National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

In this study, we followed the biodegradation of ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles injected intravenously at clinical doses in mice. An advanced fitting procedure for magnetic susceptibility curves and low-temperature hysteresis loops was used to fully characterize the magnetic size distribution as well as the magnetic anisotropy energy of the injected P904 nanoparticles (Guerbet Laboratory). Additional magnetometry measurements and transmission electronic microscopy observations were systematically performed to examine dehydrated samples from the spleen and liver of healthy C57B16 mice after nanoparticle injection, with sacrifice of the mice for up to 14 months. At 3 months after injection, the magnetic properties of the spleen and liver were dramatically different. While the liver showed no magnetic signals other than those also present in the reference species, the spleen showed an increased magnetic signal attributed to ferritin. This surplus of ferritin remained constant up to 14 months after injection.

This article reports the synthesis and characterization of several types of organic-inorganic nanocomposites based on epoxy resin/monoglycidylether-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) reinforced with 2, 5, or 10 wt% polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) bearing one glycidyl (1GE-POSS) or eight glycidyl(8GE-POSS) groups. The morphological features of the studied samples were established through atomic force microscopy, contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy/energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and it was demonstrated that 8GE-POSS is well dispersed within the polymer matrix, while 1GE-POSS exhibits a high tendency to form aggregates. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared resonance (FTIR) measurements are used to follow the curing behavior and to study the polymerization kinetics of epoxy groups. As evidenced by DSC and FTIR results, the inclusion of 8GE-POSS within the polymer matrix leads to a lower epoxy polymerization rate of the resulted nanocomposites than those reinforced with 1GE-POSS. The dynamic mechanical analysis results revealed that the thermomechanical properties are gradually improved with increasing of 8GE-POSS content due to the higher cross-linking density.

Mesoporous SnO2 prepared by a hydrothermal synthesis route assisted by the ionic surfactant Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, has rutile-type tetragonal symmetry, small homogeneous nanocrystallite size of similar to 4 nm and good thermal stability. Porosity analysis revealed high surface area similar to 127 m(2)/g and a narrow pore size distribution, with an average pore diameter similar to 4 nm. The mesoporous structure is likewise advantageous towards enhancing the surface reactivity and subsequent gas sensing performances. The role played by the surface hydroxylation on the NO2 sensing mechanism was discussed with respect to the associated photoelectron spectral components. Under humid air, associated with the in-field conditions, the highest sensitivity was attained at 150 degrees C, were the sensor signal towards NO2 is 4 times higher than the one recorded in dry air. This feature has been experimentally demonstrated by simultaneous electrical resistance and work function changes measurements conducted in the range of 400-5000 ppb NO2. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A finite element simulation of the mechanical static features for a modified short hip endoprosthesis was performed. The corkscrew-like femoral stem was modified introducing more turns of the thread. By such an approach it is expected that for some cases the mechanical fixation of the prosthesis to the bone will be improved or the use of the cement for bonding is not necessary. Our scenario was estimated for titanium and stainless steel, and both materials show good safety factors. Mechanical stress is expected to be distributed more uniform in the bone for the new design with more turns of thread.

A quantitative treatment of the effects of magnetic mutual interactions on the specific absorption rate of a superparamagnetic system of iron oxide nanoparticles coated with oleic acid is reported. The nanoparticle concentration of the considered ferrofluid samples varied from a very low (0.005) to a medium (0.16) value of the volume fraction, whereas the amplitude of the exciting AC magnetic field ranged from 14-35 kA m(-1). It was proved that a direct effect of the interparticle interactions resides in the regime of the modified superparamagnetism, dealing, besides the usual increase in the anisotropy energy barrier per nanoparticle, with the decrease in the specific time constant tau(0) of the relaxation law, usually considered as a material constant. Consequently, the increase in the specific absorption rate versus the volume fraction is significantly diminished in the presence of the interparticle interactions compared to the case of non-interacting superparamagnetic nanoparticles, with direct influence on the magnetic hyperthermia efficiency.

The source of collective magnetism in II-VI semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) doped with Mn2+ ions at high nominal impurity levels is still under debate. In the particular case of mesoporous, self-assembled cubic ZnS:Mn QDs, quantitative electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies have shown that the Mn2+ ions incorporated in the core and on the surface of the QDs cannot be responsible for the observed collective magnetism because they remain in a diluted paramagnetic state up to the 50 000 ppm nominal concentration. Here we investigate the composition, localization, structure, and magnetic properties of the aggregates of Mn2+ ions incorporated in the mesoporous cZnS:Mn as a possible source of the observed collective magnetism. Samples of mesoporous cubic ZnS:Mn prepared by coprecipitation at several nominal impurity levels from 200 to 50 000 ppm are investigated by EPR, magnetometry, and analytical high resolution (scanning) transmission electron microscopy. The low temperature magnetic properties of the Mn2+ aggregates change from paramagnetic-like, for samples with nominal impurity levels up to 2000 ppm, to ones specific to larger clusters with distributed antiferromagnetic coupling at higher concentrations, behaving superparamagnetically above a certain temperature. There is also strong evidence that the Mn2+ aggregates responsible for the observed low temperature collective magnetism are incorporated as an amorphous phase of mainly Mn-Zn-O composition, localized in the interstices and pores of the mesoporous structure of the cubic ZnS:Mn QDs.

Background: We evaluated the Bovine hydroxyapatite (BHA) structure. BHA powder was admixed with 5 and 10 wt% natural pumice (NP). Compression strength, Vickers micro hardness, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction studies were performed on the final NP-BHA composite products. The cells proliferation was investigated by MTT assay and SEM. Furthermore, the antimicrobial activity of NP-BHA samples was interrogated. Results: Variances in the sintering temperature (for 5 wt% NP composites) between 1000 and 1300 degrees C, reveal about 700 % increase in the microhardness (similar to 100 and 775 HV, respectively). Composites prepared at 1300 degrees C demonstrate the greatest compression strength with comparable result for 5 wt% NP content (87 MPa), which are significantly better than those for 10 wt% and those that do not include any NP (below 60 MPa, respectively). Conclusion: The results suggested the optimal parameters for the preparation of NP-BHA composites with increased mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Changes in micro-hardness and compression strength can be tailored by the tuning the NP concentration and sintering temperature. NP-BHA composites have demonstrated a remarkable potential for biomedical engineering applications such as bone graft and implant.

We report the high-frequency electrical characterization of Ba2/3Sr1/3 TiO3 (BST) thin films exhibiting a very high dielectric tunability with low losses at 2.45 GHz under very low applied electrical fields. BST layers were integrated in out-of-plane Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) devices with optimized Ir/MgO(100) bottom electrodes. The high frequency properties of BST films with thicknesses of 200 nm, 450 nm and 1450 nm were thoroughly investigated in the 100 MHz-10 GHz domain and exhibit extremely high capacitance tuning abilities of 82%, 81% and 70% respectively, under applied voltages as low as 10 V. MIM devices responses show the onset of acoustic resonances associated with the BST electrostrictive behavior under an electric field. By combining high tunability with low resistive losses under low applied voltages, these devices are opening promising avenues for their integration in high-performance tunable devices in the microwave domain and particularly at 2.45 GHz, corresponding to the widely used ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) frequency band.