Coating thickness and coverage effects on the forces between silica nanoparticles in water

The structure and interactions of coated silica nanoparticles have been studied in water using molecular dynamics simulations. For 5 nm diameter amorphous silica nanoparticles we studied the effects of varying the chain length and grafting density of polyethylene oxide (PEO) on the nanoparticle coating's shape and on nanoparticle-nanoparticle effective forces. For short ligands of length $n=6$ and $n=20$ repeat units, the coatings are radially symmetric while for longer chains ($n=100$) the coatings are highly anisotropic. This anisotropy appears to be governed primarily by chain length, with coverage playing a secondary role. For the largest chain lengths considered, the strongly anisotropic shape makes fitting to a simple radial force model impossible. For shorter ligands, where the coatings are isotropic, we found that the force between pairs of nanoparticles is purely repulsive and can be fit to the form $(R/2r_\text{core}-1)^{-b}$ where $R$ is the separation between the center of the nanoparticles, $r_\text{core}$ is the radius of the silica core, and $b$ is measured to be between 2.3 and 4.1.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

The Role of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance in the Evaluation of Patients Presenting with Suspected or Confirmed Acute Coronary Syndrome

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has an important emerging role in the evaluation and management of patients who present with symptoms concerning for acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This paper discusses the role of CMR in the emergency department setting, where CMR can aid in the early and accurate diagnosis of non-ST elevation ACS in low and intermediate risk patients. For those with confirmed myocardial infarction (MI), CMR provides comprehensive prognostic information and can readily diagnose structural complications related to MI. Furthermore, the pattern of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) seen on CMR can help determine the etiology of cardiac injury in the subset of patients presenting with ACS who do not have obstructive coronary artery disease by angiography

T1 Mapping Basic Techniques and Clinical Applications

AbstractIn cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, the T1 relaxation time for the 1H magnetization in myocardial tissue may represent a valuable biomarker for a variety of pathological conditions. This possibility has driven the growing interest in quantifying T1, rather than just relying on its effect on image contrast. The techniques have advanced to where pixel-level myocardial T1 mapping has become a routine component of CMR examinations. Combined with the use of contrast agents, T1 mapping has led an expansive investigation of interstitial remodeling in ischemic and nonischemic heart disease. The purpose of this review was to introduce the reader to the physical principles of T1 mapping, the imaging techniques developed for T1 mapping, the pathophysiological markers accessible by T1 mapping, and its clinical uses