Engineering New Microvascular Networks On-Chip: Ingredients,Assembly, and Best Practices

Tissue engineered grafts show great potential as regenerative implants for diseased or injured tissues within the human body. However, these grafts suffer from poor nutrient perfusion and waste transport, thus decreasing their viability post-transplantation. Graft vascularization is therefore a major area of focus within tissue engineering because biologically relevant conduits for nutrient and oxygen perfusion can improve viability post-implantation. Many researchers used microphysiological systems as testing platforms for potential grafts owing to an ability to integrate vascular networks as well as biological characteristics such as fluid perfusion, 3D architecture, compartmentalization of tissue-specific materials, and biophysical and biochemical cues. Although many methods of vascularizing these systems exist, microvascular self-assembly has great potential for bench-to-clinic translation as it relies on naturally occurring physiological events. In this review, the past decade of literature is highlighted, and the most important and tunable components yielding a self-assembled vascular network on chip are critically discussed: endothelial cell source, tissue-specific supporting cells, biomaterial scaffolds, biochemical cues, and biophysical forces. This paper discusses the bioengineered systems of angiogenesis, vasculogenesis, and lymphangiogenesis and includes a brief overview of multicellular systems. It concludes with future avenues of research to guide the next generation of vascularized microfluidic models.     

光子晶体及其自组装制备

自从理论计算指出金刚石结构具有完全光子带隙以来，三维光子晶体的理论研究和实验制作一直受到高度重视。光子晶体的制备方法总体上可分为两大类：微制作法和自组装法。前者适合于制备微波、远红外及近红外波段的光子晶体，后者制备近红外、可见或更短波段的光子晶体具有独特的优势。简述了光子晶体的概念和基本特征，并对三维光子晶体的自组装制备方法进行了综述。     

纳米结构的自组装高分子研究进展

评述了3种纳米结构自组装高分子，包括树枝状高分子、嵌段共聚物和缔合高分子。并且介绍了这3种高分子形成的几种纳米结构以及自组装的方式。     

MEMS光开关及其与光纤组装方式的研究

光开关是一种在光路中应用极其广泛的光无源器件,可用于扫描、投影、通讯等多种不同的领域,其中用于全光通讯中连接光纤之间的光开关日渐成为人们关注的焦点.高性能、低成本、又能大量生产的MEMS光开关很好地满足了全光网络对器件的要求.本文对这种MEMS光纤光开关的类型、特点以及研究现状进行了介绍,并给出了MEMS光开关与输入输出光纤的组装与自组装以及主要方式.     

核壳型铁钴纳米复合材料的制备及其性能

采用多元醇还原工艺和自组装技术,在微米级Fe粉表面包覆纳米Co粒子,一步法制备了一种具有核壳结构的复合磁性微球,用SEM表征了其相组成和形貌,用VSM测试了磁滞回线,初步研究了磁学性能。结果表明:用该法制备的核壳型Fe/Co纳米复合材料表面包覆致密,其比饱和磁化强度和矫顽力介于微米铁粉和纳米钴粉之间。     

半导体量子点自组织生长的计算机模拟研究

采用平均场模型和非平均场模型对半导体量子点的自组织生长过程进行了计算机模拟研究。结果表明两种模型给出了相似的量子点的大小分布,但在平均尺寸、数量以及覆盖面积随时间的变化上存在着差别,针对这些差别给出了解释。     

Facile synthesis of ordered nanocrystalline alumina thin films with tunable mesopore structures

Mesoporous alumina layers have attracted attention for their potential use in ultrafiltration of salts, as a heterogeneous catalyst support, an adsorbent in environmental cleanup, and in petroleum refinement. The ability to control the fast hydrolysis rate of the inorganic precursors using simple and inexpensive routes is important for that potential to be realized. Herein, we introduce a novel and facile route to synthesize mesoporous alumina thin films from the combination of inexpensive and commercially available copolymer with aluminum chloride or nitrate (salts) in an EtOH–surfactant–NH₃ · H₂O–salts (EsNs) system through the evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA) method. Mesoporous alumina layers obtained utilizing the EsNs system have ordered and tunable pore structures. The ability to easily control the mesophases of the alumina layers within a short time provides distinct advantages over previously reported synthesis procedures. Most importantly, we demonstrate that the binding of surfactant and NH₃ · H₂O for the formation of hydrogen bond between them in the EsNs system controls the fast hydrolysis rate of the inorganic species. This allows for the synthesis of nanocrystalline alumina layers via the aluminum oxo-clusters’ assembly with the surfactant. Such simple route may be applied in the synthesis of other non-silica mesostructured oxides.     

