Publications

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.

The catalytic performances of two different classes of catalysts containing nickel or/and ruthenium as the active sites were studied in the depolymerisation of lignin isolated from Miscanthus x giganteus. The catalysts were prepared either by coprecipitation (ie, (RuNiMgAlO)x, (RuNiAlO)x, (NiAlO)x, (NiMgAlO)x) or by wet impregnation (ie, Ru/Al2O3) and characterized by nitrogen physisorption (BET), XRD, XPS, NH3-TPD, Raman and H-2-TPR techniques. The experimental results indicate that the presence of ruthenium led to dimers as dominant products.

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.

(CoFe2O4)(x)(SiO2-PVA)(100-X) (X = 5, 25, 50, 75 and 95%) nanocomposites were prepared via sol-gel route and annealed at 700 and 1100 degrees C. The influence of CoFe2O4 content on the structure, morphology and magnetic properties of nanocomposites was studied. X-ray diffraction patterns, Mossbauer and Fourier transform infrared spectra revealed the formation of CoFe2O4 as unique magnetic phase. The crystallinity degree increases with the CoFe2O4 content and the annealing temperature. Transmission electron microscopy images revealed the spherical shape of the obtained nanocomposites. Mossbauer spectra exhibit typical magnetic sextets, allowing the calculation of the cations distribution among tetrahedral and octahedral sites and the stoichiometry of CoFe2O4. A strong correlation between the particle morphology and the magnetic properties of nanocomposites was found. The highest saturation magnetization was identified for (CoFe2O4)(95)(SiO2-PVA)(5) nanocomposite.

Processing calcium-rich natural resources, such as marble and mussel seashells, into biomimetic products could constitute an environmentally-friendly and economically sustainable alternative given their geographical widespread. Hitherto, their value for biomedicine was demonstrated only for seashells, with the technological exploitation approaches still facing challenges with respect to the identification of generic synthesis parameters capable to allow the reproducible and designed synthesis of calcium phosphate at an industrial-ready level. In this study was targeted the optimization of Rathje synthesis method for the fabrication of biogenic calcium phosphates, by conveniently adjusting the chemical composition of employed reagents. It was shown that post-synthesis heat-treatment of compacted powders is the key step for inducing structural transformations suitable to attain biomimetic products for reconstructive orthopedic applications. The sintered materials have been multi-parametricallyevaluated from morpho-compositional, structural, wettability, mechanical and cytocompatibility points of view and the results have been cross-examined and discussed. Convenient and efficient preparation routes to produce biogenic hydroxyapatite have been identified. The functional performances of the as-prepared biogenic ceramics endorse their use as a solid and inexpensive alternative source material for the fabrication of various bone regenerative products and implant coatings. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparative studies employing Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy and C-V measurements have been performed on recombination-enhanced reactions between defects of interstitial type in boron doped silicon diodes irradiated with alpha-particles. It has been shown that self-interstitial related defects which are immobile even at room temperatures can be activated by very low forward currents at liquid nitrogen temperatures. Their activation is accompanied by the appearance of interstitial carbon atoms. It has been found that at rather high forward current densities which enhance BiOi complex disappearance, a retardation of C-i annealing takes place. Contrary to conventional thermal annealing of the interstitial boron-interstitial oxygen complex, the use of forward current injection helps to recover an essential part of charge carriers removed due to irradiation. Published by AIP Publishing.

The growth of graphene by molecular beam epitaxy from an elemental carbon precursor is a very promising technique to overcome some of the main limitations of the chemical vapour deposition approach, such as the possibility to synthesize graphene directly on a wide variety of surfaces including semiconductors and insulators. However, while the individual steps of the chemical vapour deposition growth process have been extensively studied for several surfaces, such knowledge is still missing for the case of molecular beam epitaxy, even though it is a key ingredient to optimise its performance and effectiveness. In this work, we have performed a combined experimental and theoretical study comparing the growth rate of the molecular beam epitaxy and chemical vapour deposition processes on the prototypical Ir (111) surface. In particular, by employing high-resolution fast X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we were able to follow the growth of both single- and multi-layer graphene in real time, and to identify the spectroscopic fingerprints of the different C layers. Our experiments, supported by density functional theory calculations, highlight the role of the interaction between different C precursor species and the growing graphene flakes on the growth rate of graphene. These results provide an overview of the main differences between chemical vapour deposition and molecular beam epitaxy growth and thus on the main parameters which can be tuned to optimise growth conditions.

This work focuses on the kinetic mechanisms responsible for the annealing behavior of radiation cluster-related defects with impact on the electrical performance of silicon sensors. Such sensors were manufactured on high resistivity n-type standard float-zone (STFZ) and oxygen enriched float-zone (DOFZ) material and had been irradiated with mono-energetic electrons of 3.5 MeV energy and fluences of 3 x 10(14) cm(-2) and 6 x 10(14) cm (-2). After irradiation, the samples were subjected either to isochronal or isothermal heat treatments in the temperature range from 80 degrees C to 300 degrees C. The specific investigated defects are a group of three deep acceptors [H(116 K), H(140 K), and H(152 K)] with energy levels in the lower half of the band gap and a shallow donor E(30 K) with a level at 0.1 eV below the conduction band. The stability and kinetics of these defects at high temperatures are discussed on the basis of the extracted activation energies and frequency factors. The annealing of the H defects takes place similarly in both types of materials, suggesting a migration rather than a dissociation mechanism. On the contrary, the E(30 K) defect shows a very different annealing behavior, being stable in STFZ even at 300 degrees C, but annealing-out quickly in DOFZ material at temperatures higher than 200 degrees C, with a high frequency factor of the order of 10(13) s(-1). Such a behavior rules out a dissociation process, and the different annealing behavior is suggested to be related to a bistable behavior of the defect. Published by AIP Publishing.

Enhancing the long term stable performance of silicon detectors used for monitoring the position and flux of the particle beams in high energy physics experiments requires a better knowledge of the nature, stability, and transformation properties of the radiation defects created over the operation time. We report the results of an electron spin resonance investigation in the nature, transformation, and long term stability of the irradiation paramagnetic point defects (IPPDs) produced by high fluence (2 x 10(16) cm(-2) ), high energy (27 MeV) electrons in n-type, P-doped standard floating zone silicon. We found out that both freshly irradiated and aged (i.e., stored after irradiation for 3.5 years at 250 K) samples mainly contain negatively charged tetravacancy and pentavacancy defects in the first case and tetravacancy defects in the second one. The fact that such small cluster vacancy defects have not been observed by irradiation with low energy (below 5 MeV) electrons, but were abundantly produced by irradiation with neutrons, strongly suggests the presence of the same mechanism of direct formation of small vacancy clusters by irradiation with neutrons and high energy, high fluence electrons, in agreement with theoretical predictions. Differences in the nature and annealing properties of the IPPDs observed between the 27 MeV electrons freshly irradiated, and irradiated and aged samples were attributed to the presence of a high concentration of divacancies in the freshly irradiated samples, defects which transform during storage at 250 K through diffusion and recombination processes. Published by AIP Publishing.