Properties of microlenses produced on a layer of tot'hema and eosin sensitized gelatin

Gelatin sensitized with tot'hema and eosin (compounds used in medical therapy) appears to be an excellent material for microlens fabrication. Lenses are produced by irradiation with a 532 nm laser beam. Aspheric concave lenses are formed rapidly with low power radiation. The lens profile is analyzed, as well as imaging properties. Physics of lens formation is also proposed. All material constituents are nonpoisonous, resulting in an environmentally safe, low toxicity material.     

Diameter-dependent elastic modulus supports the metastable-catalyst growth of carbon nanotubes

We measured the elastic modulus of individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) grown by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) over a broad diameter range (10-25 nm). Alternating current (ac) dielectrophoresis was used for efficient tube deposition, and atomic force microscope (AFM) force-displacement curve technique was used for stiffness measurements. The elastic modulus exhibits a strong diameter dependence, showing a difference of nearly 2 orders of magnitude in the 10-20 nm diameter range (thinner MWCNTs have higher elastic modulus). Our results support the metastable-catalyst model in which the catalyst's molten skin plays a key role.     

Tunable aqueous virtual micropore

A charged microparticle can be trapped in an aqueous environment by forming a narrow virtual pore--a cylindrical space region in which the particle motion in the radial direction is limited by forces emerging from dynamical interactions of the particle charge and dipole moment with an external radiofrequency quadrupole electric field. If the particle satisfies the trap stability criteria, its mean motion is reduced exponentially with time due to the viscosity of the aqueous environment; thereafter the long-time motion of particle is subject only to random, Brownian fluctuations, whose magnitude, influenced by the electrophoretic and dielectrophoretic effects and added to the particle size, determines the radius of the virtual pore, which is demonstrated by comparison of computer simulations and experiment. The measured size of the virtual nanopore could be utilized to estimate the charge of a trapped micro-object.     

Comparative study of differently treated animal bones for Co(2+) removal

The objective of the present study was the evaluation of differently treated bovine bones for Co(2+) removal from aqueous media. Powdered bones (B), as well as samples prepared by H(2)O(2) oxidation (BH(2)O(2)) and annealing at 400-1000 degrees C (B400-B1000), were tested as sorbent materials. A combination of XRD, FTIR spectroscopies, DTA/TGA analyses, specific surface area (S(p)) and point of zero charge (pH(PZC)) measurements was utilized for physicochemical characterization of sorbents. Sorption of Co(2+) was studied in batch conditions as a function of pH, contact time and Co(2+) concentration. Initial pH values in the range 4-8 were found optimal for sorption experiments. Equilibrium time of 24h was required in all investigated systems. The maximum sorption capacities differ significantly from 0.078 to 0.495mmol/g, whereas the affinity towards Co(2+) decreased in the order: B400>BH(2)O(2)>B600>B>B800>B1000. The pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir theoretical equation were used for fitting the kinetic and equilibrium data, respectively. Ion-exchange with Ca(2+) and specific cation sorption were identified as main removal mechanisms. The amounts of Co(2+) desorbed from loaded bone sorbents increased with the decrease of pH as well as with the increase of Ca(2+) concentration. Heating at 400 degrees C was found to be an optimal treatment for the production of the Co(2+) removal agent.     

Organic microcavity light-emitting diodes with metal mirrors: dependence of the emission wavelength on the viewing angle

Organic microcavity light-emitting diodes typically exhibit a blueshift of the emitting wavelength with increasing viewing angle. We have modeled the shift of the resonance wavelength for several metal mirrors. Eight metals (Al, Ag, Cr, Ti, Au, Ni, Pt, and Cu) have been considered top or bottom mirrors, depending on their work functions. The model fully take into account the dependence of thephase change that occurs on reflection on angle and wavelength for both s and p polarization, as well as on dispersion in the organic layers. Different contribution to the emission wavelength shift are discussed. The influence of the thickness of the bottom mirror and of the choice and thickness of the organic materials inside the cavity has been investigated. Based on the results obtained, guidelines for a choice of materials to reduce blueshift are given.     

