A Polyallylamine Anchored Amine‐Rich Laser‐Ablated Graphene Platform for Facile and Highly Selective Electrochemical IgG Biomarker Detection

Current immunosensors have an insufficient number of binding sites for the recognition of biomolecules, which leads to false positive or negative results. In this research, a facile, cost‐effective, disposable, and highly selective electrochemical immunosensing platform is developed based on cationic polyelectrolyte polyallylamine (PAAMI) anchored laser‐ablated graphene (LAG). Here, for the first time, PAAMI is introduced to stabilize LAG flakes, while retaining the intrinsic thermal and electronic properties of the substrate by noncovalent π–π interaction and electrostatic physical absorption. The sensing platform offers a suitable number of anchoring sites for the immobilized antibodies by providing ? NH₂ functional groups. The proper grafting of PAAMI is confirmed through X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The immunosensing platform is applied to detect immunoglobulin (IgG) biomarkers as a proof of concept. Under optimized conditions, the sensing platform exhibits a linear range of 0.012–15 and 15–352 ng mL^?1 with a limit of detection of 6 pg mL^?1 for IgG detection with high selectivity. Based on the analysis, the developed immunosensing platform can be used for point‐of‐care detection of IgG in clinical diagnostic centers. Furthermore, the developed strategy is well suited for the detection of other cancer biomarkers after immobilizing the relevant antibodies.     

Tunable Terahertz Circularly Polarized Dielectric Resonator Antenna with the Higher Order Modes

Silicon - A tunable terahertz (THz) dielectric resonator (DR) antenna (DRA) with circular polarization operating with multiple higher order modes is numerically studied and implemented. A...     

Direct Amide Synthesis from Alcohols and Amines by Phosphine‐Free Ruthenium Catalyst Systems

Amides are synthesized directly from alcohols and amines in high yields using an in situ generated catalyst from easily available ruthenium complexes such as the (p‐cymene)ruthenium dichloride dimer, [Ru(p‐cymeme)Cl₂]₂, or the (benzene)ruthenium dichloride dimer, [Ru(benzene)Cl₂]₂, an N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand, and a nitrogen containing L‐type ligand such as acetonitrile. The phosphine‐free catalyst systems showed improved or comparable activity compared to previous phosphine‐based catalytic systems. The in situ generated catalyst from [Ru(benzene)Cl₂]₂, an NHC ligand, and acetonitrile showed excellent activity toward reactions with cyclic secondary amines such as piperidine and morpholine.     

Ethanol steam reforming study over ZSM-5 supported cobalt versus nickel catalyst for renewable hydrogen generation

The renewable hydrogen generation through ethanol steam reforming is one of the anticipated areas for sustainable hydrogen generation. To elucidate the role of Ni and Co with ZSM-5 support, catalysts were prepared by wet impregnation method and ethanol steam reforming(ESR) was performed. The catalysts were characterized by HR-XRD, ATR–FTIR, HR-SEM, TEM with SAED, EDAX, surface area analyzer and TPR. It had shown complete ethanol conversion at 773 K, but the selectivity in hydrogen generation was found higher for 10% Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst as compared to 10% Co/ZSM-5. The 10% Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst has about 72% hydrogen selectivity at temperature 873 K. It indicates that Ni is a more sustainable catalyst as compared to Co with ZSM-5 support for ESR. The C_2H_4 was found major undesirable products up to 823 K temperature. Nevertheless, the 10% Ni/ZSM-5 catalyst had shown its stability for high temperature(873 K) ESR performance.     

Creep performance of CNT reinforced glass fiber/epoxy composites: Roles of temperature and stress

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been emerged as a potential nanofiller to reinforce polymeric materials to improve their mechanical properties, like strength and modulus. However, time-dependent deformation of such materials under a constant load and elevated temperature is a matter of concern for long-term durability of these materials. The present article primarily demonstrates the effects of creep temperature and stress on the reinforcement efficiency of CNT in a glass fiber/epoxy (GE) composite. Two types of materials were investigated in this study—GE which was used as a control material, as well as CNT embedded GE composite. To elucidate the impact of CNT on the long-term durability of GE composite, creep tests have been performed at different temperatures (50, 80, and 110 °C) under bending loading. As applied stress has also significant contribution toward the elevated creep deformation of materials, creep tests have also been carried out under different stresses (5, 10, and 40 MPa). The strength of the CNT-GE composite exhibited 8.7 and 18.3% higher than that of control GE composite under tensile and bending load, respectively. Results suggest CNT reinforcement to be beneficial for low temperature applications, both in terms of creep strain and strain rate. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47674.     

Room-temperature ferromagnetism in graphitic petal arrays

We report room-temperature ferromagnetism of graphitic petal arrays grown on Si substrates by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition without catalyst. The samples have been characterized by Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to confirm the absence of possible ferromagnetic impurities. The petals exhibit ferromagnetic hysteresis with saturation magnetization of ～4.67 emu cm(-3) and coercivity of ～105 Oe at 300 K, comparable to the reported behavior of few-layer graphene. Upon O2 annealing the saturation magnetization and coercivity decreased to 2.1 emu cm(-3) and ～75 Oe respectively. The origin of ferromagnetism is believed to arise from the edge defects and vacancies in the petals.     

