A Collection of Micrographs: Where Science and Art Meet

Micrographs obtained using different instrumental techniques are presented with the purpose of demonstrating their artistic qualities. The quality of uniformity currently dominates the aesthetic assessment in scientific practice and is discussed in relation to the classical appreciation of the interplay between symmetry and asymmetry in arts. It is argued that scientific and artistic qualities have converged and inspired each other throughout millennia. With scientific discoveries and inventions enriching the world of communication, broadening the space for artistic creativity and making artistic products more accessible than ever, science inevitably influences artistic creativity. On the other hand, the importance of aesthetic principles in guiding scientific conduct has been appreciated by some of the most creative scientific minds. Science and arts can be thus considered as parallel rails of a single railroad track. Only when precisely coordinated is the passing of the train of human knowledge enabled. The presented micrographs, occupying the central part of this discourse, are displayed with the purpose of showing the rich aesthetic character of even the most ordinary scientific images. The inherent aesthetic nature of scientific imagery and the artistic nature of scientific conduct have thus been offered as the conclusion

Dynamic Light Scattering and Microelectrophoresis: Main Prospects and Limitations

Microelectrophoresis based on the dynamic light scattering (DLS) effect has been a major tool for assessing and controlling the conditions for stability of colloidal systems. However, both the DLS methods for characterization of the hydrodynamic size of dispersed submicron particles and the theory behind the electrokinetic phenomena are associated with fundamental and practical approximations that limit their sensitivity and information output. Some of these fundamental limitations, including the spherical approximation of DLS measurements and an inability of microelectrophoretic analyses of colloidal systems to detect discrete charges and differ between differently charged particle surfaces due to rotational diffusion and particle orientation averaging, are revisited in this work. Along with that, the main prospects of these two analytical methods are mentioned. A detailed review of the role of zeta potential in processes of biochemical nature is given too. It is argued that although zeta potential has been used as one of the main parameters in controlling the stability of colloidal dispersions, its application potentials are much broader. Manipulating surface charges of interacting species in designing complex soft matter morphologies using the concept of zeta potential, intensively investigated recently, is given as one of the examples. Branching out from the field of colloid chemistry, DLS and zeta potential analyses are now increasingly finding application in drug delivery, biotechnologies, physical chemistry of nanoscale phenomena and other research fields that stand on the frontier of the contemporary science. Coupling the DLS-based microelectrophoretic systems with complementary characterization methods is mentioned as one of the prosperous paths for increasing the information output of these two analytical techniques

Insights into Morphological Nature of Precipitation of Cholesterol

Additional effects on the previously reported procedure of precipitation of narrowly dispersed and well-defined, brick-shaped cholesterol particles, including non-solvent addition rate, temperature, solvent purity, aging treatments, ultrasound agitation and fine mechanical effects were investigated. Based on the presented results, significant morphological sensitivity of cholesterol precipitation processes upon variations from the standard established procedure of crystallization is induced. However, the tendency of cholesterol to crystallize in the form of biaxially grown particles was evidenced as dominating the precipitation processes, irrespective of any modifications of experimental parameters involved in the preparation procedure investigated hereby. Prolonged aging time and temperature effects lead to “face-to-face” aggregation of particles, promoted by the discrepancy in surface charges between particle sides and faces. In light of these observations, the mechanism of precipitation of cholesterol is further discussed

Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies: Approaching the Crest of this Big Wave

Nanomaterials are typically considered as solid physical structures that comprise grain boundaries at the resolution of less than 100 nanometers, whereby nanotechnologies are depicted as dealing with the design of various applications based on employing the former. Some of the essential features of nanomaterials and the scientific approaches to their investigation are discussed in the course of this work. The real reason for the current scientific and technological interest in the physical effects at nanoscale is linked with the historic trend of refinement of human knowledge and of the corresponding ability to manipulate with the structural patterns of the Universe. Interesting novel properties of nanomaterials are presented as resulting from the interplay between the surface properties and quantum effects at nanoscale. Examples of peculiar combination properties that materials can exhibit with the transition to nanosized form are mentioned, with a particular emphasis on the nanoscopic aggregates of water molecules. Specific challenges tied with the further growth of the field, including the prospectives of functional superstructuring, biomimicry, green chemistry, and the interdisciplinary approach to research, are eventually outlined

Major Challenges for the Modern Chemistry in Particular and Science in General

In the past few hundred years, science has exerted an enormous influence on the way the world appears to human observers. Despite phenomenal accomplishments of science, science nowadays faces numerous challenges that threaten its continued success. As scientific inventions become embedded within human societies, the challenges are further multiplied. In this critical review, some of the critical challenges for the field of modern chemistry are discussed, including: (a) interlinking theoretical knowledge and experimental approaches; (b) implementing the principles of sustainability at the roots of the chemical design; (c) defining science from a philosophical perspective that acknowledges both pragmatic and realistic aspects thereof; (d) instigating interdisciplinary research; (e) learning to recognize and appreciate the aesthetic aspects of scientific knowledge and methodology, and promote truly inspiring education in chemistry. In the conclusion, I recapitulate that the evolution of human knowledge inherently depends upon our ability to adopt creative problem-solving attitudes, and that challenges will always be present within the scope of scientific interests

