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Now showing 1 - 10 of 278
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    Mechanical Robustness of Graphene on Flexible Transparent Substrates
    (Washington, DC : Soc., 2016) Kang, Moon H.; Prieto López, Lizbeth O.; Chen, Bingan; Teo, Ken; Williams, John A.; Milne, William I.; Cole, Matthew T.
    This study reports on a facile and widely applicable method of transferring chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene uniformly onto optically transparent and mechanically flexible substrates using commercially available, low-cost ultraviolet adhesive (UVA) and hot-press lamination (HPL). We report on the adhesion potential between the graphene and the substrate, and we compare these findings with those of the more commonly used cast polymer handler transfer processes. Graphene transferred with the two proposed methods showed lower surface energy and displayed a higher degree of adhesion (UVA: 4.40 ± 1.09 N/m, HPL: 0.60 ± 0.26 N/m) compared to equivalent CVD-graphene transferred using conventional poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA: 0.44 ± 0.06 N/m). The mechanical robustness of the transferred graphene was investigated by measuring the differential resistance as a function of bend angle and repeated bend–relax cycles across a range of bend radii. At a bend angle of 100° and a 2.5 mm bend radius, for both transfer techniques, the normalized resistance of graphene transferred on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was around 80 times less than that of indium–tin oxide on PET. After 104 bend cycles, the resistance of the transferred graphene on PET using UVA and HPL was found to be, on average, around 25.5 and 8.1% higher than that of PMMA-transferred graphene, indicating that UVA- and HPL-transferred graphene are more strongly adhered compared to PMMA-transferred graphene. The robustness, in terms of maintained electrical performance upon mechanical fatigue, of the transferred graphene was around 60 times improved over ITO/PET upon many thousands of repeated bending stress cycles. On the basis of present production methods, the development of the next-generation of highly conformal, diverse form factor electronics, exploiting the emerging family of two-dimensional materials, necessitates the development of simple, low-cost, and mechanically robust transfer processes; the developed UVA and HPL approaches show significant potential and allow for large-area-compatible, near-room temperature transfer of graphene onto a diverse range of polymeric supports.
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    Formation mechanism for stable hybrid clusters of proteins and nanoparticles
    (Washington D.C. : American Chemical Society, 2015) Moerz, Sebastian T.; Kraegeloh, Annette; Chanana, Munish; Kraus, Tobias
    Citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNP) agglomerate in the presence of hemoglobin (Hb) at acidic pH. The extent of agglomeration strongly depends on the concentration ratio [Hb]/[AuNP]. Negligible agglomeration occurs at very low and very high [Hb]/[AuNP]. Full agglomeration and precipitation occur at [Hb]/[AuNP] corresponding to an Hb monolayer on the AuNP. Ratios above and below this value lead to the formation of an unexpected phase: stable, microscopic AuNP–Hb agglomerates. We investigated the kinetics of agglomeration with dynamic light scattering and the adsorption kinetics of Hb on planar gold with surface-acoustic wave-phase measurements. Comparing agglomeration and adsorption kinetics leads to an explanation of the complex behavior of this nanoparticle–protein mixture. Agglomeration is initiated either when Hb bridges AuNP or when the electrostatic repulsion between AuNP is neutralized by Hb. It is terminated when Hb has been depleted or when Hb forms multilayers on the agglomerates that stabilize microscopic clusters indefinitely.
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    Strong Wet and Dry Adhesion by Cupped Microstructures
    (Washington, DC : American Chemical Society, 2019) Wang, Y.; Kang, V.; Arzt, E.; Federle, W.; Hensel, R.
    Recent advances in bio-inspired microfibrillar adhesives have resulted in technologies that allow reliable attachment to a variety of surfaces. Because capillary and van der Waals forces are considerably weakened underwater, fibrillar adhesives are however far less effective in wet environments. Although various strategies have been proposed to achieve strong reversible underwater adhesion, strong adhesives that work both in air and underwater without additional surface treatments have yet to be developed. In this study, we report a novel design - cupped microstructures (CM) - that generates strong controllable adhesion in air and underwater. We measured the adhesive performance of cupped polyurethane microstructures with three different cup angles (15, 30, and 45°) and the same cup diameter of 100 μm in dry and wet conditions in comparison to standard mushroom-shaped microstructures (MSMs) of the same dimensions. In air, 15°CM performed comparably to the flat MSM of the same size with an adhesion strength (force per real contact area) of up to 1.3 MPa, but underwater, 15°CM achieved 20 times stronger adhesion than MSM (∼1 MPa versus ∼0.05 MPa). Furthermore, the cupped microstructures exhibit self-sealing properties, whereby stronger pulls lead to longer stable attachment and much higher adhesion through the formation of a better seal. © 2019 American Chemical Society.
