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Search results for: ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
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Heterogeneous oxidation of highly boron-doped diamond electrodes and its influence on the surface distribution of electrochemical activity
PublicationThe electrochemical active surface area (EASA) of polycrystalline boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes is heterogeneous and can be affected by numerous factors. There is a strong need for proper consideration of BDD heterogeneity in order to improve this material's range of application in electrochemistry. Localized changes in surface termination due to the influence of oxidation agent result in increased surface resistance. The...
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Assessment of copper surface coverage with corrosion inhibitor using AFM-based local electrical measurements
PublicationThe paper presents a new method of assessment of metal surface coverage with corrosion inhibitor and thus of inhibitor protective performance. It is based on the atomic force microscopy measurement performed in a contact mode. Apart from topography images the proposed approach allows acquisition of local DC maps and local electrical impedance spectra via application of DC bias voltage or AC perturbation signal between the conductive...
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Phase Separation and Electrical Properties of Manganese Borosilicate Glasses
PublicationThe structure and electrical properties of manganese borosilicate glasses of a composition of xMnO-(0.8-x)SiO2-(0.2)B2O3 (x=0.4, 0.5 and 0.6 in mol) were investigated by impedance spectroscopy, SEM, XRD and confocal microscopy methods. The influence of composition on the glass structure and electrical properties was discussed. A separation of two amorphous phases was observed and it was concluded that one phase is SiO2-rich and...
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Heterogeneous distribution of surface electrochemical activity in polycrystalline highly boron-doped diamond electrodes under deep anodic polarization
PublicationThe surface homogeneity of boron-doped diamond electrodes is variable and depends on anodic polarization conditions. The differentiation factor is the gradual and localized change in surface termination. A series of measurements under different polarization conditions was performed in order to investigate the scale of this effect. Nanoscale impedance microscopy (NIM) revealed large variation of surface resistance in individual...
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A measurement system for nonlinear surface spectroscopy with an atomic force microscope during corrosion process monitoring
PublicationIn addition to traditional imaging the surface, atomic force microscopy (AFM) enables wide variety of additional measurements. One of them is higher harmonic imaging. In tapping mode the nonlinear contact between tip and specimen results in higher frequency vibrations. More information available from the higher harmonics analysis proves to be helpful for more detailed imaging. Such visualization is espe-cially useful for heterogeneous...
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High temperature corrosion evaluation and lifetime prediction of porous Fe22Cr stainless steel in air in temperature range 700–900 °C
PublicationThis work describes a high temperature corrosion kinetics study of ~30% porous Fe22Cr alloys. The surface area of the alloy (~0.02 m2 g-1) has been determined by tomographic microscopy. The weight gain of the alloys was studied by isothermal thermogravimetry in the air for 100 hours at 700 - 900 °C. Breakaway oxidation was observed after oxidation at 850 °C (~100 hours) and 900 °C (~30 hours). The lifetime prediction shows the...
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NANOCRYSTALLINE CATHODES FOR SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELLS MADE OF NOBLE METALS
PublicationCathodes for solid oxide fuel cells prepared by the infiltration method at 600 °C are presented. The infiltration method allows to produce stable, nanostructured electrodes. Cathodes were prepared using gold, platinum, La2NiO4+δ (L2N) and La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3 δ (LSCF). Symmetrical cathode/electrolyte/cathode samples were prepared and examined with SEM microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Despite successful deposition...
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Determination of the refractive index and wavelength‐dependent optical properties of few‐layer CrCl3 within the Fresnel formalism
PublicationBased on previous reports on the optical microscopy contrast of mechanically exfoliated few layer CrCl3 transferred on 285 nmand 270 nmSiO2 on Si(100), we focus on the experimental determination of an effective mean complex refractive index via a fitting analysis based on the Fresnel equations formalism. Accordingly, the layer and wavelength-dependent absorbance and reflectance are calculated. Layer and wavelength-dependent optical...
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Spatially variant PSF modeling in confocal macroscopy
PublicationThe point spread function (PSF) of imaging systems plays an essential role in image reconstruction. In the context of confocal microscopy, optical performance degrades towards the edge of the field of view. In confocal macroscopy, the related artifacts are even stronger, as the field of view is much larger. Because the related PSFs are strongly spatially variant, it is essential to be able to model them with few parameters. The...
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Surface and Corrosion Properties of AA6063-T5 Aluminium Alloy in Molybdate-containing Sodium Chloride Solutions
PublicationCorrosion properties of aluminium alloy AA6063-T5 were investigated in molybdate-containing NaCl solutions. Electrochemical, microscopic, and spectroscopic experiments were utilized to examine the mechanism of corrosion inhibition by molybdates. SEM-EDX, magnetic force, and intermodulation electrostatic force microscopy data suggested that the inhibition initiation preferentially occurred over Fe-rich cathodic IMPs. Spectroscopic...
