Radioactive isotopes in solid-state physics

Radioactive atoms have been used in solid-state physics and in material science for many decades. Besides their classical application as tracer for diffusion studies, nuclear techniques such as M\"ossbauer spectroscopy, perturbed angular correlation, $\beta$-NMR, and emission channelling have used nuclear properties (via hyperfine interactions or emitted particles) to gain microscopical information on the structural and dynamical properties of solids. During the last decade, the availability of many different radioactive isotopes as a clean ion beam at ISOL facilities such as ISOLDE at CERN has triggered a new era involving methods sensitive for the optical and electronic properties of solids, especially in the field of semiconductor physics. Extremely sensitive spectroscopic techniques like deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), photoluminescence (PL), and Hall effect have gained a new quality by using radioactive isotopes. Because of their decay the chemical origin of an observed electronic and optical behaviour of a specific defect or dopant can be unambiguously identified. The ongoing experiments in solid-state physics using radioactive ions deal with a wide variety of problems in condensed matter physics involving bulk properties, surfaces and interfaces in many different systems like semiconductors, superconductors, surfaces, interfaces, magnetic systems, metals, and ceramics. This article highlights a few examples to illustrate the potential of the use of radiaoctive isotopes for various problems in solid-state physics

Formation of 117In−H^{117}In-H pairs after annealing of GaN implanted with 117Cd(117In)^{117}Cd(^{117}In)

We report on the annealing behaviour of GaN grown on sapphire after implantation of 117Cd(117In). Isochronic annealing has been performed in order to remove the implantation induced lattice damage in evacuated quartz ampoules with additional Al. The extent of the lattice damage is investigated with perturbed gg-angular correlation spectroscopy (PAC). The implantation damage is annealed at temperatures above 1073 K to a large extent. 82(5) % of the probes are found on the Ga-site characterized by a quadrupole coupling constant of 20.9(1) MHz. After H loading, an additional interaction appears which is attributed to 117Cd(117In)-H pairs

Polymorphism of the tumor necrosis factor beta gene in systemic lupus erythematosus

We investigated the Nco I restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the tumor necrosis factor beta (TNFB) gene in 173 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 192 unrelated healthy controls, and eleven panel families, all of German origin. The phenotype frequency of the TNFB*I allele was significantly increased in patients compared to controls (63.6% vs 47.1%, RR = 1.96, p <0.002). The results of a two-point haplotype statistical analysis between TNFB and HLA alleles show that there is linkage disequilibrium between TNFB*I and HLA-A1, Cw7, B8, DR3, DQ2, and C4A DE. The frequency of TNFB*I was compared in SLE patients and controls in the presence or absence of each of these alleles. TNFB*I is increased in patients over controls only in the presence of the mentioned alleles. Therefore, the whole haplotypeA1, Cw7, B8, TNFB* I, C4A DE, DR3, DQ2 is increased in patients and it cannot be determined which of the genes carried by this haplotype is responsible for the susceptibility to SLE. In addition, two-locus associations were analyzed in 192 unrelated healthy controls for TNFB and class I alleles typed by serology, and for TNFB and class II alleles typed by polymerase chain reaction/oligonucleotide probes. We found positive linkage disequilibrium between TNFB*I and the following alleles: HLA-A24, HLA-B8, DRBI*0301, DRBI*ll04, DRBI*1302, DQAI*0501, DQBI*0201, DQBI*0604, and DPBI*OIO1. TNFB*2 is associated with HLA-B7, DRBI*1501, and DQB I *0602

Lattice sites of Cd in ferroelectric BaTiO3_3

The radioactive isotope 111mCd was implanted into BaTiO3 in order to measure electric field gradients with Perturbed Angular Correlation spectroscopy (PAC). It is possible to anneal the implantation induced lattice damage to a certain extent. Then, 111mCd probes are positioned at two sites with distinct axially symmetric electric field gradients characterized by the quadrupole coupling constants of 33.9(9) and 69.8(9) MHz. These electric field gradients can be assigned to 111mCd at the Ti- and the Ba-sites

Response of the electric field gradient in ion implanted BaTiO3_{3} to an external electric field

Single crystalline, ferroelectric BaTiO$_{3}$ as material with the highest piezoelectric constants among the perovskites with ordered sublattices was implanted with $^{111}$In($^{111}$Cd). The electric field gradient at the Ti position was measured with perturbed $\gamma-\gamma$-angular correlation spectroscopy (PAC) while the crystal was exposed to an external electric field. A quadratic dependence could be observed: $\nu_{Q}$(E) = (34.8(1) + 0.16(4) E/kV/mm + 0.080(2) E$^{2}$/kV$^{2}$/mm$^{2}$) MHz. Point charge model calculations reproduce the linear change of Vzz, but not the quadratic term. The polarizability of the host ions of BaTiO$_{3}$ is known to be nonlinear with respect to an electric field. The resulting quadratic shift of the electron density is reflected in the strength of the EFG

First PAC studies on the hydrogen diffusion in III-V semiconductors

We report on first experiments which observe on a microscopic scale the migration of isolated hydrogen in InP, InAs and GaAs. Using the radioactive acceptor 117Cd, Cd-H pairs have been formed in these III-V semiconductors. After the decay of 117Cd to 117In, H is no longer bound to 117In and can diffuse freely. This diffusion has been observed by perturbed gg angular correlation (PAC) spectroscopy. At 10 K, the occupation of two different lattice sites by hydrogen has been observed

