Based Sensor

The effect of UV illumination on the room temperature electrical detection of ammonium nitrate vapor was examined. The sensor consists of a self-assembled ensemble of silica nanosprings coated with zinc oxide. UV illumination mitigates the baseline drift of the resistance relative to operation under dark conditions. It also lowers the baseline resistance of the sensor by 25% compared to dark conditions. At high ammonium nitrate concentrations (120 ppm), the recovery time after exposure is virtually identical with or without UV illumination. At low ammonium nitrate concentrations (20 ppm), UV illumination assists with refreshing of the sensor by stimulating analyte desorption, thereby enabling the sensor to return to its baseline resistance. Under dark conditions and low ammonium nitrate concentrations, residual analyte builds up with each exposure, which inhibits the sensor from returning to its original baseline resistance and subsequently impedes sensing due to permanent occupation of absorption sites

ZnO Microfiltration Membranes for Desalination by a Vacuum Flow-Through Evaporation Method

ZnO was deposited on macroporous α-alumina membranes via atomic layer deposition (ALD) to improve water flux by increasing their hydrophilicity and reducing mass transfer resistance through membrane pore channels. The deposition of ZnO was systemically performed for 4–128 cycles of ALD at 170 °C. Analysis of membrane surface by contact angles (CA) measurements revealed that the hydrophilicity of the ZnO ALD membrane was enhanced with increasing the number of ALD cycles. It was observed that a vacuum-assisted ‘flow-through’ evaporation method had significantly higher efficacy in comparison to conventional desalination methods. By using the vacuum-assisted ‘flow-through’ technique, the water flux of the ZnO ALD membrane (~170 L m−2 h−1) was obtained, which is higher than uncoated pristine membranes (92 L m−2 h−1). It was also found that ZnO ALD membranes substantially improved water flux while keeping excellent salt rejection rate (>99.9%). Ultrasonic membrane cleaning had considerable effect on reducing the membrane fouling

Nanomechanical characterization of living mammary tissues by atomic force microscopy

The mechanical properties of living cells and tissues are important for a variety of functional processes in vivo, including cell adhesion, migration, proliferation and differentiation. Changes in mechano-cellular phenotype, for instance, are associated with cancer progression. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is an enabling technique that topographically maps and quantifies the mechanical properties of complex biological matter in physiological aqueous environments at the nanometer length scale. Recently we applied AFM to spatially resolve the distribution of nanomechanical stiffness across human breast cancer biopsies in comparison to healthy tissue and benign tumors. This led to the finding that AFM provides quantitative mechano-markers that may have translational significance for the clinical diagnosis of cancer. Here, we provide a comprehensive description of sample preparation methodology, instrumentation, data acquisition and analysis that allows for the quantitative nanomechanical profiling of unadulterated tissue at submicron spatial resolution and nano-Newton (nN) force sensitivity in physiological conditions

Oncogenes induce a vimentin filament collapse mediated by HDAC6 that is linked to cell stiffness

Oncogenes deregulate fundamental cellular functions, which can lead to development of tumors, tumor-cell invasion, and metastasis. As the mechanical properties of cells govern cell motility, we hypothesized that oncogenes promote cell invasion by inducing cytoskeletal changes that increase cellular stiffness. We show that the oncogenes simian virus 40 large T antigen, c-Myc, and cyclin E induce spatial reorganization of the vimentin intermediate filament network in cells. At the cellular level, this reorganization manifests as increased width of vimentin fibers and the collapse of the vimentin network. At nanoscale resolution, the organization of vimentin fibers in these oncogene-expressing cells was more entangled, with increased width of the fibers compared with control cells. Expression of these oncogenes also resulted in up-regulation of the tubulin deacetylase histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) and altered spatial distribution of acetylated microtubules. This oncogene expression also induced increases in cellular stiffness and promoted the invasive capacity of the cells. Importantly, HDAC6 was required and sufficient for the structural collapse of the vimentin filament network, and was required for increased cellular stiffness of the oncogene-expressing cells. Taken together, these data are consistent with the possibility that oncogenes can induce cellular stiffness via an HDAC6-induced reorganization of the vimentin intermediate filament network

Beyond the paradigm of nanomechanical measurements on cells using AFM: an automated methodology to rapidly analyse thousands of cells

International audienceNanomechanical properties of cells could be considered as cellular biomarkers. The main method used to access the mechanical properties is based on nanoindentation measurements, performed with an operator manipulated Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) which is time-consuming and expensive. This is one of the reasons that prevent the transfer of AFM technology into clinical laboratories. In this paper we report a methodology which includes an algorithm (transferred to a script, executed on a commercial AFM) able to automatically move the tip onto a single cell and through several cells to record force curves combined with a smart strategy of cell immobilization. Cells are placed into microwells of a microstructured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp. Inside a classical 100 × 100 μm2 AFM field, 100 cells can be immobilized. In an optimal configuration we were able to measure, within 4 h, a population of 900 Candida albicans cells both native and caspofungin treated, which represents an unprecedented performance. We discovered that the population is heterogeneous and can be divided, on the basis of nanomechanical properties, into 2 subgroups