National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Modern medicine is still struggling to find new and more effective methods for fighting off viruses, bacteria and fungi. Among the most dangerous and at times life-threatening fungi is Candida albicans. Our work is focused on surface and structural characterization of hydroxyapatite, silver doped hydroxyapatite and zinc doped hydroxyapatite deposited on a titanium substrate previously coated with polydimethylsiloxane (HAp-PDMS, Ag:HAp-PDMS, Zn:HAp-PDMS) by different techniques:Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Glow Discharge Optical Emission Spectroscopy (GDOES) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The morphological studies revealed that the use of the PDMS polymer as an interlayer improves the quality of the coatings. The structural characterizations of the thin films revealed the basic constituents of both apatitic and PDMS structure. In addition, the GD depth profiles indicated the formation of a composite material as well as the successful embedding of the HAp, Zn:HAp and Ag:HAp into the polymer. On the other hand, in vitro evaluation of the antifungal properties of Ag:HAp-PDMS and Zn:HAp-PDMS demonstrated the fungicidal effects of Ag:HAp-PDMS and the potential antifungal effect of Zn:HAp-PDMS composite layers against C. albicans biofilm. The results acquired in this research complete previous research on the potential use of new complex materials produced by nanotechnology in biomedicine.

In this work we present the deposition of amorphous SiC thin films by radiofrequency dual magnetron sputtering. The dependence of the deposited films properties over the discharges electrical power and the effect of hydrogenous species (H-2 and/or D-2) addition to main discharge gas (Ar) were investigated. Accurate elemental analysis of the samples, including detection of hydrogen and deuterium, was performed by ion beam analysis (IBA) techniques: RBS (Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry) and ERDA (Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis). SiCx thin films with thicknesses between 1700 and 4500 angstrom and C/Si ratio between 0.2/1 and 1.25/1 were obtained in different deposition conditions. The results prove that thin films of amorphous SiC with well controlled properties can be produced using radiofrequency dual magnetron sputtering. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Peierls transition of polycrystalline CuGeO3 samples was investigated by thermal and magnetic investigations. We find that spin disorder induced by chain breaking and grain boundaries has similar effects to doping but without suppressing the spin-Peierls transition temperature or the spin-Peierls gap.

High density (above 92%) superconducting bulks of MgB2 co-added with cubic BN (c-BN) and fullerenes (C-60) were obtained by the ex-situ spark plasma sintering (SPS). Compositions were (MgB2)((1-x))(C)(x)(c-BN)(0.01), x = 0.0125, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075. The co-added sample (MgB2)(0.975)(C)(0.025)(c-BN)(0.01) shows a marginally higher critical current density J(c) at intermediate magnetic fields and below 15 K than for optimum samples added with c-BN or C-60. For this sample, pinning is in the point pinning limit and the delta T-c mechanism is dominant. At high magnetic fields co-added samples are inferior to samples added with one additive, but are superior to pristine sample. Co-addition of c-BN and C-60 is not effective for vortex pinning when compared with individual addition. The result is discussed based on phase formation aspects, microstructural details and residual strain. It was found that in the presence of C-60, c-BN consumption with formation of MgNB9 is intensified with implications on different elements that influence pinning. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spectral and transport properties of electrons in confined phosphorene systems are investigated in a five hopping parameter tight-binding model, using analytical and numerical techniques. The main emphasis is on the properties of the topological edge states accommodated by the quasiflat band that characterizes the phosphorene energy spectrum. We show, in the particular case of phosphorene, how the breaking of the bipartite lattice structure gives rise to the electron-hole asymmetry of the energy spectrum. The properties of the topological edge states in the zigzag nanoribbons are analyzed under different aspects: degeneracy, localization, extension in the Brillouin zone, dispersion of the quasiflat band in magnetic field. The finite-size phosphorene plaquette exhibits a Hofstadter-type spectrum made up of two unequal butterflies separated by a gap, where a quasiflat band composed of zigzag edge states is located. The transport properties are investigated by simulating a four-lead Hall device (importantly, all leads are attached on the same zigzag side), and using the Landauer-Buttiker formalism. We find out that the chiral edge states due to the magnetic field yield quantum Hall plateaus, but the topological edge states in the gap do not support the quantum Hall effect and prove a dissipative behavior. By calculating the complex eigenenergies of the non-Hermitian effective Hamiltonian that describes the open system (plaquette+leads), we prove the superradiance effect in the energy range of the quasiflat band, with consequences for the density of states and electron transmission properties.

