Potential up-scaling of inkjet-printed devices for logical circuits in flexible electronics

Inkjet Technology is often mis-believed to be a deposition/patterning technology which is not meant for high fabrication throughput in the field of printed and flexible electronics. In this work, we report on the 1) printing, 2) fabrication yield and 3) characterization of exemplary simple devices e.g. capacitors, organic transistors etc. which are the basic building blocks for logical circuits. For this purpose, printing is performed first with a Proof of concept Inkjet printing system Dimatix Material Printer 2831 (DMP 2831) using 10 pL small print-heads and then with Dimatix Material Printer 3000 (DMP 3000) using 35 pL industrial print-heads (from Fujifilm Dimatix). Printing at DMP 3000 using industrial print-heads (in Sheet-to-sheet) paves the path towards industrialization which can be defined by printing in Roll-to-Roll format using industrial print-heads. This pavement can be termed as "Bridging Platform". This transfer to "Bridging Platform" from 10 pL small print-heads to 35 pL industrial print-heads help the inkjet-printed devices to evolve on the basis of functionality and also in form of up-scaled quantities. The high printed quantities and yield of inkjet-printed devices justify the deposition reliability and potential to print circuits. This reliability is very much desired when it comes to printing of circuits e.g. inverters, ring oscillator and any other planned complex logical circuits which require devices e.g. organic transistors which needs to get connected in different staged levels. Also, the up-scaled inkjet-printed devices are characterized and they reflect a domain under which they can work to their optimal status. This status is much wanted for predicting the real device functionality and integration of them into a planned circuit

Characterization from Diesel and Renewable Fuel Engine Exhaust: Particulate Size/Mass Distributions and Optical Properties

Combustion of fossil fuel produces emissions and is one of the major environmental problems leading to climate change. Diesel engines are highly efficient but produce particulate emissions. These particulate emissions are considered dangerous to human health because inhaling particulates may cause respiratory and heart disease. Substituting fossil diesel fuel with renewable diesel fuel and using diesel particulate filters is one possibility to meet stringent legislative requirements. With this motivation, the present experimental investigation aimed to evaluate the particle size distribution (PSD), optical properties of particulate matter (PM) emitted, and the outcome of using an after-treatment system comprising of a diesel particle filter (DPF). This investigation aimed to make a comparative analysis of particulate emission upstream and downstream of the DPF with and without ultraviolet (UV) light (405\ua0nm and 781\ua0nm wavelength) turned on/off. Experiments were performed at (a) engine idle with a torque of 6 Nm at 750\ua0rpm, IMEP of 1.35\ua0bar and power of 0.5\ua0kW, (b) engine at part load with a torque of 32 Nm at 1200\ua0rpm, IMEP of 8.5\ua0bar and power of 4.5\ua0kW. Diesel engine was operated on two fuels (a) Diesel and (b) EHR7. Results showed that as and when UV light was turned on, a distinct nucleation mode that dominated the number concentration for both test fuels were observed. Downstream of the filter had relatively higher AAE values which show the contribution to climate change. Present experimental research is important for renewable fuel industries, industrial innovation\u27s future, and the exhaust gas after-treatment system (EATS) community. The results contribute to knowledge for occupational exposure, human health, and the environment

Inkjet printed metal insulator semiconductor (MIS) diodes for organic and flexible electronic application

All inkjet printed rectifying diodes based on a metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) layer stack are presented. The rectifying properties were optimized by careful selection of the insulator interlayer thickness and the layout structure. The different diode architectures based on the following materials are investigated: (1) silver/ poly (methylmethacrylate-methacrylic acid)/ polytriarylamine/ silver, (2) silver/ polytriarylamine/ poly (methylmethacrylate-methacrylic acid)/ silver, and (3) silver/ poly (methylmethacrylate-methacrylic acid)/ poly-triarylamine/ poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly (styrenesulfonate). The MIS diodes show an averaged rectification ratio of 200 and reasonable forward current density reaching 40 mA cm -2. They are suitable for a number of applications in flexible printed organic electronics.EU [287682