Flipping the Flipped: The Co-Creational Classroom

The flip teaching model is being increasingly adopted by higher education institutions as an active learning alternative to traditional lecturing. However, the flip model shares a number of critical premises with the classical didactics. The further flips of the flip are thus advocated and the fear of returning the method to its initial state, prior to the flip, via such flips of the flipped dispelled. Proposed here is a seminal variation to the flip model based on the active involvement of students in searching, finding, selecting, and assembling knowledge from various literature sources into the learning material for the entire class. Because students actively co-create the learning content together with other students and the instructor, one such open-ended collaborative model is christened “co-creational.” Its conception and corollaries in relation to co-educational methods in general are discussed. The model is represented algorithmically, exemplified by a topic of choice and compared in a quasi-experimental setting against the standard flip and the traditional lecturing in a medical devices graduate class. Students were able to retain and reproduce the content covered using the co-creational pedagogic method better than using the standard flip or traditional lecturing. They also had a positive perception of the method, as compared to traditional lecturing. They did not have a preference for the co-creational method over the standard flip, but felt that they learned more using the co-creational method compared to the standard flip and that the co-creational model best prepared them for job searches in high-tech industry and academia. The co-creational model was also more open to the intrusion of moral instructions than traditional lecturing, going hand-in-hand with the community-building aspect of the ideal form of knowledge acquisition and creation

Nanostructured Platforms for the Sustained and Local Delivery of Antibiotics in the Treatment of Osteomyelitis

This article provides a critical view of the current state of the development of nanoparticulate and other solid-state carriers for the local delivery of antibiotics in the treatment of osteomyelitis. Mentioned are the downsides of traditional means for treating bone infection, which involve systemic administration of antibiotics and surgical debridement, along with the rather imperfect local delivery options currently available in the clinic. Envisaged are more sophisticated carriers for the local and sustained delivery of antimicrobials, including bioresorbable polymeric, collagenous, liquid crystalline, and bioglass- and nanotube-based carriers, as well as those composed of calcium phosphate, the mineral component of bone and teeth. A special emphasis is placed on composite multifunctional antibiotic carriers of a nanoparticulate nature and on their ability to induce osteogenesis of hard tissues demineralized due to disease. An ideal carrier of this type would prevent the long-term, repetitive, and systemic administration of antibiotics and either minimize or completely eliminate the need for surgical debridement of necrotic tissue. Potential problems faced by even hypothetically “perfect” antibiotic delivery vehicles are mentioned too, including (i) intracellular bacterial colonies involved in recurrent, chronic osteomyelitis; (ii) the need for mechanical and release properties to be adjusted to the area of surgical placement; (iii) different environments in which in vitro and in vivo testings are carried out; (iv) unpredictable synergies between drug delivery system components; and (v) experimental sensitivity issues entailing the increasing subtlety of the design of nanoplatforms for the controlled delivery of therapeutics

Chemical Reactions as Petite Rendezvous: The Use of Metaphor in Materials Science Education

Every time we communicate our science, we are involuntarily involved in an educational activity, affecting the listeners’ methodology and motivation. In a beautiful metaphor, late Nobel Laureate, Richard E. Smalley compared interacting atoms and molecules to boys and girls falling in love. Elaborated and exemplified with a couple of entertaining analogies in this discourse is the effectiveness of the use of metaphors in illustrating scientific concepts to both scientific novices and peers. Human brain has been considered to be a complex neural circuitry for the computation of metaphors, which explains the naturalness of their usage, especially when solid arguments could be given in support of the thesis that scientific imagery in general presents a collection of mathematically operable metaphors. On top of this, knowledge could be enriched through logic alone, but new concepts could be learned only through analogies. The greater pervasion of metaphors in scientific presentations could boost their inspirational potential, make the audience more attentive and receptive to their contents, and, finally, expand their educational prospect and enable their outreach to a far broader audience than it has been generally accomplished

Composites Comprising Cholesterol and Carboxymethyl Cellulose

Whereby cholesterol presents one of the major fatty substances in human body, carboxymethyl cellulose is a water-soluble derivative of cellulose, the most abundant dietary fiber. Whereas on one hand in vivo precipitation of cholesterol is the major cause of atherosclerosis, dietary fibers are on the other hand known for their ability to clean the fatty plaque deposited on intestinal pathways, and prevent its build-up in other critical areas within the organism. In this work, a method for the preparation of a composite material comprising cholesterol and carboxymethyl cellulose from 1-hexanol/water biphase mixtures is reported. Specificity of the interaction between the composite components in the given conditions of synthesis inhibits the tendency of solid cholesterol to adopt typical plate- or needle-shaped morphologies. Instead, control of the thixotropic behavior of the constituent polymer phase leads to the formation of bubbling, multi-layered cholesteric films. In view of the major illnesses that involve biological precipitation of cholesterol crystals, these findings may be considered as pointing towards the interactional specificity of potential chemotherapeutic and/or nutritional significance. Scanning electron microscopy, thermal and diffractometric analyses were performed as parts of the characterization of the prepared material

Surface Charge Effects Involved in the Control of Stability of Sols Comprising Uniform Cholesterol Particles

The reported is a method for the preparation of stable dispersions of narrowly dispersed cholesterol crystals, which may provide an excellent model for the aggregation studies thereof. The effects of experimental parameters that include concentration, pH, ionic strength, temperature, and aging on the resulting morphologies are acknowledged. Regardless of the cause of destabilization, the multilayered aggregates of cholesterol particles are formed by “face-to-face” stacking of the original platelets, as promoted by higher surface charge density on particle sides comparing to their faces. In accordance with the crucial involvement of surface charge effects in stabilization of cholesterol dispersions produced hereby, aggregation of the original particles becomes enhanced at increased salt contents and at pH conditions that correspond to the isoelectric point of the dispersed particles