GaN nanorod Schottky and p-n junction diodes

Conductive atomic force microscopy has been used to characterize single GaN nanorod Schottky and p-n junction diodes. The ideality factor, reverse breakdown voltage, and the Schottky barrier height of individual nanorod diodes were compared to those from conventional thin-film diodes. Large-area contacts, enabling diodes with arrays of GaN nanorods in parallel, were also fabricated and their electrical characteristics investigated. The defect-free nature of the GaN nanorods and enhanced tunneling effects due to nanoscale contacts have been invoked to explain the electrical behavior of the nanorod diodes.     

Novel approach to the synthesis of core-shell particles by sacrificial polymer shell method

In this work a new approach has been developed for the synthesis of SiO₂@Y₂O₃ particles with core-shell structure. The method is based on the synthesis of a covalently bonded sacrificial polymer shell grown onto silica particles. It is suitable to promote and stabilize the adsorption of different ions, namely Yttrium from its nitrate solution. After calcination and consequent elimination of the sacrificial polymer shell, the SiO₂@Y₂O₃ core-shell particles are obtained. Results reveal that the shell thickness of these core-shell particles is higher and more uniform than that of particles prepared without sacrificial polymer shell.     

Graphene decoration with metal nanoparticles: towards easy integration for sensing applications

A simple and versatile method for the decoration of CVD grown graphene with metal nanoparticles is presented. The mechanism of nanoparticle formation is galvanic displacement resulting in physically adsorbed clusters. The single layer graphene obtained by this method can be easily transferred. Integration onto a gas sensing transducer is presented as proof of concept.     

Nanotechnology-based combinational drug delivery systems for breast cancer treatment

Modern chemotherapeutic anticancer treatments have come a long way in the fight against breast cancer, thus bringing science closer to a cure. However, the nature of these drugs is to attack both cancerous and non-cancerous cells at the same time. In our studies, we synthesized Magnetic Cyclodextrin-polyurethane based nano-composite (Fe₃O₄-ECA-PU-CD) which is a drug delivery system using a biocompatible magnetic polymer that directs chemotherapeutic drugs to cancerous regions in the body with an external magnet. This nano-composite was able to facilitate the loading and simultaneous release of the hydrophilic antitumor drug Doxorubicin (DOX) along with the hydrophobic antitumor drug docetaxel. The composite was made using a simple co-precipitation method with magnetic nano-particles (MNPs) followed by a silica coating process and an in situ polymerization process. Verification of synthesis for the drug carrier was carried out using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) to measure magnetic properties. Drug loading and release efficiencies were monitored using an HPLC-UV detector. Finally, an MTT assay was performed in order to evaluate the biocompatibility and toxicity of the synthetic nano-composite on MCF7 cell lines. Our findings present a new biocompatible drug delivery system with a high capacity for loading and directing two different chemotherapeutic drugs simultaneously to cancer sites with little to no toxicity to the surrounding non-cancerous cells. These studies present a viable tool for cancer treatment and research where the cancer is efficiently removed while the patient remains healthy.     

Investigation of the creep behavior of graphene oxide nanoplatelet-reinforced adhesively bonded joints

In this paper, the effect of adding graphene oxide nano-platelets (GONPs) into the adhesive layer was investigated on the creep behavior of adhesively bonded joints. The neat and GONP-reinforced adhesive joints were manufactured and tested under creep loading with different stress and temperature levels. 0.1?wt% GONPs revealed the highest improvement on the adhesive joint creep behavior amongst the studied weight percentages. Furthermore, the effect of GONPs on the creep behavior of adhesive joints was more significant at higher temperatures. It was found that adding 0.1?wt% of GONPs into the adhesive layer imposed reductions of 21%, 31% and 34% in the elastic shear strains and reductions of 24%, 31% and 37% in the creep shear strains of SLJs under testing temperatures of 30, 40 and 50?°C, respectively. The Burgers rheological model was employed for simulating the creep behavior of the neat and GONP-reinforced adhesive joints. The Burgers model parameters were obtained as functions of testing temperature, creep shear stress and GONP weight percentage using a response surface methodology. Reasonable agreement was obtained between the modeled and experimental creep behaviors of the adhesive joints.     

High Performance Removal of Anionic and Cationic Dye Pollutants with Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Modified Nanoclinoptilolite: Kinetics and Adsorption Equilibrium Studies

In this paper Co₃O₄ doped nanoclinoptilolite was synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) techniques. The adsorption efficiency for removing of methylene blue was about 95% in 10 min. The effect of some factors such as adsorbent dose, concentration of analyte and pH was investigated for enhancing the removing efficiency. Moreover Freundlich and Langmuir patterns were plotted for this new nanocomposite. Maximum of adsorption capacity was obtained from slope of Langmuir and was about 25 mg/g. The kinetic study for methylene blue shows a second order kinetic with rate constant about 0.02 g/mg/min. The prepared nanocomposite was successfully applied for removing some color compounds such as methylene blue, methyl green, and methyl red and also binary dye mixtures.     

Synthesis and characterization of a novel pH-responsive nanocomposite hydrogel based on chitosan for targeted drug release

Over the last decade, nanocomposite hydrogels have been provided a new approach for the biomedical field. In this work, a novel pH-responsive nanocomposite hydrogel was fabricated using simultaneous in situ formation of magnetite iron oxide nanoparticles and hydrogel networks of poly(acrylic acid) grafted onto chitosan. The effects of various types of precursor molecules, pH, salt, and loading pressure were examined on the swelling properties of resulting nanocomposite hydrogels. The synthesized nanocomposite hydrogel was well characterized using different instruments. In vitro drug releasing behavior of doxorubicin was studied at pH 5.4 and 7.4. The drug release mechanism was investigated through different kinetic models. These experimental results open a new opportunity to make pH-responsive nanocomposite hydrogel devices for controlled delivery of drug.     

A multi-view-group non-negative matrix factorization approach for automatic image annotation

Multimedia Tools and Applications - In automatic image annotation (AIA) different features describe images from different aspects or views. Part of information embedded in some views is common for...