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Effect of Variation of Hard Segment Content and Graphene-Based Nanofiller Concentration on Morphological, Thermal, and Mechanical Properties of Polyurethane Nanocomposites
PublicationThis study describes the development of a new class of high-performance polyurethane elastomer nanocomposites containing reduced graphene oxide (RGO) or graphene nanoplatelets (GNP). Two types of polyurethane elastomers with different contents of hard segments (HS) were used as a polymer matrix. The developed nanocomposites were characterized by thermal analysis (DSC, TG), dynamic mechanical testing (DMA), hardness testing, mechanical...
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Studies on the influence of β-cyclodextrin derivatives on the physical stability of famotidine
PublicationThe usage of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, near infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and microscopy is presented in this work focused on the exploration of the effect of CD on the physical stability of famotidine (FAM). The most significant information was achieved by analysis of the second derivatives ofnear infrared (NIR) spectra recorded. Changes in the shape of spectra derivatives allow...
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RAMAN DIAGNOSTICS OF CVD DIAMOND GROWTH
PublicationDevelopment of Raman spectroscopic system for diagnostics of growth of diamond and BDD (Boron- Doped-Diamond) thin films during μPA CVD (Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapour Deposition) process is described. Raman studies of such films were carried out as in-situ monitoring of film deposition as ex-situ measurements conducted for a sample outside the reaction vessel after manufacturing process. Modular system for the in-situ...
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Inhibition of amyloid fibril formation of hen egg white lysozyme by trimethylamine N-oxide at low pH
PublicationIn vitro inhibition of the formation of fibrous aggregates of proteins (amyloids) has gained increasing attention due to the number of diseases associated with protein misfolding and fibrillation. An interesting group of compounds for which pronounced activity against this phenomenon can be expected consists of low molecular weight substances (osmolytes) which have the ability to change protein stability. Here we investigate the...
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Local properties of organic coatings close to glass transition temperature
PublicationAcrylic coating applied on copper substrate has been investigated at different temperatures starting from the ambient one up to the level above the glass transition temperature. Its local topographic and electric properties have been examined with the atomic force microscopy (AFM) based approach including dc current mapping and local impedance spectroscopy. The local findings have been compared with the information from global...
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Thickness and structure change of titanium (IV) oxide thin films synthesized by the sol–gel spin coating method
PublicationTitanium dioxide is a well-known material in nanotechnology, while it provides new opportunities due to its interesting properties, for example, as a semiconductor with a quite significant forbidden band gap energy of 3.2 eV. In this study, thin films of titanium dioxide (TiO2) were synthesized in amorphous and crystallographic systems using the sol–gel process. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction...
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Determination of pseudocapacitance chan ges of nickel oxide NiO electrode with use of dynamic electrochemical impedancje spectroscopy
PublicationThe electrochemical capacitors (ECs) are attractive energy storage devices which can be applied in many electronic products (e.g., cameras, laptops, cell phones) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). The energy storage in ECs is based on capacitive (the electrical double layer charging/discharging) and pseudocapacitive (additional charge provided by faradic reaction) phenomena. Considering the electrodes exhibiting pseudocapacitance,...
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Highly linear self-assembled porphyrin wires
PublicationAn efficient noncovalent assembly process involving high geometrical control was applied to a linear bis(imidazolyl zinc porphyrin) 7Zn, bearing C18 substitutents, to generate linear multiporphyrin wires. The association process is based on imidazole recognition within the cavity of the phenanthroline-strapped zinc porphyrin. In chlorinated solvents, discrete soluble oligomers were obtained after (7Zn)n was end-capped with a terminal...
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Evaluation of Immobilization of Selected Peat-Isolated Yeast Strains of the Species Candida albicans and Candida subhashii on the Surface of Artificial Support Materials Used for Biotrickling Filtration
PublicationThe paper describes the process of n-butanol abatement by unicellular fungi, able to deplete n-butanol content in gas, by using n-butanol as source of carbon. Isolated and identified fungi species Candida albicans and Candida subhashii were subjected to a viability process via assimilation of carbon from hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds. The isolates, which exhibited the ability to assimilate carbon, were immobilized on four...
