Photoresponsive Fiber Array: Toward Mimicking the Collective Motion of Cilia for Transport Applications

Remote transport of material is an utmost useful, but challenging, property expanding the design possibilities of many applications such as microfluidics or robotics where species can be carried without interfering with its environment. Nature has solved the problem of transport in e.g., the respiratory system by a concerted motion of cilia. This study addresses a new method to fabricate an array of small parallel fibers acting as cilia placed side by side on a substrate. The fibers consist of a crosslinked liquid crystal main chain polymer functionalized with coreactant azobenzene molecules. The fibers bend toward a light source in a concerted manner. When placed in a liquid, the cooperative bending motion of the fibers creates a flow able to efficiently carry objects. The proposed fabrication process of the fibers is scalable to large area and requires an optimized rheology which is achieved by converting low molecular weight reactive liquid crystal acrylate monomers to oligomers using a multiplication of the monomeric units by the Michael addition reaction with dithiol. The oligomer properties and the elasticity of the fibers are adjusted by changing the thiol spacer leading to optimized manufacturing and maximized optical response.     

The diversity of potential cheese ripening characteristics of lactic acid starter bacteria: 1. Resistance to cell lysis and levels and cellular distribution of proteinase activities

By reference to subcellular fraction markers, the resistance to lysis of 23 strains of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, 30 strains of L. lactis subsp. lactis and five strains of Streptococcus thermophilus and the levels and distribution of proteinase activity in the strains were determined. Strains of L. lactis subsp. cremoris were readily lysed by transfer to hypotonic buffer after treatment with lysozyme alone, whilst strains of L. lactis subsp. lactis and S. thermophilus could be efficiently lysed in this way only after treatment with a combination of lysozyme and mutanolysin. With a few notable exceptions, those strains which gave the fastest rates of acid production also generally presented higher levels of cell surface proteinase, as determined by activity on fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled β-casein. The highest levels of cell surface proteinase detected were found for strains of L. lactis subsp. cremoris. However, the levels of total proteinase activity in the lactococcal strains did not correlate with the rate of acid production in milk, some slow acid-producers yielding similar or greater total proteinase levels than fast acid-producers. Homology to DNA probes for the lactococcal cell surface proteinase gene and to the conserved region encoding the serine proteinase active site was shown by the fast acid-producing lactococcal strains, but not by most of the slow acid-producing lactococcal strains or by the strains of S. thermophilus. A significant proportion of the total proteinase activity was recovered in the subcellular fractions in which high levels of cytoplasmic marker enzyme activity were found. The total proteinase levels detected in strains ofL. lactis subsp. lactis showed a greater range of variation than in the strains of L. lactis subsp. cremoris. High levels of total proteinase activity were found in the slow acid-producers despite the strains having been grown in the presence of yeast extract. For many of the strains, the levels of proteinase released from the cell surface during cell wall degradation with lytic enzyme treatment were higher than those found using whole cells, suggesting that a significant amount of proteolytic activity was either inaccessible to substrate or present in an inactive form.     

Boron-coated straws as a replacement for He-based neutron detectors

US and international government efforts to equip major seaports with large area neutron detectors, aimed to intercept the smuggling of nuclear materials, have precipitated a critical shortage of ³He gas. It is estimated that the annual demand of ³He for US security applications alone is more than the worldwide supply. This is strongly limiting the prospects of neutron science, safeguards, and other applications that rely heavily on ³He-based detectors. Clearly, alternate neutron detection technologies that can support large sensitive areas, and have low gamma sensitivity and low cost must be developed.We propose a low-cost technology based on long copper tubes (straws), coated on the inside with a thin layer of ¹⁰B-enriched boron carbide (¹⁰B₄C). In addition to the high abundance of boron on Earth and low cost of ¹⁰B enrichment, the boron-coated straw (BCS) detector offers distinct advantages over conventional ³He-based detectors, and alternate technologies such as ¹⁰BF₃ tubes and ¹⁰B-coated rigid tubes. These include better distribution inside moderator assemblies, many-times faster electronic signals, no pressurization, improved gamma-ray rejection, no toxic or flammable gases, and ease of serviceability.We present the performance of BCS detectors dispersed in a solid plastic moderator to address the need for portal monitoring. The design adopts the outer dimensions of currently deployed ³He-based monitors, but takes advantage of the small BCS diameter to achieve a more uniform distribution of neutron converter throughout the moderating material. We show that approximately 63 BCS detectors, each 205 cm long, distributed inside the moderator, can match or exceed the detection efficiency of typical monitors fitted with a 5 cm diameter ³He tube, 187 cm long, pressurized to 3 atm.     

