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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Biodegradable Nano-Hybrid Polymer Composite Networks For Regulating Cellular Behavior, Charles Henley Sprague Aug 2015

Biodegradable Nano-Hybrid Polymer Composite Networks For Regulating Cellular Behavior, Charles Henley Sprague

Masters Theses

Photo-crosslinkable polymeric biomaterials have emerged in the field of biomedical research to promote tissue regeneration. For example, scaffolds that can be crosslinked and hardened in situ have been known to make suitable implant alternatives. Since injectable and photo-crosslinkable biomaterials offer the advantage of being minimally invasive, they have emerged to compete with autografts, a current highly invasive method to repair diseased tissue. A series of novel photo-crosslinkable, injectable, and biodegradable nano-hybrid polymers consisting of poly(ε-caprolactone fumarate) (PCLF) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) has been synthesized in our laboratory via polycondensation. To engineer the material properties of the nano-hybrid networks, varied …


An Integrated Centrifugo-Opto-Microfluidic Platform For Arraying, Analysis, Identification And Manipulation Of Individual Cells, Robert Burger, D Kurzbuch, Robert Gorkin Iii, Gregor Kijanka, Macdara Glynn, C Mcdonagh, Jens Ducree Jun 2015

An Integrated Centrifugo-Opto-Microfluidic Platform For Arraying, Analysis, Identification And Manipulation Of Individual Cells, Robert Burger, D Kurzbuch, Robert Gorkin Iii, Gregor Kijanka, Macdara Glynn, C Mcdonagh, Jens Ducree

Robert Gorkin III

In this work we present a centrifugal microfluidic system enabling highly efficient collective trapping and alignment of particles such as microbeads and cells, their multi-colour fluorescent detection and subsequent manipulation by optical tweezers. We demonstrate array-based capture and imaging followed by "cherry-picking" of individual particles, first for fluorescently labelled polystyrene (PS) beads and then for cells. Different cell lines are discriminated based on intracellular as well as surface-based markers.


Mesoporous Hierarchical Anatase For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Achieving Over 10% Conversion Efficiency, Jianjian Lin, Yoon-Uk Heo, Andrew Nattestad, Yusuke Yamauchi, S X. Dou, Jung Ho Kim Jan 2015

Mesoporous Hierarchical Anatase For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Achieving Over 10% Conversion Efficiency, Jianjian Lin, Yoon-Uk Heo, Andrew Nattestad, Yusuke Yamauchi, S X. Dou, Jung Ho Kim

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Interest in both one-dimensional and hierarchical architectures of metal oxide semiconductors has intensified within the field of materials science over recent years. Herein, a new mesoporous anatase TiO2 architecture that combines these two concepts, as it is composed of individual, high-aspect-ratio, nanoribbon-like components, was synthesized via a facile hydrothermal method without any surfactant or template. An 8.3% solar-to-electric conversion efficiency was obtained when these structures were used in photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells, which are superior to commercial state-of-the-art TiO2 (6.6%), due to enhanced dye loading and efficient light scattering. To further improve the light scattering effect, a …


The Potential Of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells In Models Of Neurological Disorders: Implications On Future Therapy, Jeremy M. Crook, Gordon G. Wallace, Eva Tomaskovic-Crook Jan 2015

The Potential Of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells In Models Of Neurological Disorders: Implications On Future Therapy, Jeremy M. Crook, Gordon G. Wallace, Eva Tomaskovic-Crook

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

There is an urgent need for new and advanced approaches to modeling the pathological mechanisms of complex human neurological disorders. This is underscored by the decline in pharmaceutical research and development efficiency resulting in a relative decrease in new drug launches in the last several decades. Induced pluripotent stem cells represent a new tool to overcome many of the shortcomings of conventional methods, enabling live human neural cell modeling of complex conditions relating to aberrant neurodevelopment, such as schizophrenia, epilepsy and autism as well as age-associated neurodegeneration. This review considers the current status of induced pluripotent stem cell-based modeling of …


Boosting The Efficiency Of Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells Up To 7.11% Through Simultaneous Engineering Of Photocathode And Photoanode, Yang Bai, Chao Han, Xinqi Chen, Hua Yu, Xu Zong, Zhen Li, Lianzhou Wang Jan 2015