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Localized impedance measurements of AA2024 and AA2024-T3 performed by means of AFM in contact mode
PublicationPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an atomic force microscopy (AFM) based approach to local impedance spectroscopy (LIS) measurement performed on AA2024 and AA2024-T3 aluminium alloys. Design/methodology/approach: AFM-LIS measurements were performed ex-situ without the electrolyte environment, so in fact the electrical not electrochemical impedance was obtained. Findings: Relative local impedance values...
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Automatic Detection of Nerves in Confocal Corneal Images with Orientation-Based Edge Merging
PublicationThe paper presents an algorithm for improving results of automatic nerve detections in confocal microscopy images of human corneal. The method is designed as a postprocessing step of regular detection. After the nerves are initially detected, the algorithms attempts to improve the results by filling unde-sired gaps between single nerves detections in order to correctly mark the entire nerve instead of only parts of it. This approach...
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Stability of thin film diamond mirror for applications in interferometers under the short-time exposure on selected aggressive chemicals
PublicationIn presented study a thin boron-doped diamond film was proposed for application in the interferometry as a highly durable optical mirror. The unique properties of the diamond films, like high chemical stability and hardness, allow them to be used even in the chemically aggressive environment, where the commonly used silver mirrors can be susceptible to damage. The investigated nanodiamond layer was fabricated by uPE CVD method...
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Structure and magnetic properties of BeO-Fe2O3-Al2O3-TeO2 glass-ceramic composites
PublicationIn this work, glass-ceramics in the xBeO–20Fe2O3–(80-x)TeO2 system with x = 0–25 mol% were synthesized by the traditional melt quenching route and studied by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, confocal microscopy, infrared and Raman spectroscopy. BeO addition was found to support the crystallization process of Fe2O3 during melting, and an increased BeO content was associated with an increased...
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Optimized 5-hour multiplex PCR test for the detection of tinea unguium: performance in a routine PCR laboratory
PublicationWe recently reported the development of a 5-hour multiplex PCR test for the detection of tinea unguium and the optimization of this test by the inclusion of an inhibition control. Here we report the performance of this procedure as used in a routine clinical laboratory as compared to conventional microscopy and culture-based techniques performed in a mycology reference laboratory. We found in processing 109 samples that 22 (20.2%)...
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Multimodal analysis of traction forces and the temperature dynamics of living cells with a diamond-embedded substrate
PublicationCells and tissues are constantly exposed to chemical and physical signals that regulate physiological and pathological processes. This study explores the integration of two biophysical methods: traction force microscopy (TFM) and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) to concurrently assess cellular traction forces and the local relative temperature. We present a novel elastic substrate with embedded nitrogen-vacancy microdiamonds...
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Introduction to the RSC Advances themed collection on nano and microscale modifications of biomaterials
PublicationThe dramatically increasing development of novel biomaterials, their manufacturing techniques, and surface modications, as well as their application in in vivo tests and clinical trials, is evident. It is interesting to note in what a relatively short time the well-known long-term implants have become medical standard: titanium dental implants started in 1965, and total hip arthroplasty (not very successful) was rst attempted...
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Highly porous nanoberyllium for X-ray beam speckle suppression
PublicationThe speckle suppressor device containing highly porous nanoberyllium is proposed for manipulating with the spatial coherence length and removing undesirable speckle structure during the imaging experiments. We report a special device called the speckle suppressor, which contains the highly porous nanoberyllium plate, compacted from both sides by two beryllium windows. By insertion the speckle suppressor in the X-ray beam it allows...
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Preparation and characterization of Pt/Pd-modified titanium dioxidenanoparticles for visible light irradiation
PublicationSeries of Pt/Pd–TiO2photocatalysts were obtained using the sol–gel method. The Pt/Pd–TiO2nanocom-posites showed significant visible light photoactivity. X-ray diffraction, STEM microscopy, UV–visspectroscopy and BET characterization allowed to conclude that the photocatalysts at the best perfor-mance had the anatase structure, 91 m2/g specific surface area, Pt/Pd alloy structure and 1–4 nm particlesize. The photocatalytic activity...
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AFM-assisted investigation of conformal coatings in electronics
PublicationPurpose – This paper aims to presents a new method of investigation of local properties of conformal coatings utilized in microelectronics. Design/methodology/approach – It is based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique supplemented with the ability of local electrical measurements, which apart from topography acquisition allows recording of local impedance spectra, impedance imaging and dc current mapping. Potentialities...
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Copper Slag as a Potential Waste Filler for Polyethylene-Based Composites Manufacturing
PublicationThe present study aimed to analyze the application of waste material from copper production– copper slag (ŻŻL) as filler for composites based on the high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Copper slag filler was introduced in the amounts of 1–20 wt%, and its influence on the appearance (color analysis), chemical structure (Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy), microstructure (optical microscopy), as well as static (tensile...
