957 research outputs found

    Improvements in the methylmercury extraction from human hair by headspace solid-phase microextraction followed by gas-chromatography cold-vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry

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    Improvements in the methylmercury extraction from human hair by solid-phase microextraction followed by gas chromatography coupled to cold-vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry (GC-CVAFS) have been carried out. They consisted in the optimisation of the digestion step prior to the aqueous-phase ethylation and in the GC-CVAFS interface set-up. The main digestion parameters such as acid type, concentration, temperature and time have been optimised for hair sample analysis, thereby avoiding methylmercury degradation. Moreover, the stability of the digested samples was evaluated to improve the sample throughput

    Expansion of the ligand knowledge base for chelating P,P-donor ligands (LKB-PP)

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    [Image: see text] We have expanded the ligand knowledge base for bidentate P,P- and P,N-donor ligands (LKB-PP, Organometallics2008, 27, 1372–1383) by 208 ligands and introduced an additional steric descriptor (nHe(8)). This expanded knowledge base now captures information on 334 bidentate ligands and has been processed with principal component analysis (PCA) of the descriptors to produce a detailed map of bidentate ligand space, which better captures ligand variation and has been used for the analysis of ligand properties

    Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes for microelectrode arrays applications

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    In this work a methodology to fabricate carbon nanotube based electrodes using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition has been explored and defined. The final integrated microelectrode based devices should present specific properties that make them suitable for microelectrode arrays applications. The methodology studied has been focused on the preparation of highly regular and dense vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) mat compatible with the standard lithography used for microelectrode arrays technology

    Umbilical Cord Pericytes Provide a Viable Alternative to Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Neonatal Vascular Engineering

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    Reconstructive surgery of congenital heart disease (CHD) remains inadequate due to the inability of prosthetic grafts to match the somatic growth of pediatric patients. Functionalization of grafts with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may provide a solution. However, MSCs represent a heterogeneous population characterized by wide diversity across different tissue sources. Here we investigated the suitability of umbilical cord pericytes (UCPs) in neonatal vascular engineering. Explant outgrowth followed by immunomagnetic sorting was used to isolate neural/glial antigen 2 (NG2)+/CD31- UCPs. Expanded NG2 UCPs showed consistent antigenic phenotype, including expression of mesenchymal and stemness markers, and high proliferation rate. They could be induced to a vascular smooth muscle cell-like phenotype after exposure to differentiation medium, as evidenced by the expression of transgelin and smooth muscle myosin heavy chain. Analysis of cell monolayers and conditioned medium revealed production of extracellular matrix proteins and the secretion of major angiocrine factors, which conferred UCPs with ability to promote endothelial cell migration and tube formation. Decellularized swine-derived grafts were functionalized using UCPs and cultured under static and dynamic flow conditions. UCPs were observed to integrate into the outer layer of the graft and modify the extracellular environment, resulting in improved elasticity and rupture strain in comparison with acellular grafts. These findings demonstrate that a homogeneous pericyte-like population can be efficiently isolated and expanded from human cords and integrated in acellular grafts currently used for repair of CHD. Functional assays suggest that NG2 UCPs may represent a viable option for neonatal tissue engineering applications.This study was supported by Heart Research UK Ph.D. studentship Umbilical cord pericyte-engineered grafts for correction of congenital heart defects (RG2656/17/20) awarded to PM. In addition, this study was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol.S

    Spin-orbit torque from the introduction of Cu interlayers in Pt/Cu/Co/Pt nanolayered structures for spintronic devices

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    Spin currents can modify the magnetic state of ferromagnetic ultrathin films through spin-orbit torque. They may be generated by means of spin-orbit interactions by either bulk or interfacial phenomena. Electrical transport measurements reveal a 6-fold increase of the spin-orbit torque accompanied by a drastic reduction of the spin Hall magnetoresistance upon the introduction of an ultrathin Cu interlayer in a Pt/Cu/Co/Pt structure with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. We analyze the dependence of the spin Hall magnetoresistance with the thickness of the interlayer, ranging from 0.5 to 15 nm, in the frame of a drift diffusion model that provides information on the expected spin currents and spin accumulations in the system. The results demonstrate that the major responsibility of both effects is spin memory loss at the interface. The enhancement of the spin-orbit torque when introducing an interlayer opens the possibility to design more efficient spintronic devices based on materials that are cheap and abundant such as copper. More specifically, spin-orbit torque magnetic random access memories and spin logic devices could benefit from the spin-orbit torque enhancement and cheaper material usage presented in this study
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