Micro‐ and Nanoprinting into Solids Using Reaction‐Diffusion Etching and Hydrogel Stamps

Micropatterned hydrogel stamps soaked in appropriate chemical etchants can imprint various types of micro‐ and nanoarchitectures into metals, conductive oxides, semiconductors, glasses, and crystals. Localized etching is mediated by a reaction‐diffusion process initiated from the stamp microfeatures and gives lateral resolution down to approximately 300 nm. The method is well suited for the rapid prototyping of small‐scale devices including multilevel microfluidic systems and curvilinear optical elements.     

Induction of Oxidative Stress in SH-SY5Y Cells by Overexpression of hTau40 and Its Mitigation by Redox-Active Nanoparticles

Abnormally phosphorylated tau protein is the principal component of neurofibrillary tangles, accumulating in the brain in many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. The aim of this study was to examine whether overexpression of tau protein leads to changes in the redox status of human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. The level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was elevated in tau-overexpressing cells (TAU cells) as compared with cells transfected with the empty vector (EP cells). The level of glutathione was increased in TAU cells, apparently due to overproduction as an adaptation to oxidative stress. The TAU cells had elevated mitochondrial mass. They were more sensitive to 6-hydroxydopamine, delphinidin, 4-amino-TEMPO, and nitroxide-containing nanoparticles (NPs) compared to EP controls. These results indicate that overexpression of the tau protein imposes oxidative stress on the cells. The nitroxide 4-amino-TEMPO and nitroxide-containing nanoparticles (NPs) mitigated oxidative stress in TAU cells, decreasing the level of ROS. Nitroxide-containing nanoparticles lowered the level of lipid peroxidation in both TAU and EP cells, suggesting that nitroxides and NPs may mitigate tau-protein-induced oxidative stress.     

Stellate Trichomes in Dionaea muscipula Ellis (Venus Flytrap) Traps,Structure and Functions

The digestive organs of carnivorous plants have external (abaxial) glands and trichomes, which perform various functions. Dionaea muscipula Ellis (the Venus flytrap) is a model carnivorous plant species whose traps are covered by external trichomes. The aim of the study was to fill in the gap regarding the structure of the stellate outer trichomes and their immunocytochemistry and to determine whether these data support the suggestions of other authors about the roles of these trichomes. Light and electron microscopy was used to show the trichomes’ structure. Fluorescence microscopy was used to locate the carbohydrate epitopes that are associated with the major cell wall polysaccharides and glycoproteins. The endodermal cells and internal head cells of the trichomes were differentiated as transfer cells, and this supports the idea that stellate trichomes transport solutes and are not only tomentose-like trichomes. Trichome cells differ in the composition of their cell walls, e.g., the cell walls of the internal head cells are enriched with arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs). The cell walls of the outer head cells are poor in both low and highly homogalacturonans (HGs), but the immature trichomes are rich in the pectic polysaccharide (1–4)–β-D-galactan. In the immature traps, young stellate trichomes produce mucilage which may protect the trap surface, and in particular, the trap entrance. However, the role of these trichomes is different when the outer head cells collapse. In the internal head cells, a thick secondary wall cell was deposited, which together with the thick cell walls of the outer head cells played the role of a large apoplastic space. This may suggest that mature stellate trichomes might function as hydathodes, but this should be experimentally proven.     

Interactions between carbon coatings and tissue

The unique properties of thin diamond layers make them perspective candidates for producing advanced micro-electronic devices, coatings for cutting tools and optics. However, due to the highest biocompatibility of carbon resulting from the presence of this element in the human body, it appears to be a potential biomaterial.Carbon, especially in the form of the nanocrystalline diamond film, have found industrial applications in the area of medical implants.The studies of carbon films as coatings for implants in surgery were aimed at the investigations of biological resistance of implants, histopathological investigations on laboratory animals, tests of corrosion resistance, measurements of mechanical properties and a breakdown test in Tyrode's solution.Different medical implants are covered by Nanocrystalline Diamond Coatings (NCD). NCD forms the barrier diffusion between implant and human environment. The research on NCD proved that diamond layers are biocompatible with living organisms.Diamond Powder Particles (DPP) is an extended surface of NCD. Biological research with diamond powder can answer the basic question: what is the influence of DPP on cells, tissues and organs in human organism?     

The Influence of Si/Al Ratio on the Distribution of OH Groups in Zeolites with MWW Topology

A series of MWW-type zeolites of increasing Si/Al ratio were investigated with respect to their acidic properties. Concentration of the Brønsted acid centers located at the external crystal surface was invariant for the entire series. Ethanol conversion to ethyl-tert-butyl ether, proceeding only at the external surface, was also constant. The OH groups in MWW zeolites were found to be homogeneous with proton affinity value equal to 1142.7 kJ/mol.     

The importance of orientation in proton transport of a polymer film based on an oriented self-organized columnar liquid-crystalline polyether

We prepared membranes based on a liquid-crystalline side-chain polyether obtained by chemical modification of commercial poly(epichlorohydrin) (PECH) with dendrons. This polymer exhibited a columnar structure, which could form an ion channel in the inner part. The columns were successfully oriented by taking advantage of surface interactions between the polymer and hydrophilic substrates, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and optical microscopy between crossed polars (POM). Column orientation was found to be crucial for effective transport: the oriented membranes exhibited proton transport comparable to that of Nafion® N117 and no water uptake. An increase in sodium ion concentration in the feed phase suggested a proton/cation antiport. On the contrary, no proton transport was detected on unoriented membranes based on the same liquid-crystalline side-chain polyether or on unmodified PECH.     

A structure oriented compact thermal model for multiple heat source ASICs

This paper proposes a methodology for the extraction of a compact thermal model for multiple heat source devices, which can be used for estimation of the overall temperature field. This extraction is based on the physical parameters as well as on the layout and the packaging of the device. The model directly represents the regions surrounding a source by a resistance network containing the specific parameters of source and chip in analytical form, so that it is easy to vary parameters like power dissipation and thermal conductivity within a wide range. In order to obtain a good and fast approximation of the continuous case, the shape of the volume elements represented by a node in the network is chosen regarding the direction of the heat flow within these elements. Therefore these volume elements are not rectangular but pyramid- or parallelogram-like structures. The temperature fields of multiple sources add up for the total temperature distribution, by the use of a matrix field representation.