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Sensing the onset of epoxy coating degradation with combined Raman spectroscopy/atomic force microscopy/electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
PublicationThe paper presents the results of investigation on epoxy resin durability upon 12-week exposure to UV radiation. The aim was early determination of the onset of epoxy degradation and for this purpose an epoxy film on steel substrate systems were periodically inspected using Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The behaviour of examined polymer could be divided into three periods: immunity,...
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Structural and electronic properties of diamond-composed heterostructures
PublicationDiamond is a promising material for 21st century electronics due to its high thermal and electronic conductivity, biocompatibility, chemical stability, high wear resistance, and possibility of doping. However, the semiconductor properties of diamond, especially free-standing films, have not been fully explored. Nor have their integration with polymers and fragile materials and their applications as electronic components. In this...
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Effect of sisal fiber filler on thermal properties of bio-based polyurethane composites
PublicationThis work is mainly focused on study of thermal and thermomechanical properties of obtained bio-based polyurethane (coded as bio-PU) composites via using different types of bio-components (bio-glycol, modified soybean oil and sisal fiber) in the procedure. The chemical structure, morphology and mechanical properties were also investigated and described in this manuscript in order to know more perfect characterization of produced...
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Influence of microwave treatment conditions of GTR on physico-mechanical and structural properties of NBR/NR/GTR composites
PublicationThe increasing amount of tires used in the industry induces the researchers to find alternatives to the recycling of the end-of-life tires. Several alternatives in order to application of ground tire rubber GTR include their incorporation as a filler in composites. The main issue in this approach is the lack of compatibility between GTR and polymer matrix. In order to solve this problem the devulcanization by microwaves has been...
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Enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity of Pt/I-TiO2 in a slurry system and supported on glass packing
PublicationHighly photoactive I/TiO2, Pt/I-TiO2 nanocomposites were obtained using a hydrothermal and wet impregnation method. The incorporation of iodine and modification with 0.05 mol% of platinum leads to enhanced photocatalytic activity as compared to singly doped TiO2 due to the presence of impurity energy level in the structure of TiO2. X-ray diffraction, TEM microscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and BET...
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Influence of Urea and Dimethyl Sulfoxide on K-Peptide Fibrillation
PublicationProtein fibrillation leads to formation of amyloids—linear aggregates that are hallmarks of many serious diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. In this work, we investigate the fibrillation of a short peptide (K-peptide) from the amyloidogenic core of hen egg white lysozyme in the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide or urea. During the studies, a variety of spectroscopic methods were used: fluorescence spectroscopy...
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Effective Drug Concentration and Selectivity Depends on Fraction of Primitive Cells
PublicationPoor efficiency of chemotherapeutics in the eradication of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) has been driving the search for more active and specific compounds. In this work, we show how cell density-dependent stage culture profiles can be used in drug development workflows to achieve more robust drug activity (IC50 and EC50) results. Using flow cytometry and light microscopy, we characterized the cytological stage profiles of the HL-60-,...
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Enhancement of the Magnetic Coupling in Exfoliated CrCl 3 Crystals Observed by Low‐Temperature Magnetic Force Microscopy and X‐ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism
PublicationMagnetic crystals formed by 2D layers interacting by weak van der Waals forces are currently a hot research topic. When these crystals are thinned to nanometric size, they can manifest strikingly different magnetic behavior compared to the bulk form. This can be the result of, for example, quantum electronic confinement effects, the presence of defects, or pinning of the crystallographic structure in metastable phases induced by...
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Assessment of organic coating degradation via local impedance imaging
PublicationThe paper presents a new approach to organic coating condition evaluation at micrometer scale using localized impedance measurements. It is based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) in contact mode. Impedance is measured between conductive AFM tip and metal substrate covered with organic coating. A single-frequency voltage perturbation signal is applied between the electrodes and current response signal is registered. As the tip is...
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Tailoring optical constants of few-layer black phosphorus coatings: Spectroscopic ellipsometry approach supported by ab-initio simulation
Publication2D black phosphorus (BP) has attracted extensive attention as an anisotropic platform for novel optoelectronic and polarizing optics applications. Insight into the factors that tune the optical and polarizing properties of 2D BP reveals their essential influence on BP-based photonic and optoelectronic devices. In this work, studies of the optical constants of few-layer black phosphorus coatings are studied and discussed, with particular...