Ruthenium complex containing block copolymer for the enhancement of carbon nanotube photoconductivity

We report the synthesis of a multifunctional block copolymer incorporated with pyrene and ruthenium terpyridyl thiocyanato complex moieties by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. The pyrene block in the copolymer facilitates the dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes in DMF solution because of the strong π-π interaction between the pyrene moieties and nanotube surface. On the other hand, the ruthenium complexes greatly enhance the photosensitivity of the functionalized nanotubes in the visible region. The photocurrent responses of the nanotubes at different wavelength measured by conductive AFM spectrum strongly agree with the absorption spectrum of the ruthenium complex. The results demonstrate a new and versatile approach in enhancing and fine-tuning the photosensitivity or other opto-electronic properties of carbon nanotubes by multifunctional block copolymers.     

Multivariate statistical analysis of Raman images of a pharmaceutical tablet

This paper describes the application of principal component analysis (PCA) and independent component analysis (ICA) to identify the reference spectra of a pharmaceutical tablet's constituent compounds from Raman spectroscopic data. The analysis shows, first with a simulated data set and then with data collected from a pharmaceutical tablet, that both PCA and ICA are able to identify most of the features present in the reference spectra of the constituent compounds. However, the results suggest that the ICA method may be more appropriate when attempting to identify unknown reference spectra from a sample. The resulting PCA and ICA models are subsequently used to estimate the relative concentrations of the constituent compounds and to produce spatial distribution images of the analyzed tablet. These images provide a visual representation of the spatial distribution of the constituent compounds throughout the tablet. Images associated with the ICA scores are found to be more informative and not as affected by measurement noise as the PCA based score images. The paper concludes with a discussion of the future work that needs to be undertaken for ICA to gain wider acceptance in the applied spectroscopy community.     

Unveiling Molecular Changes in Water by Small Luminescent Nanoparticles

Nowadays a large variety of applications are based on solid nanoparticles dispersed in liquids—so called nanofluids. The interaction between the fluid and the nanoparticles plays a decisive role in the physical properties of the nanofluid. A novel approach based on the nonradiative energy transfer between two small luminescent nanocrystals (GdVO₄:Nd³⁺ and GdVO₄:Yb³⁺) dispersed in water is used in this work to investigate how temperature affects both the processes of interaction between nanoparticles and the effect of the fluid on the nanoparticles. From a systematic analysis of the effect of temperature on the GdVO₄:Nd³⁺ → GdVO₄:Yb³⁺ interparticle energy transfer, it can be concluded that a dramatic increase in the energy transfer efficiency occurs for temperatures above 45 °C. This change is properly explained by taking into account a crossover existing in diverse water properties that occurs at about this temperature. The obtained results allow elucidation on the molecular arrangement of water molecules below and above this crossover temperature. In addition, it is observed that an energy transfer process is produced as a result of interparticle collisions that induce irreversible ion exchange between the interacting nanoparticles.     

Neural Networks-Based Real-Time Determination of the Laser Beam Spatial Profile and Vibrational-to-Translational Relaxation Time Within Pulsed Photoacoustics

This paper concerns with the possibilities of computational intelligence application for simultaneous determination of the laser beam spatial profile and vibrational-to-translational relaxation time of the polyatomic molecules in gases by pulsed photoacoustics. Results regarding the application of neural computing through the use of feed-forward multilayer perception networks are presented. Feed-forward multilayer perception networks are trained in an offline batch training regime to estimate simultaneously, and in real-time, the laser beam spatial profile (profile shape class) and the vibrational-to-translational relaxation time from given (theoretical) photoacoustic signals. The proposed method significantly shortens the time required for the simultaneous determination of the laser beam spatial profile and relaxation time and has the advantage of accurately calculating the aforementioned quantities.