MatFormer: A Generative Model for Procedural Materials

Procedural material graphs are a compact, parameteric, and resolution-independent representation that are a popular choice for material authoring. However, designing procedural materials requires significant expertise and publicly accessible libraries contain only a few thousand such graphs. We present MatFormer, a generative model that can produce a diverse set of high-quality procedural materials with complex spatial patterns and appearance. While procedural materials can be modeled as directed (operation) graphs, they contain arbitrary numbers of heterogeneous nodes with unstructured, often long-range node connections, and functional constraints on node parameters and connections. MatFormer addresses these challenges with a multi-stage transformer-based model that sequentially generates nodes, node parameters, and edges, while ensuring the semantic validity of the graph. In addition to generation, MatFormer can be used for the auto-completion and exploration of partial material graphs. We qualitatively and quantitatively demonstrate that our method outperforms alternative approaches, in both generated graph and material quality

An unconventional form of actin in protozoan hemoflagellate, Leishmania

Leishmania actin was cloned, overexpressed in baculovirusinsect cell system, and purified to homogeneity. The purified protein polymerized optimally in the presence of Mg2+ and ATP, but differed from conventional actins in its following properties: (i) it did not polymerize in the presence of Mg2+ alone, (ii) it polymerized in a restricted range of pH 7.0-8.5, (iii) its critical concentration for polymerization was found to be 3-4-fold lower than of muscle actin, (iv) it predominantly formed bundles rather than single filaments at pH 8.0, (v) it displayed considerably higher ATPase activity during polymerization, (vi) it did not inhibit DNase-I activity, and (vii) it did not bind the F-actin-binding toxin phalloidin or the actin polymerization disrupting agent Latrunculin B. Computational and molecular modeling studies revealed that the observed unconventional behavior of Leishmania actin is related to the diverged amino acid stretches in its sequence, which may lead to changes in the overall charge distribution on its solvent-exposed surface, ATP binding cleft, Mg2+ binding sites, and the hydrophobic loop that is involved in monomer-monomer interactions. Phylogenetically, it is related to ciliate actins, but to the best of our knowledge, no other actin with such unconventional properties has been reported to date. It is therefore suggested that actin in Leishmania may serve as a novel target for design of new antileishmanial drugs

A fully-printed electrochemical platform for assisted colorimetric detection of phosphate in saliva: Greenness and whiteness quantification by the AGREE and RGB tools

Herein, we report the environmental impact quantification of a newly developed fully printed electrochemical device to assist a colorimetric detection of phosphate in saliva. The evaluation of the analytical procedure was per formed according to the principles of Green Analytical Chemistry and White Analytical Chemistry. The standard method for phosphate detection relies on a reaction between phosphate and molybdate in presence of antimony potassium tartrate and ascorbic acid, using strong acid conditions and high volumes of reagents (100–500 mL). To deliver an eco-friendly method, we have combined a screen-printed electrode with a liquid electrolyte battery and inkjet-printed conductive paths to develop a fully printed device on a flexible polymer substrate avoiding the use of ascorbic acid and using a small amount of reagents. The printed sensor was first developed and optimized for phosphate detection in saliva, allowing for a detection limit equal to 26 μM and satisfactory repeatability (relative standard deviation value of 7.5%). Finally, the AGREE and the RGB assessment tools were applied for a quantitative evaluation of the proposed sensor and reference method, in agreement with the Green Analytical and White Analytical principles. The results demonstrated the lower environmental impact of the proposed sensor, as well as the suitability of this novel approach for phosphate detection in saliv

All-Printed piezoresistive sensor matrix with organic thin-film transistors as a switch for crosstalk reduction

A generation of piezoresistive sensors (force or deformation) fully processed by printing technologies is increasingly being implemented in applications due to advantages as a large-area application, simple device, integration, and high flexibility. This work reports the development of a fully printed piezoresistive (5 × 5 sensor) matrix in which an organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) is placed in each sensor to allow the readout of each sensor independently and thus reducing the crosstalk between individual sensors. The manufacturing was carried out using inkjet printing for the deposition of materials in a thin layer stacked on top of each other to obtain functional OTFTs. The piezoresistive nanocomposite sensors, based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes within an elastomeric styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene (SEBS) polymer matrix, were fabricated by screen printing. The fabrication and characterization of both OTFT and sensors are presented and discussed in detail. The inkjet-printed OTFTs (width/length channel ratio of ∼130) show a drain-source current (IDS) of 150 μA with a gate-source voltage of −40 V. Gauge factors of up to 5.9 were obtained for the sensors, resulting in a current variation of 1.5 μA. This corresponds to about 0.7% of the total IDS in a deformation cycleFCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2019, UID/FIS/04650/2019 and projects PTDC/FIS-MAC/28157/2017 and PTDC/BTM-MAT/28237/2017, SFRH/BPD/110914/2015 (PC). V.C. thanks FCT for the junior researcher contract (DL57/2016). We acknowledge funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Programme for Research, ICT-02-2018 - Flexible and Wearable Electronics. Grant agreement no. 824339 – WEARPLEX. Financial support from the Basque Government Industry and Education Department under the ELKARTEK, HAZITEK and PIBA (PIBA-2018-06

