National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Proteasome is a multicatalytic enzyme complex responsible for proteolysis of damaged proteins and an important target for drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry. Development of fast and economic strategies for detection of proteasome activity and inhibition is a topic of intensive research. The activity of the 20S proteasome was investigated by voltammetry and atomic force microscopy. The hydrolysis of peptide bonds was studied in incubated solutions of proteasome with oligopeptide sequences specific to each chymotrypsin, trypsin and caspase activity of proteasome, before and after inhibition with epoxomicin. The time-dependence of the proteolysis and the effect of substrate and inhibitor concentrations on the rate of enzymatic reaction were investigated. Different interaction mechanisms were characterized and enzyme kinetic parameters determined. The adsorption patterns of reaction mixture components were characterized by atomic force microscopy in order to understand the processes when saturation of enzyme catalytic centres occurs for high substrate concentrations. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Different amounts of TiO2 and ZnO particles were deposited upon wool fabrics, which are among the less studied textiles. The materials were get from industry or were home made. Model samples for these oxide deposition and properties were also considered. Either sputtering or chemical sol-gel/electro less technique was respectively applied. The coated samples were then characterized structurally and morphologically, by XRD, SEM and XPS and were checked for photocatalytic properties. Both UV and vis light beams were used for irradiation. The photocatalytic experiments were performed by photodegradation of methylene blue in the PCC2 checker apparatus. The fabrics were firstly impregnated with the dye solution and then dried: self cleaning of the wool fabric samples took in fact place. Reflectance data in the visible spectral range of highest absorption band served for direct analysis of MB degradation. The photocatalytic properties of the coated fabrics increased much in comparison with the raw materials. The photocatalytic decolorization of methylene blue follows up a simple apparently first order kinetic equation in many studied cases. Thus it was demonstrated that MB decolorization can serve as a test reaction at least for self cleaning of fabrics. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We report on the synthesis by PLD of simple and lithium-doped biological-origin hydroxyapatite (HA) films. The role of doping reagents (Li2CO3, Li3PO4) on the morphology, structure, chemical composition, bonding strength and cytocompatibility of the films was investigated. SEM investigations of the films evidenced a surface morphology consisting of particles with mean diameters of (5-7) mu m. GIXRD analyses demonstrated that the synthesized structures consisted of HA phase only, with different degrees of crystallinity, mainly influenced by the doping reagent type. After only three days of immersion in simulated body fluid, FTIR spectra showed a remarkable growth of a biomimetic apatitic film, indicative of a high biomineralization capacity of the coatings. EDS analyses revealed a quasi-stoichiometric target-to-substrate transfer, the values inferred for the Ca/P ratio corresponding to a biological apatite. All synthesized structures displayed a hydrophilic behavior, suitable for attachment of osteoblast cells. In vitro cell viability tests showed that the presence of Li2CO3 and Li3PO4 as doping reagents promoted the hMSC growth on film surfaces. Taking into consideration these enhanced characteristics, corroborated with a low fabrication cost generated by sustainable resources, one should consider the lithium-doped biological-derived materials as promising prospective solutions for a next generation of coated implants with rapid osteointegration. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The research conducted in this study presented for the first time results of physico-chemical properties and in vitro antimicrobial activity of hydroxyapatite plant essential oil against Gram-positive bacteria (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and S. aureus 0364) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922). The samples were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to determine the morphology and structure of the nanocomposites of hydroxyapatite coated with basil (HAp-B) and lavender (HAp-L) essential oils (EOs). The values of the BET specific surface area (S-BET), total pore volume (V-P) and pore size (D-P) were determined. The results for the physico-chemical properties of HAp-L and HAp-B revealed that lavender EOs were well adsorbed on the surface of hydroxyapatite, whereas basil EOs showed a poor adsorption on the surface of hydroxyapatite. We found that the lavender EOs hydroxyapatite (HAp-L) exhibited a very good inhibitory growth activity. The value of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) related to growth bacteria was 0.039 mg/mL for MRSA, 0.02 mg/mL for S. aureus and 0.039 mg/mL E. coli ATCC 25922. The basil EO hydroxyapatite (HAp-B) showed poor inhibition of bacterial cell growth. The MIC value was 0.625 mg/mL for the HAp-B sample in the presence of the MRSA bacteria, 0.313 mg/mL in the presence of S. aureus and 0.078 mg/mL for E. coli ATCC 25922.

Low energy electrons irradiation represent an alternative method for the chemical and thermal treatments used in the elimination of sp(3) hybridization of carbon thin films and restoring the sp(2) structures. The procedure significantly reduces the added chemical groups mainly hydroxyl ones presented in alcohols, on the surfaces of the carbon deposited thin films. Irradiation induces a graphitization process of deposited carbon thin films revealed by the x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectrons spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and sheet resistance measurements which demonstrate a gradual elimination of the add-on chemical groups together with the increasing of electrical conductivity in these carbon films.