Glass fibers with clay nanocomposite coating: Improved barrier resistance in alkaline environment

Coatings made from neat vinyl ester and nanoclay reinforced vinyl ester composites are applied onto individual glass fibers as well as rovings to evaluate their barrier resistance against alkali and moisture attack. The fibers coated with clay nanocomposites present a significantly less damage caused by the diffusing alkali ions, giving rise to a much higher residual tensile strength after aging than the fibers without coating or those with a neat polymer coating. The static fatigue test performed on individual fibers verifies the advantage of using nanoclay composite to retard the corrosion process under the combined stress and alkaline environment. Similar beneficial effects of incorporating nanoclay on residual strength are identified for impregnated fiber bundles. The above observations confirm the excellent barrier characteristics of intercalated/exfoliated nanoclay in polymer that are applied in composite structures on both the microscopic and macroscopic scales.     

3D Scaffolds to Study Basic Cell Biology

Mimicking the properties of the extracellular matrix is crucial for developing in vitro models of the physiological microenvironment of living cells. Among other techniques, 3D direct laser writing (DLW) has emerged as a promising technology for realizing tailored 3D scaffolds for cell biology studies. Here, results based on DLW addressing basic biological issues, e.g., cell‐force measurements and selective 3D cell spreading on functionalized structures are reviewed. Continuous future progress in DLW materials engineering and innovative approaches for scaffold fabrication will enable further applications of DLW in applied biomedical research and tissue engineering.     

Development of pseudo-ductile permanent formwork for durable concrete structures

The present investigation focuses on a new approach for the construction of durable concrete structures. Using Pseudo-ductile Cementitious Composites (PDCC) of relatively low water/binder ratio, permanent formworks are first fabricated. Normal concrete is then cast to make structural components. With low permeability and high crack resistance, the permanent formwork acts as effective surface cover to prevent the corrosion of steel reinforcements. The formwork can be made with PDCC alone, or with the incorporation of Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics (GFRP) rods. In some structural components, the GFRP reinforcements will be sufficient to provide the necessary load-carrying capacity. When higher loads are to be carried, steel reinforcements can be added to produce a component with very high durability (due to the thick cover to steel) as well as ductile behavior. This paper focuses on mechanical aspects of this construction concept. The development of PDCC for formwork fabrication is first described. The bond between PDCC and concrete, in relation to various surface treatment methods, will be investigated with beam specimens. Test results on concrete beams made with GFRP reinforced PDCC formwork are then presented and compared to theoretical predictions. A design example is performed to demonstrate the use of GFRP/PDCC permanent formwork for constructing the deck of a footbridge. The results of this investigation show promise of the technology for practical applications.     

Elaboration,characterization and study of a novel affinity membrane made from electrospun hybrid chitosan/nylon-6 nanofibers for papain purification

Electrospun hybrid chitosan/nylon-6 nanofibrous mats with fiber diameters in the range of 80–310 nm were successfully fabricated using an electrospinning method. Nanofibrous membranes were prepared by nucleophilic reaction of the chitosan’s hydroxyl and amidocyanogen with the triazinyl chloride of Cibacron Blue F3GA (CB) ligand. This system was used to study the purification of papain. Physical and chemical properties of the affinity membrane were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), contact angle (CA) and element analysis (EA). The equilibrium adsorption capacity (from Langmuir isotherm data) for papain was 93.46 mg/g affinity membrane. Fifteen layers of the composite affinity membrane were packed into a spin column to separate papain from raw material. Significant amount of the adsorbed papain (about 90.4%) was eluted by 1.0 M NaSCN at pH 9.0, and 4.8-fold purification was achieved in a single step. Experiments on regeneration and dynamic adsorption were also performed. It is shown that this system has the potential to be developed for the industrial purification of the papain.