Implant-associated infections are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. This study was performed using titanium,samples coated by anodization with a titanium dioxide (TiO2) shielded nanotube layer. TiO2/Ti surface was modified by simple immersion in torularhodin solution and by using a mussel-inspired method based on polydopamine as bio adhesive for torularhodin immobilization. SEM analysis revealed tubular microstructures of torularhodin and the PDA ability to function as a catchy anchor between torularhodin and TiO2 surface. Corrosion resistance was associated with TiO2 barrier oxide layer and nano-organized oxide layer and the torularhodin surface modification does not bring significant changes in resistance of the oxide layer. Our results demonstrated that the torularhodin modified TiO2/Ti surface could effectively prevent adhesion and proliferation of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Bacillus subtilis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The new modified titanium surface showed good biocompatibility and well-behaved haemocompatibility. This biomaterial with enhanced antimicrobial activity holds great potential for future biomedical applications. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical deposition allows the preparation of ZnO nanostructures with precisely controlled morphology and properties, by finely tuning the process parameters. ZnO nanowires were deposited onto gold substrates by electrodeposition from a low concentration zinc nitrate bath Photolithography was employed for patterning interdigitated electrode systems onto silicon/silicon dioxide substrates and ZnO electrodeposition lead to wires connected to each other by bridging neighboring interdigits allowing electronic transport characterization. Optical measurements, i.e. reflection and photoluminescence spectroscopy, were performed and the results were correlated to electronic transport data. We found that we deal with a system for which one can apply a model of space charge limited currents with different traps energy distribution as a consequence of electrodeposition rate. Current versus temperature measurements show different behavior for lower and higher range of temperatures. Such nanowires, fabricated and contacted in a straightforward way, allow a wide area of applications ranging from conductometric bio- or chemo-sensors to optoelectronic devices. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The goal of this paper was to investigate the antifungal activity of Enamel layers deposited on titanium substrate (Ti-Enamel) and Enamel layers deposited on titanium substrate previously coated with a vinyl polydimethylsiloxane layer (Ti-PDMS-Enamel). The physicochemical properties were also investigated. The Candida albicans biofilm development on the obtained layers was examined after 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) after ethidium bromide staining. A significant inhibition of the fungal adherence and biofilm development was observed on Ti-Enamel layers. The antifungal results demonstrated that the use of new Ti-Enamel composite layers could represent a promising perspective for the prevention of fungal biofilms associated implant infections.

This paper presents some investigations of the effect of nanopatterning on the properties of aluminum layer deposited by sputtering. UV-Nanoimprint Lithography technique has been used for the realization of a 2D array of nanostructures (pillars) in aluminum film characterized by cylindrical shape and the following structural parameters: diameter between 400 nm and 490 nm, depth between 320 nm and 420 nm and periodicity of 1.1 mu m, which have been revealed by SEM and AFM measurements. The UV-Vis transmission, reflection and photoluminescence measurements have evidenced the effect of the nanopatterning on the optical properties of the A1 layer.

The aim of the current research work was to study the physicochemical and biological properties of synthesized zinc doped hydroxyapatite (ZnHAp) nanoparticles with Zn concentrations x(Zn) = 0 (HAp), x(Zn) = 0.07 (7ZnHAp), and x(Zn) = 0.1 (10ZnHAp) for potential use in biological applications. The morphology, size, compositions, and incorporation of zinc into hydroxyapatite were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman scattering, and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, the cytotoxicity of ZnHAp nanoparticles was tested on both E. coli bacteria and human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2. The results showed that ZnHAp nanoparticles (HAp, 7ZnHAp, and 10ZnHAp) have slightly elongated morphologies with average diameters between 25 nm and 18 nm. On the other hand, a uniform and homogeneous distribution of the constituent elements (calcium, phosphorus, zinc, and oxygen) in the ZnHAp powder was noticed. Besides, FTIR and Raman analyses confirmed the proper hydroxyapatite structure of the synthesized ZnHAp nanoparticles with the signature of phosphate, carbonate, and hydroxyl groups. Moreover, it can be concluded that Zn doping at the tested concentrations is not inducing a specific prokaryote or eukaryote toxicity in HAp compounds.