自洽场理论研究嵌段聚合物的并行算法实现

自洽场理论的数值计算方法在聚合物热力学的研究中得到了广泛的应用,尤其应用在嵌段共聚物微相分离形态的预测和描述方面[1～6]。该理论方法灵活性较强,参数空间的调整范围较大,能应用的计算体系也变化多样,难以建立固定的既有软件包,现有文献也鲜见针对该理论算法并行化的研究。本文就该理论在嵌段共聚物自组装问题上的数值计算的并行算法实现进行了研究和讨论,给出了算法性能的理论分析,并进行了实验测试。测试结果显示,本文提出的并行算法可获得良好的并行加速比,并行效率较高。该算法的提出有助于推动包括针对聚合物在内的软物质理论的研究工作。     

Supramolecular Nanofibers from Collagen-Mimetic Peptides Bearing Various Aromatic Groups at N-Termini via Hierarchical Self-Assembly

Self-assembly of artificial peptides has been widely studied for constructing nanostructured materials, with numerous potential applications in the nanobiotechnology field. Herein, we report the synthesis and hierarchical self-assembly of collagen-mimetic peptides (CMPs) bearing various aromatic groups at the N-termini, including 2-naphthyl, 1-naphtyl, anthracenyl, and pyrenyl groups, into nanofibers. The CMPs (R-(GPO)_n: n > 4) formed a triple helix structure in water at 4 °C, as confirmed via CD analyses, and their conformations were more stable with increasing hydrophobicity of the terminal aromatic group and peptide chain length. The resulting pre-organized triple helical CMPs showed diverse self-assembly into highly ordered nanofibers, reflecting their slight differences in hydrophobic/hydrophilic balance and configuration of aromatic templates. TEM analysis demonstrated that 2Np-CMP_n (n = 6 and 7) and Py-CMP₆ provided well-developed natural collagen-like nanofibers and An-CMP_n (n = 5–7) self-assembled into rod-like micelle fibers. On the other hand, 2Np-CMP₅ and 1Np-CMP₆ were unable to form nanofibers under the same conditions. Furthermore, the Py-CMP₆ nanofiber was found to encapsulate a guest hydrophobic molecule, Nile red, and exhibited unique emission behavior based on the specific nanostructure. In addition to the ability of CMPs to bind small molecules, their controlled self-assembly enables their versatile utilization in drug delivery and wavelength-conversion nanomaterials.     

Bioderived Bilayer Shell Modification β-FeOOH Nanorods via Self-Assembly Technique as Sustainable Flame Retardants for Enhancing Flame Retardancy of Epoxy Resin

The design and application of bioderived flame retardants have been widely conducted to meet the concept of green and sustainable development. Here, self-assembly technique is used to prepare core–shell bioderived additives by using β-FeOOH as the core and polydopamine (PDA)/tannic acid (TA) bilayer as the shell, following adsorption of nickel ions to enhance the thermal stability, flame retardancy, and mechanical properties of epoxy resin (EP). The molecular structure of biobased resources is rich in hydroxyl groups and carbon content, which can be dehydrated and carbonized during combustion and promote the formation of robust protective char layer. With the addition of 5 wt% β-FeOOH@PTNi, the EP composites can pass V-0 rating in the UL-94 test. The peak heat release rate and total heat release decrease by 28.4% and 17.4% compared with pure EP. The bioderived nanorods can capture the oxygen free radicals, contributing to flame retarding in gaseous phase. Thus, the release of high-toxic CO and flammable gaseous is significantly suppressed. Besides, the storage modulus of EP composites increases by 16.0% with the addition of 5% β-FeOOH@PTNi compared with pure EP. This work provides a sustainable methodology for the design of bioderived flame retardants for EP.