Improvised storage of Cassia fistula L. fruit pod with special references to Ayurvedic principles and practices by traditional text: An analytical investigation

317-322Cassia fistula L. (Sanskrit: Aragvadha, family: Caesalpinaceae) is used as a mild laxative in traditional medicine. Ancient texts advocate specific storage of its matured and ripe fruits under a pit filled with sand or soil. The present study was designed to compare the physicochemical, organoleptic and other biochemical parameters of the fruit pulp, stored under usual and specific conditions as mentioned in ancient texts. The sample kept under a pit showed higher total phenolics, flavonoids and anthraquinone levels along with reduced total and reducing sugars. The increased antioxidant activity of the pit-stored sample due to higher total phenolics and flavonoids levels as revealed from the DPPH radical scavenging assay may enhance its medicinal attributes, justifying ancient claim of specific storage of the fruits

Pharmacognostical and phytochemical blueprint of Abroma augusta L. stem bark

Uses of Abroma augusta L. stem and root are mentioned in traditional texts where the presence of the alkaloid, betaine in these parts is known. The study was undertaken to generate a pharmacognostical and phytochemical blueprint of Abroma augusta stem bark and detection of the bioactive alkaloid, betaine in it. Authenticated plant materials were subjected to pharmacognostical, physicochemical, and phytochemical studies. HPTLC, HPLC, and FTIR were used for chemical fingerprinting of the plant materials. Diagnostic features of A. augusta stem bark such as organoleptic evaluation, powder microscopic characters, fluorescence profile with various reagents were established. Phytochemical screening of different solvent extracts showed the presence of alkaloids, steroids, saponins, tannins, phenolics, glycosides, but fewer terpenoids, flavonoids, and carbohydrates. This was rationalized by FTIR spectroscopy of the chloroform extract that gave maximum extractive yield. HPTLC and HPLC fingerprint profiling with marker identification was generated. The alkaloid, betaine was isolated and identified by mass spectrum. The botanical and chemical screening suggested that A. augusta stem bark may be a potential substitute for the root or stem of the plant. However, further, bio-evaluations are required to ascertain its possible clinical applications. The generated profile may serve as a reference document in future for identification and authentication of the plant material

Pharmacognostical and phytochemical blueprint of Abroma augusta L. stem bark

271-280Uses of Abroma augusta L. stem and root are mentioned in traditional texts where the presence of the alkaloid, betaine in these parts is known. The study was undertaken to generate a pharmacognostical and phytochemical blueprint of Abroma augusta stem bark and detection of the bioactive alkaloid, betaine in it. Authenticated plant materials were subjected to pharmacognostical, physicochemical, and phytochemical studies. HPTLC, HPLC, and FTIR were used for chemical fingerprinting of the plant materials. Diagnostic features of A. augusta stem bark such as organoleptic evaluation, powder microscopic characters, fluorescence profile with various reagents were established. Phytochemical screening of different solvent extracts showed the presence of alkaloids, steroids, saponins, tannins, phenolics, glycosides, but fewer terpenoids, flavonoids, and carbohydrates. This was rationalized by FTIR spectroscopy of the chloroform extract that gave maximum extractive yield. HPTLC and HPLC fingerprint profiling with marker identification was generated. The alkaloid, betaine was isolated and identified by mass spectrum. The botanical and chemical screening suggested that A. augusta stem bark may be a potential substitute for the root or stem of the plant. However, further, bio-evaluations are required to ascertain its possible clinical applications. The generated profile may serve as a reference document in future for identification and authentication of the plant material