This study presents, for the first-time, the results of a study on the hydrodynamic diameter of essential oils (EOs) of basil and lavender in water, and solutions of EOs of basil (B) and lavender (L) and hydroxyapatite (HAp). The possible influence of basil and lavender EOs on the size of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). We also investigated the in vitro antimicrobial activity of plant EOs and plant EOs hydroxyapatite respectively, against Gram-positive bacteria (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus1144 (MRSA 1144) and S. aureus 1426) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Escherichia coli ESBL 4493). From the autocorrelation function, obtained by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) measurements it was observed that basil yielded one peak at an average hydrodynamic diameter of 354.16 nm, while lavender yielded one peak at an average hydrodynamic diameter of 259.76 nm. In the case of HAp nanoparticles coated with basil (HApB) and lavender (HApL) essential oil, the aggregation was minimal. We found that the lavender EO exhibited a very good inhibitory growth activity (MIC values ranging from <0.1% for E. coli reference strain to 0.78% for S. aureus strains). The biological studies indicated that HapL material displayed an enhanced antimicrobial activity, indicating the potential use of HAp as vehicle for low concentrations of lavender EO with antibacterial properties. Flow cytometry analysis (FCM) allowed us to determine some of the potential mechanisms of the antimicrobial activities of EOs, suggesting that lavender EO was active against E. coli by interfering with membrane potential, the membrane depolarization effect being increased by incorporation of the EOs into the microporous structure of HAp. These findings could contribute to the development of new antimicrobial agents that are urgently needed for combating the antibiotic resistance phenomena.

Spectroscopic investigation of Dy3+ doped Ca-3(Nb,Ga)(5)O-12 (CNGG) and Ca-3(Li,Nb,Ga)(5)O-12 (CLNGG) single crystals were performed in order to assess their potential as laser materials for yellow emission. Dy: CNGG and Dy: CLNGG single crystals were grown by the Czochralski method and investigated by high-resolution spectroscopic measurements for the first time. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters for the f-f transitions of Dy3+ in CNGG and CLNGG single crystals, were used to determine radiative transition rates A(r), branching ratios beta, and radiative lifetime tau(r) of the fluorescent Dy3+ levels. Based on low temperature absorption and emission spectra, partial energy levels diagram of Dy3+ doped CNGG and CLNGG single crystals were obtained. The emission cross-sections for the F-4(9/2) -> H-6(13/2) transition of special interest for laser application were determined. The room temperature decay curves were analyzed through the framework of Inokuti-Hirayama (I-H) model and the results shows that electric dipole-dipole interaction are responsible for the energy transfer processes between Dy3+ ions in CNGG and CLNGG single crystals. (c) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Si and Ge nanocrystals in oxides are of a large interest for photo-effect applications due to the fine-tuning of the optical bandgap by quantum confinement in nanocrystals. In this work, dense Ge nanocrystals suitable for enhanced photoconduction were fabricated from 60% Ge in TiO2 amorphous layers by low temperature rapid thermal annealing at 550 degrees C. An exponential increase of the photocurrent with the applied voltage was observed in coplanar structure of Ge nanocrystals composite films deposited on oxidized Si wafers. The behaviour was explained by field effect control of the Fermi level at the Ge nanocrystals-TiO2 layer/substrate interfaces. The blue-shift of the absorption gap from bulk Ge value to 1.14 eV was evidenced in both photocurrent spectra and optical reflection-transmission experiments, in good agreement with quantum confinement induced bandgap broadening in Ge nanocrystal with sizes of about 5 nm as found from HRTEM and XRD investigations. A nonmonotonic spectral dependence of the refractive index is associated to the Ge nanocrystals formation. The nanocrystal morphology is also in good agreement with the Coulomb gap hopping mechanism of T-1/2 -type explaining the temperature dependence of the dark conduction.

Annealing temperature of green bodies has been shown to influence greatly the optical properties and laser characteristics of Y3Al5O12:Nd3+ (1 at%) ceramics. Increase the annealing temperature above some critical one (800 degrees C) results in appearance of submicron pores due to Y4Al2O9 phase formation accompanied by specific volume expansion. The energy changes associated with the chemical reaction can lead to the development of microstructures that possess lower sinterability. As a result, Y3Al5O12:Nd3+ ceramics prepared from unannealed green bodies and those annealed at 600 and 800 degrees C possess higher optical transmittance and enhanced slope efficiency (63-67%) compared with that obtained using green bodies annealed at 1000 degrees C (41%). Further investigations are necessary in order to explain this behavior.

The present study is focused on the wet chemical synthesis and the characterization of ZnO-CdS composites. The X-ray diffraction shows that the composites contain ZnO in hexagonal wurtzite structure and CdS in cubic phase. The scanning/transmission electron microscopy images reveal flower-like structures with different sizes depending on the CdS content. The optical investigations on composites reveal that the reflectance spectra disclose two thresholds of similar to 370 nm and similar to 460 nm associated with the ZnO and CdS, respectively. The photocatalytic activity measurements evidenced that the degradation efficiency of RhB in the presence of composites is higher comparatively with pristine ZnO, depending on the catalyst morphology, which varies with CdS content and the pH value of RhB solution. The electron paramagnetic resonance revealed the presence of the paramagnetic point defects in the samples. Thus, the wet chemical approaches are suitable for a large scale production of such ZnO-CdS composites having enhanced photocatalytic activity.