Coating the inner surfaces of pipes with high-viscosity epoxy in annular flow

Applying a thin, protective coating of a nontoxic, chemically resistant epoxy to the interior of existing pipes is an alternative method to pipe replacement. In order to find the controlling parameters in this method, in this study, viscous epoxy was propelled by compressed air through clear polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes. Epoxy flow was annular, and it hardened to form a thin, uniform coating on the inner pipe surface. A video camera was employed to record fluid motion, and the thickness of the coating was measured using an image analysis program named ImagJ. Tests were done with varying air temperature, airflow rate, piping configuration, and epoxy temperature. A one-dimensional numerical algorithm was developed to model fluid flow, heat transfer, and epoxy curing. Heating the epoxy makes it move faster because liquid viscosity decreases with increasing temperature. The coating was significantly thicker at the bottom of a horizontal pipe than at the top due to sagging of the epoxy coating after it had been applied, resulting in flow from the top to the bottom of the pipe. Sagging could be reduced by maintaining airflow until curing was almost complete and the epoxy had hardened enough to prevent it from moving easily. The combination of the experimental results and numerical modeling showed that the most important parameters controlling the speed of the epoxy and coating thickness were the air flow rate and temperature, since they determine the shear forces on the epoxy layer and the rate at which the epoxy cures. Raising air temperature increases the reaction rate and therefore decreases the time required for the epoxy to cure inside the pipe. The results of the simulation showed a very good agreement with the experimental results in pipes with 1-in diameter or less.     

Epitope‐Resolved Detection of Peanut‐Specific IgE Antibodies by Surface Plasmon Resonance Imaging

Peanut allergy can be life‐threatening and is mediated by allergen‐specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies. Investigation of IgE antibody binding to allergenic epitopes can identify specific interactions underlying the allergic response. Here, we report a surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) immunoassay for differentiating IgE antibodies by epitope‐resolved detection. IgE antibodies were first captured by magnetic beads bearing IgE ?‐chain‐specific antibodies and then introduced into an SPRi array immobilized with epitopes from the major peanut allergen glycoprotein Arachis hypogaea h2 (Ara h2). Differential epitope responses were achieved by establishing a binding environment that minimized cross‐reactivity while maximizing analytical sensitivity. IgE antibody binding to each Ara h2 epitope was distinguished and quantified from patient serum samples (10 μL each) in a 45 min assay. Excellent correlation of Ara h2‐specific IgE values was found between ImmunoCAP assays and the new SPRi method.     

High areal capacitance of FeOOH-carbon nanotube negative electrodes for asymmetric supercapacitors

The relatively low capacitance of negative electrodes, as compared to the capacitance of advanced positive electrodes, poses a serious problem, since this limits the development of asymmetric supercapacitor (SC) devices with a large voltage window and enhanced power-energy characteristics. We fabricate negative SC electrodes with a high capacitance that match the capacitance of advanced positive electrodes at similar active mass loadings, as high as 37?mg?cm^?2. Cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy, galvanostatic charge-discharge data and the power-energy characteristics of the asymmetric SC device exhibit good electrochemical performance for a voltage window of 1.6?V. Our approach involves the development and application of particle extraction through liquid-liquid interface (PELLI) methods, new extraction mechanisms and efficient extractors to synthesize α-FeOOH and β-FeOOH electrode materials. The use of PELLI allows agglomerate-free processing of powders, which facilitates their efficient mixing with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and allows improved electrolyte access to the particle surface. Experiments to determine the properties of FeOOH-MWCNT composites provided insight into the influence of the electrode material and the structure of extractor molecules on the composite properties. The highest capacitance of 5.86?F?cm^?2 for negative electrodes and low impedance were achieved using α-FeOOH-MWCNT composites and a 16-phosphonohexadecanoic acid (PHDA) extractor. This extractor allows adsorption on particles, not only at the liquid-liquid interface, but also in the bulk aqueous phase and can potentially be used as a capping agent for particle synthesis and as an extractor in the PELLI method.     

Effect of microwave pretreatment on the color degradation kinetics in mustard greens (Brassica juncea)

In the present work, the impact of microwave pretreatment on the thermal degradation of color (chlorophylls) in mustard greens was studied. The drying experiments were conducted in the range of temperatures from 50 to 80°C. The degradation in the levels of chlorophylls has been quantified using Hunter color values (L*, a*, and b*) and calculating total color difference (ΔE). From the color results, the changes in color values (L*, a*, and b*) were observed as inappreciable, and changes in ΔE were found to be increased during drying. Analysis of kinetic data displayed a first-order reaction kinetics for chlorophyll degradation. Arrhenius equation was used to calculate the activation energies for rate constants, and it has been varied from 13.3 to 27.4?kJ/mol. Thermodynamic parameters, enthalpy of activation (ΔH^#), and entropy activation (ΔS^#) were found to be in the range of 1.40–2.63?J/mol and ?293 to ?305?J/mol?·?K, respectively. The data from the present work revealed that the microwave pretreatment of mustard greens remarkably influenced the retention of chlorophylls in the final dehydrated powder.