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    Surviving the surf: The tribomechanical properties of the periostracum of Mytilus sp
    (Amsterdam : Elsevier, 2014) Wählisch, Felix C.; Peter, Nicolas J.; Torrents Abad, Oscar; Oliveira, Mariana V.G.; Schneider, Andreas S.; Schmahl, Wolfgang; Griesshaber, Erika; Bennewitz, Roland
    We investigated the friction and wear behavior as well as the mechanical properties of the periostracum of Mytilus sp. Tribological properties were determined with a reciprocal sliding microtribometer, while mechanical characterization was performed using a nanoindenter. Measurements were performed in dry and wet conditions. On the dry periostracum we found a low friction coefficient of 0.078 ± 0.007 on the young parts and a higher one of 0.63 ± 0.02 on the old parts of the shell. Under wet, saline, conditions we only observed one average coefficient of friction of 0.37 ± 0.01. Microscopic ex situ analysis indicated that dry periostracum wore rather rapidly by plowing and fatigue, while it exhibited a high wear resistance when immersed in salt water. The Young’s modulus and hardness of the periostracum were also investigated in both dry and wet conditions. Under dry conditions the Young’s modulus of the periostracum was 8 ± 3 GPa, while under wet conditions it was 0.21 ± 0.05 GPa. The hardness of dry periostracum samples was 353 ± 127 MPa, whereas the hardness of wet samples was 5 ± 2 MPa. It was found that, in the wet state, viscous behavior plays a significant role in the mechanical response of the periostracum. Our results strongly indicate that the periostracum can provide an important contribution to the overall wear resistance of Mytilus sp. shell.
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    Like a Second Skin: Understanding How Epidermal Devices Affect Human Tactile Perception
    (New York,NY,United States : Association for Computing Machinery, 2019) Nittala, Aditya Shekhar; Kruttwig, Klaus; Lee, Jaeyeon; Bennewitz, Roland; Arzt, Eduard; Steimle, Jürgen; Brewster, Stephen
    The emerging class of epidermal devices opens up new opportunities for skin-based sensing, computing, and interaction. Future design of these devices requires an understanding of how skin-worn devices affect the natural tactile perception. In this study, we approach this research challenge by proposing a novel classification system for epidermal devices based on flexural rigidity and by testing advanced adhesive materials, including tattoo paper and thin films of poly (dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). We report on the results of three psychophysical experiments that investigated the effect of epidermal devices of different rigidity on passive and active tactile perception. We analyzed human tactile sensitivity thresholds, two-point discrimination thresholds, and roughness discrimination abilities on three different body locations (fingertip, hand, forearm). Generally, a correlation was found between device rigidity and tactile sensitivity thresholds as well as roughness discrimination ability. Surprisingly, thin epidermal devices based on PDMS with a hundred times the rigidity of commonly used tattoo paper resulted in comparable levels of tactile acuity. The material offers the benefit of increased robustness against wear and the option to re-use the device. Based on our findings, we derive design recommendations for epidermal devices that combine tactile perception with device robustness.
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    Analysis of fatty acids and triacylglycerides by Pd nanoparticle-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry
    (Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015) Silina, Yuliya E.; Fink-Straube, Claudia; Hayen, Heiko; Volmer, Dietrich A.
    In this study, we propose a simple and rapid technique for characterization of free fatty acids and triacylglycerides (TAG) based on palladium nanoparticular (Pd-NP) surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization (SALDI) mass spectrometry (MS). The implemented Pd-NP material allowed detection of free fatty acids and TAGs exclusively as [M + K]+ ions in positive ion mode. Under negative ionization conditions, unusual trimetric structures were generated for free fatty acids, while TAGs underwent irreproducible degradation reactions. Importantly, the mass spectra obtained from Pd-NP targets in positive ion mode were very clean without interferences from matrix-derived ions in the low m/z range and readily enabled the detection of intact TAGs in vegetable oils without major fragmentation reactions as compared to conventional MALDI-MS, requiring only a minimal amount of sample preparation.