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Evaluation of organic coatings condition with AFM-based method
PublicationThe paper presents an atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based approach to evaluation of local protective properties of organic coatings. Apart from topography, it provides local ac and dc characteristics of examined coating. The method consists in application of ac voltage perturbation signal between conductive AFM tip and coated metal substrate. The resulting current is used to determine local impedance characteristics. Both impedance...
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Morphology changes in Fe-Cr porous alloys upon high-temperature oxidation quantified by X-ray tomographic microscopy
PublicationThe effect of high-temperature oxidation at 850 C (10 h, 30 h, 100 h) and 900 C (10 h) on porous (30 % porosity) ferritic stainless steel (Fe22Cr) has been investigated using synchrotron tomographic microscopy, which allowed for visualisation, separation and quantitative analysis of the metallic core, closed pores, open pores and oxide scale phase. The same regions within the samples were investigated before and after oxidation...
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Fracture surface topography measurements analysis of low-alloyed corrosion resistant steel after bending-torsion fatigue tests
PublicationIn this paper, an assessment of a topography measurement method for fracture surfaces of 10HNAP steel after bending-torsion fatigue tests was performed. Surface roughness was measured by using a non-contact Focus Variation Microscopy (FVM) technique in which the non-measured points (NMPs) and outliers (spikes) were removed by the application of general methods. The results revealed, that the optical measurement method introduced...
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Bio polyetherurethane composites with high content of natural ingredients: hydroxylated soybean oil based polyol, bio glycol and microcrystalline cellulose
PublicationIn our study, we focused on obtaining bio-polyurethane composites using bio-components such as bio glycol, modified natural oil-based polyol, and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The pre-polymer method was used to prepare the bio polyurethane matrix. Prepolymer was synthesized using 4,4’-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and a polyol mixture containing 50 wt.% of commercial polyether and 50 wt.% of hydroxylated soybean oil (H3)....
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Characterization of glucoamylase immobilized on magnetic nanoparticles
PublicationMagnetic support was prepared by precipitation from an alkaline solution of divalent and trivalent iron ions and subsequently was modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. FTIR analysis showed existence of a new Si-O-Fe bond in obtained particles. Scanning electronic microscopy images shows that the nanoparticles of all samples have particle size below 30 nm. Glucoamylase AMG 300L was immobilized onto the modified magnetic support...
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Volumetric incorporation of NV diamond emitters in nanostructured F2 glass magneto-optical fiber probes
PublicationIntegration of optically-active diamond particles with glass fibers is a powerful method of scaling diamond's magnetic sensing functionality. We propose a novel approach for the integration of diamond particles containing nitrogen-vacancy centers directly into the fiber core. The core is fabricated by stacking the preform from 790 soft glass canes, drawn from a single rod dip-coated with submicron diamond particles suspended in...
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Effect of Ethanol Extracts of Propolis (EEPs) against Staphylococcal Biofilm—Microscopic Studies
PublicationStaphylococci growing in the form of biofilm exhibit high resistance to a plethora of antibiotics. The aim of the study was to assess the influence of ethanolic extract of propolis (EEPs) on S. epidermidis ATCC 35984 biofilm using fluorescent microscopy. Propidium iodide (PI) and SYTO 9 were used for differentiation of live and dead cells, and calcofluor white was used to stain the extracellular matrix, the self-produced extracellular...
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Impact and stretching standardized tests as useful tools for assessment of viscoelastic behavior for highly rubberized asphalt binder
PublicationAsphalt binder is generally identified as a brittle material at low service temperature or under high-speed load, and the brittleness becomes serious after weathering aging. Improving the toughness of asphalt binder through adding high-content of crumb tire rubber is an efficient method to solve this problem. Devulcanized rubber modified asphalt binder (DRMA) with different contents (15–40%) of devulcanized rubber (DR) were prepared...
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Properties of New Composite Materials Based on Hydroxyapatite Ceramic and Cross-Linked Gelatin for Biomedical Applications
PublicationThe main aim of the research was to develop a new biocompatible and injectable composite with the potential for application as a bone-to-implant bonding material or as a bone substitute. A composite based on hydroxyapatite, gelatin, and two various types of commercially available transglutaminase (TgBDF/TgSNF), as a cross-linking agent, was proposed. To evaluate the impacts of composite content and processing parameters on various...
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Colloidal transport of lipid digesta in human and porcine small intestinal mucus
PublicationSmall intestinal mucus transport of food-derived particulates has not been extensively studied, despite mucus being a barrier nutrients need to cross before absorption. We used complex dispersions of digesta obtained from simulated, dynamic gastrointestinal digestion of yogurt to examine the penetrability of human and porcine mucus to the particles formed of lipolysis products. Quantitative, time-lapse confocal microscopy revealed...