1,844 research outputs found
Non-spherical shapes of capsules within a fourth-order curvature model
We minimize a discrete version of the fourth-order curvature based Landau
free energy by extending Brakke's Surface Evolver. This model predicts
spherical as well as non-spherical shapes with dimples, bumps and ridges to be
the energy minimizers. Our results suggest that the buckling and faceting
transitions, usually associated with crystalline matter, can also be an
intrinsic property of non-crystalline membranes.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures (LaTeX macros EPJ), accepted for publication in
EPJ
Polymerization-based signal amplification for paper-based immunoassays
Diagnostic tests in resource-limited settings require technologies that are affordable and easy to use with minimal infrastructure. Colorimetric detection methods that produce results that are readable by eye, without reliance on specialized and expensive equipment, have great utility in these settings. We report a colorimetric method that integrates a paper-based immunoassay with a rapid, visible-light-induced polymerization to provide high visual contrast between a positive and a negative result. Using Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 as an example, we demonstrate that this method allows visual detection of proteins in complex matrices such as human serum and provides quantitative information regarding analyte levels when combined with cellphone-based imaging. It also allows the user to decouple the capture of analyte from signal amplification and visualization steps.Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Award 51308)United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (HR0011-12-2-0010)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research FellowshipBurroughs Wellcome Fund (Career Award at the Scientific Interface
Self-assembly, Self-organization, Nanotechnology and vitalism
International audienceOver the past decades, self-assembly has attracted a lot of research attention and transformed the relations between chemistry, materials science and biology. The paper explores the impact of the current interest in self-assembly techniques on the traditional debate over the nature of life. The first section describes three different research programs of self-assembly in nanotechnology in order to characterize their metaphysical implications: -1- Hybridization ( using the building blocks of living systems for making devices and machines) ; -2- Biomimetics (making artifacts mimicking nature); -3- Integration (a composite of the two previous strategies). The second section focused on the elusive boundary between selfassembly and self-organization tries to map out the various positions adopted by the promoters of self-assembly on the issue of vitalism
Simulations of extensional flow in microrheometric devices
We present a detailed numerical study of the flow of a Newtonian fluid through microrheometric devices featuring a sudden contraction–expansion. This flow configuration is typically used to generate extensional deformations and high strain rates. The excess pressure drop resulting from the converging and diverging flow is an important dynamic measure to quantify if the device is intended to be used as a microfluidic extensional rheometer. To explore this idea, we examine the effect of the contraction length, aspect ratio and Reynolds number on the flow kinematics and resulting pressure field. Analysis of the computed velocity and pressure fields show that, for typical experimental conditions used in microfluidic devices, the steady flow is highly three-dimensional with open spiraling vortical structures in the stagnant corner regions. The numerical simulations of the local kinematics and global pressure drop are in good agreement with experimental results. The device aspect ratio is shown to have a strong impact on the flow and consequently on the excess pressure drop, which is quantified in terms of the dimensionless Couette and Bagley correction factors. We suggest an approach for calculating the Bagley correction which may be especially appropriate for planar microchannels
Oxidation of graphene on metals
We use low-energy electron microscopy to investigate how graphene is removed
from Ru(0001) and Ir(111) by reaction with oxygen. We find two mechanisms on
Ru(0001). At short times, oxygen reacts with carbon monomers on the surrounding
Ru surface, decreasing their concentration below the equilibrium value. This
undersaturation causes a flux of carbon from graphene to the monomer gas. In
this initial mechanism, graphene is etched at a rate that is given precisely by
the same non-linear dependence on carbon monomer concentration that governs
growth. Thus, during both growth and etching, carbon attaches and detaches to
graphene as clusters of several carbon atoms. At later times, etching
accelerates. We present evidence that this process involves intercalated
oxygen, which destabilizes graphene. On Ir, this mechanism creates observable