Identification of Ag-acceptors in 111 ⁣^{111}\!Ag 111 ⁣^{111}\!Cd doped ZnTe and CdTe

Nominally undoped ZnTe and CdTe crystals were implanted with radioactive $^{111}\!$Ag, which decays to $^{111}\!$Cd, and investigated by photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). In ZnTe, the PL lines caused by an acceptor level at 121 meV are observed: the principal bound exciton (PBE) line, the donor-acceptor pair (DAP) band, and the two-hole transition lines. In CdTe, the PBE line and the DAP band that correspond to an acceptor level at 108 meV appear. Since the intensities of all these PL lines decrease in good agreement with the half-life of $^{111}\!$Ag of 178.8 h, both acceptor levels are concluded to be associated with defects containing a single Ag atom. Therefore, the earlier assignments to substitutional Ag on Zn- and Cd-lattice sites in the respective II-VI semiconductors are confirmed. The assignments in the literature of the S$_1$, S$_2$, and S$_3$ lines in ZnTe and the X$\scriptstyle^\textrm{Ag}_{1}\,\,,$ X$\scriptstyle^\textrm{Ag}_{2}$/ C$\scriptstyle^\textrm{Ag}_{1}\,$ and C$\scriptstyle^\textrm{Ag}_{2}\,$ lines in CdTe to Ag-related defect complexes are not confirmed

Effect of different intravenous iron preparations on lymphocyte intracellular reactive oxygen species generation and subpopulation survival

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infections in hemodialysis (HD) patients lead to high morbidity and mortality rates and are associated with early cardiovascular mortality, possibly related to chronic inflammation. Intravenous (IV) iron is widely administered to HD patients and has been associated with increased oxidative stress and dysfunctional cellular immunity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of three commercially available IV iron preparations on intracellular reactive oxygen species generation and lymphocyte subpopulation survival.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated from healthy donor buffy coat. PBMC were cultured and incubated with 100 μg/mL of sodium ferric gluconate (SFG), iron sucrose (IS) or iron dextran (ID) for 24 hours. Cells were then probed for reactive oxygen species (ROS) with dichlorofluorescein-diacetate. In separate studies, isolated PBMCs were incubated with the 25, 50 or 100 μg/mL iron concentrations for 72 hours and then stained with fluorescein conjugated monoclonal antibodies for lymphocyte subpopulation identification. Untreated PBMCs at 24 hours and 72 hours served as controls for each experiment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All three IV iron preparations induced time dependent increases in intracellular ROS with SFG and IS having a greater maximal effect than ID. The CD4+ lymphocytes were most affected by IV iron exposure, with statistically significant reduction in survival after incubation with all three doses (10, 25 and 100 μg/mL) of SFG, IS and ID.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These data indicate IV iron products induce differential deleterious effects on CD4+ and CD16+ human lymphocytes cell populations that may be mediated by intracellular reactive oxygen species generation. Further studies are warranted to determine the potential clinical relevance of these findings.</p

Low levels of vitamin C in dialysis patients is associated with decreased prealbumin and increased C-reactive protein

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Subclinical inflammation is a common phenomenon in patients on either continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) or maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). We hypothesized that vitamin C had anti-inflammation effect because of its electron offering ability. The current study was designed to test the relationship of plasma vitamin C level and some inflammatory markers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this cross-sectional study, 284 dialysis patients were recruited, including 117 MHD and 167 CAPD patients. The demographics were recorded. Plasma vitamin C was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. And we also measured body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight/height²), Kt/V, serum albumin, serum prealbumin, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), ferritin, hemoglobin. The relationships between vitamin C and albumin, pre-albumin and hsCRP levels were tested by Spearman correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis.</p> <p>Patients were classified into three subgroups by vitamin C level according to previous recommendation <abbrgrp><abbr bid="B1">1</abbr><abbr bid="B2">2</abbr></abbrgrp> in MHD and CAPD patients respectively: group A: < 2 ug/ml (< 11.4 umol/l, deficiency), group B: 2-4 ug/ml (11.4-22.8 umol/l, insufficiency) and group C: > 4 ug/ml (> 22.8 umol/l, normal and above).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients showed a widely distribution of plasma vitamin C levels in the total 284 dialysis patients. Vitamin C deficiency (< 2 ug/ml) was present in 95(33.45%) and insufficiency (2-4 ug/ml) in 88(30.99%). 73(25.70%) patients had plasma vitamin C levels within normal range (4-14 ug/ml) and 28(9.86%) at higher than normal levels (> 14 ug/ml). The similar proportion of different vitamin C levels was found in both MHD and CAPD groups.</p> <p>Plasma vitamin C level was inversely associated with hsCRP concentration (Spearman r = -0.201, P = 0.001) and positively associated with prealbumin (Spearman r = 0.268, P < 0.001), albumin levels (Spearman r = 0.161, P = 0.007). In multiple linear regression analysis, plasma vitamin C level was inversely associated with log₁₀hsCRP (P = 0.048) and positively with prealbumin levels (P = 0.002) adjusted for gender, age, diabetes, modality of dialysis and some other confounding effects.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The investigation indicates that vitamin C deficiency is common in both MHD patients and CAPD patients. Plasma vitamin C level is positively associated with serum prealbumin level and negatively associated with hsCRP level in both groups. Vitamin C deficiency may play an important role in the increased inflammatory status in dialysis patients. Further studies are needed to determine whether inflammatory status in dialysis patients can be improved by using vitamin C supplements.</p