63 research outputs found
Strong tuning of Rashba spin orbit interaction in single InAs nanowires
A key concept in the emerging field of spintronics is the gate voltage or
electric field control of spin precession via the effective magnetic field
generated by the Rashba spin orbit interaction. Here, we demonstrate the
generation and tuning of electric field induced Rashba spin orbit interaction
in InAs nanowires where a strong electric field is created either by a double
gate or a solid electrolyte surrounding gate. In particular, the electrolyte
gating enables six-fold tuning of Rashba coefficient and nearly three orders of
magnitude tuning of spin relaxation time within only 1 V of gate bias. Such a
dramatic tuning of spin orbit interaction in nanowires may have implications in
nanowire based spintronic devices.Comment: Nano Letters, in pres
Superconducting spintronics
The interaction between superconducting and spin-polarized orders has recently emerged as a major research field following a series
of fundamental breakthroughs in charge transport in superconductor-ferromagnet heterodevices which promise new device
functionality. Traditional studies which combine spintronics and superconductivity have mainly focused on the injection of
spin-polarized quasiparticles into superconducting materials. However, a complete synergy between superconducting and magnetic
orders turns out to be possible through the creation of spin-triplet Cooper pairs which are generated at carefully engineered
superconductor interfaces with ferromagnetic materials. Currently, there is intense activity focused on identifying materials
combinations which merge superconductivity and spintronics in order to enhance device functionality and performance. The results
look promising: it has been shown, for example, that superconducting order can greatly enhance central effects in spintronics such as
spin injection and magnetoresistance. Here, we review the experimental and theoretical advances in this field and provide an outlook
for upcoming challenges related to the new concept of superconducting spintronics.J.L. was supported by the Research Council of Norway, Grants No. 205591 and 216700.
J.W.A.R. was supported by the UK Royal Society and the Leverhulme Trust through an
International Network Grant (IN-2013-033).This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v11/n4/full/nphys3242.html
Overexpression, purification and characterization of the Aspergillus niger endoglucanase, EglA, in Pichia pastoris
Cellulases are industrially important hydrolytic enzymes applicable in the bioconversion of cellulosic biomass to simple sugars. In this work, an endoglucanase from Aspergillus niger ATCC 10574, EglA, was expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris and the properties of the recombinant protein were characterized. The full length cDNA of eglA has been cloned into a pPICZaC expression vector and expressed extracellularly as a ~30 kDa recombinant protein in P. pastoris X-33. Pure EglA displayed optimum activity at 50°C and was stable between 30 and 55°C. The pH stability of this enzyme was shown to be in the range of pH 2+.0 to 7.0 and optimum at pH 4.0. EglA showed the highest affinity toward ß-glucan followed by carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) with a specific activity of 63.83 and 9.47 U/mg, respectively. Very low or no detectable hydrolysis of cellobiose, laminarin, filter paper and avicel were observed. Metal ions such as Mn 2+, Co 2+, Zn 2+, Mg 2+, Ba 2+, Fe 2+, Ca 2+ and K + showed significant augmentation of endoglucanase activity, with manganese ions causing the highest increase in activity to about 2+.7 fold when compared with the control assay, whereas Pd 2+, Cu 2+, SDS and EDTA showed inhibition of EglA activity
Functional and structural analyses of an expansin-like protein from the antarctic yeast glaciozyma antarctica pi12 reveal strategies of nutrient scavenging in the sea ice environment
Genome data mining of the Antarctic yeast, Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 revealed an expansin-like protein encoding sequence (GaEXLX1). The GaEXLX1 protein is 24.8 kDa with a high alkaline pI of 9.81. Homology modeling of GaEXLX1 showed complete D1 and D2 domains of a conventional expansin. The protein exhibited 36% sequence similarity to Clavibacter michiganensis EXLX1 (PDB: 4JCW). Subsequently, a recombinant GaEXLX1 protein was produced using Escherichia coli expression system. Incubation with Avicel, filter paper and cotton fiber showed that the protein can disrupt the surface of crystalline and pure cellulose, suggesting a cell wall modification activity usually exhibited by expansin-like proteins. Binding assays displayed that GaEXLX1 can bind to polymeric substrates, including those postulated to be present in the sea ice ecosystem such as crab chitin and moss lichenan. GaEXLX1 may assist in the recognition and loosening of these substrates in the sea ice prior to hydrolysis by other extracellular enzymes. Similar loosening mechanism to classical expansin-like protein has been postulated for this psychrophilic protein based on several conserved residues of GaEXLX1 involved in binding interaction identified by docking analyses
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