holes. It also occurs mostly quickly near wrinkles in the graphene islands,
depends on the orientation of the graphene with respect to the Ir substrate,
and, in contrast to the first mechanism, can increase the density of carbon
monomers. We also observe that both layers of bilayer graphene islands on Ir
etch together, not sequentially.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures. Manuscript revised to improve discussion,
following referee comments. Accepted for publication in Journal of Physical
Chemistry C, Feb. 11, 201
Self-assembled nanogel made of mannan : synthesis and characterization
Amphiphilic mannan (mannan-C16) was synthesized by the Michael addition of hydrophobic 1-hexadecanethiol (C16)
to hydroxyethyl methacrylated mannan (mannan-HEMA). Mannan-C16 formed nanosized aggregates in water by selfassembly
via the hydrophobic interaction among C16molecules as confirmed by hydrogen nuclearmagnetic resonance (1H
NMR), fluorescence spectroscopy, cryo-field emission scanning electron microscopy (cryo-FESEM), and dynamic light
scattering (DLS). The mannan-C16 critical aggregation concentration (cac), calculated by fluorescence spectroscopy with
Nile red and pyrene, ranged between 0.04 and 0.02mg/mL depending on the polymer degree of substitution ofC16 relative
to methacrylated groups. Cryo-FESEM micrographs revealed that mannan-C16 formed irregular spherical macromolecular
micelles, in this work designated as nanogels, with diameters ranging between 100 and 500 nm. The influence of the
polymer degree of substitution, DSHEMA andDSC16, on the nanogel size and zeta potential was studied byDLS at different
pH values and ionic strength and as a function of mannan-C16 and urea concentrations. Under all tested conditions, the
nanogel was negatively charged with a zeta potential close to zero. Mannan-C16 with higher DSHEMA and DSC16
values
formed larger nanogels andwere also less stable over a 6month storage period and at concentrations close to the cac.When
exposed to solutions of different pH and aggressive conditions of ionic strength and urea concentration, the size of
mannan-C16 varied to some extent but was always in the nanoscale range.International Iberian
Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL)Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT
Trends in Metal Oxide Stability for Nanorods, Nanotubes, and Surfaces
The formation energies of nanostructures play an important role in
determining their properties, including the catalytic activity. For the case of
15 different rutile and 8 different perovskite metal oxides, we find that the
density functional theory (DFT) calculated formation energies of (2,2)
nanorods, (3,3) nanotubes, and the (110) and (100) surfaces may be described
semi-quantitatively by the fraction of metal--oxygen bonds broken and the
bonding band centers in the bulk metal oxide
Liquid-infiltrated photonic crystals - enhanced light-matter interactions for lab-on-a-chip applications
Optical techniques are finding widespread use in analytical chemistry for
chemical and bio-chemical analysis. During the past decade, there has been an
increasing emphasis on miniaturization of chemical analysis systems and
naturally this has stimulated a large effort in integrating microfluidics and
optics in lab-on-a-chip microsystems. This development is partly defining the
emerging field of optofluidics. Scaling analysis and experiments have
demonstrated the advantage of micro-scale devices over their macroscopic
counterparts for a number of chemical applications. However, from an optical
point of view, miniaturized devices suffer dramatically from the reduced
optical path compared to macroscale experiments, e.g. in a cuvette. Obviously,
the reduced optical path complicates the application of optical techniques in
lab-on-a-chip systems. In this paper we theoretically discuss how a strongly
dispersive photonic crystal environment may be used to enhance the light-matter
interactions, thus potentially compensating for the reduced optical path in
lab-on-a-chip systems. Combining electromagnetic perturbation theory with
full-wave electromagnetic simulations we address the prospects for achieving
slow-light enhancement of Beer-Lambert-Bouguer absorption, photonic band-gap
based refractometry, and high-Q cavity sensing.Comment: Invited paper accepted for the "Optofluidics" special issue to appear
in Microfluidics and Nanofluidics (ed. Prof. David Erickson). 11 pages
including 8 figure
Recommended from our members
Using Magnetic Levitation to Separate Mixtures of Crystal Polymorphs
Magnetische Levitation (MagLev) ist eine einfache Trennmethode für Kristallpolymorphe mit Dichteunterschieden (Δρ) von nur 0.001 g cm−3. Für vier organische Verbindungen wurden dichtebasierte Trennungen verschiedener kristalliner Formen gezeigt: 5-Methyl-2-[(2-nitrophenyl)amino]-3-thiophencarbonitril, Sulfathiazol, Carbamazepin und trans-Zimtsäure.Chemistry and Chemical Biolog
Laminar flows - Subcellular positioning of small molecules
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62911/1/4111016a0.pd
- …