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    Toward light‐regulated living biomaterials
    (Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2018) Sankaran, Shrikrishnan; Zhao, Shifang; Muth, Christina; Paez, Julieta; Del Campo, Aránzazu
    Living materials are an emergent material class, infused with the productive,adaptive, and regenerative properties of living organisms. Property regulation in living materials requires encoding responsive units in the living components to allow external manipulation of their function. Here, an optoregulated Escherichia coli (E. coli)-based living biomaterial that can be externally addressed using light to interact with mammalian cells is demonstrated. This is achieved by using a photoactivatable inducer of gene expression and bacterial surface display technology to present an integrin-specific miniprotein on the outer membrane of an endotoxin-free E. coli strain. Hydrogel surfaces functionalized with the bacteria can expose cell adhesive molecules upon in situ light-activation, and trigger cell adhesion. Surface immobilized bacteria are able to deliver a fluorescent protein to the mammalian cells with which they are interacting, indicating the potential of such a bacterial material to deliver molecules to cells in a targeted manner.
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    Tris(tetrahydrofuran-kO)tris[tris(thio-phen-2-yl)methanolato-kO]terbium(III)tetrahydrofuran monosolvate
    (Chester : International Union of Crystallography, 2011) Veith, Michael; Belot, Celine; Huch, Volker
    In the mononuclear title compound, [Tb(C13H9OS3)3(C4H8O)3]·C4H8O, the lanthanide cation is located on a threefold rotation axis and is surrounded by electron-rich ligands in an approximately octahedral geometry. One of the thienyl groups and the bound THF are disordered with 0.5:0.5 occupancy. The free THF is disordered around the threefold axis.
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    Modulating Myeloid Immune Cell Migration Using Multivalently Presented Monosaccharide Ligands for Advanced Immunotherapy
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH Verlag, 2019) Taverno, I.; Rodrigo, A.M.; Kandziora, M.; Kuntz, S.; Dernedde, J.; Trautwein, C.; Tacke, F.; Blas-Garcia, A.; Bartneck, M.
    Due to their importance for the outcome of the inflammatory response, the motile myeloid cells are a focus of novel treatment options. The interplay of selectins and their ligands with leukocytes and endothelial cells, which mediate endothelial attachment and transmigration of immune cells, can be modulated by selectin‐binding structures. Here, a library of selectin‐targeting ligands coupled to either gold, silver, iron oxide nanospheres, or quantum dots of 5–10 nm in size is used to systematically study their impact on immune cell motility. The multivalent presentation of the carbohydrate mimetics results in very low sub‐nanomolar binding to L ‐selectin. Using human primary monocytes, granulocytes, lymphocytes, and macrophages, it is shown that the ligands exhibit only minor effects on uptake, whereas the motility of leukocytes is critically affected as observed in migration assays evaluated by flow cytometry. The carbohydrate mimetic ring structure, sulfation, in particular, and the degree of ligand presentation, are constituents which cohere in this process. Specific carbohydrate ligands can thus selectively regulate leukocyte subsets. These data form the basis for advanced immunotherapy which inhibits the amplification of inflammation by restricting leukocyte influx to injured tissue sites. Furthermore, the targeting ligands may complement existing treatment options for inflammatory diseases.
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    Real-time monitoring of calcium carbonate and cationic peptide deposition on carboxylate-SAM using a microfluidic SAW biosensor
    (Frankfurt am Main : Beilstein-Institut, 2014) Pohl, Anna; Weiss, Ingrid M.
    A microfluidic biosensor with surface acoustic wave technology was used in this study to monitor the interaction of calcium carbonate with standard carboxylate self-assembled monolayer sensor chips. Different fluids, with and without biomolecular components, were investigated. The pH-dependent surface interactions of two bio-inspired cationic peptides, AS8 and ES9, which are similar to an extracellular domain of the chitin synthase involved in mollusc shell formation, were also investigated in a biological buffer system. A range of experimental conditions are described that are suitable to study non-covalent molecular interactions in the presence of ionic substances, such as, mineral precursors below the solubility equilibrium. The peptide ES9, equal to the mollusc chitin synthase epitope, is less sensitive to changes in pH than its counterpart AS8 with a penta-lysine core, which lacks the flanking acidic residues. This study demonstrates the extraordinary potential of microfluidic surface acoustic wave biosensors to significantly expand our experimental capabilities for studying the principles underlying biomineralization in vitro.