Boosting The Efficiency Of Quantum Dot Sensitized Solar Cells Up To 7.11% Through Simultaneous Engineering Of Photocathode And Photoanode, Yang Bai, Chao Han, Xinqi Chen, Hua Yu, Xu Zong, Zhen Li, Lianzhou Wang

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

We demonstrate a new strategy of boosting the efficiency of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) by engineering the photocathode and photoanode simultaneously. Nanostructured photocathodes based on non-stoichiometric Cu2-xSe electrocatalysts were developed via a simple and scalable approach for CdS/CdSe QDs co-sensitized solar cells. Compared to Cu2S CE, remarkably improved photovoltaic performance was achieved for QDSSCs with Cu2-xSe CEs. The superior catalytic activity and electrical conductivity of Cu2-xSe CEs were verified by the electrochemical impedance spectra and Tafel-polarization measurements. To maximize the efficiency enhancement, the photoanodes were optimized by introducing a pillared …


A Bi-Layer Tio2 Photoanode For Highly Durable, Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Jianjian Lin, Yong Peng, Alexander Pascoe, Fuzhi Huang, Yi-Bing Cheng, Yoon-Uk Heo, Andrew Nattestad, Wanchul Seung, Sung Kyun Kim, Hoon Joon Yoon, Sang Woo Kim, Yusuke Yamauchi, S X. Dou, Jung Ho Kim Jan 2015

A Bi-Layer Tio2 Photoanode For Highly Durable, Flexible Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Jianjian Lin, Yong Peng, Alexander Pascoe, Fuzhi Huang, Yi-Bing Cheng, Yoon-Uk Heo, Andrew Nattestad, Wanchul Seung, Sung Kyun Kim, Hoon Joon Yoon, Sang Woo Kim, Yusuke Yamauchi, S X. Dou, Jung Ho Kim

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Low-temperature processing of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) [B. Oregan, M. Grätzel, Nature, 1991, 353, 737] is crucial to enable their commercialization with low-cost plastic substrates. Much of the previous work in this area has focused on mechanical compression of premade particles on plastic substrates; however, many reported that this technique did not yield sufficient interconnections for high charge carrier transport. Herein, we present bi-layer photoanodes that incorporate microstructured TiO2 sea-urchin-like assemblies, composed of high-aspect-ratio single crystalline nanoribbons, i.e., two-dimensional subunits, which were deposited onto a nanoparticle layer (commercial P25), with a 5.6% conversion efficiency realized. We demonstrate that …


A Versatile Binder-Free Tio2 Paste For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Jeremy H. Yune, Inna Karatchevtseva, P Evans, Klaudia K. Wagner, Matthew J. Griffith, David L. Officer, Gerry Triani Jan 2015

A Versatile Binder-Free Tio2 Paste For Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Jeremy H. Yune, Inna Karatchevtseva, P Evans, Klaudia K. Wagner, Matthew J. Griffith, David L. Officer, Gerry Triani

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

In this study, binder-free TiO2 colloidal pastes have been prepared using a variety of heterocyclic bases with diverse characteristics to produce robust photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) from a single cast film thickness of 5 micron. The influence of the base on the electrode structure and film morphology, including its electron donor characteristics are investigated after low temperature thermal treatment and high temperature sintering. The results show that quinoline in the TiO2 paste is retained within the electrode structure in comparison to piperidine and pyridine after a short thermal treatment of 150 °C for 15 minutes. The …


Enhanced Electron Lifetime Of Cdse/Cds Quantum Dot (Qd) Sensitized Solar Cells Using Znse Core-Shell Structure With Efficient Regeneration Of Quantum Dots, Rasin K. Ahmed, Long Zhao, Attila J. Mozer, Geoffrey D. Will, John M. Bell, Hongxia Wang Jan 2015

Enhanced Electron Lifetime Of Cdse/Cds Quantum Dot (Qd) Sensitized Solar Cells Using Znse Core-Shell Structure With Efficient Regeneration Of Quantum Dots, Rasin K. Ahmed, Long Zhao, Attila J. Mozer, Geoffrey D. Will, John M. Bell, Hongxia Wang

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Research on development of efficient passivation materials for high performance and stable quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSCs) is highly important. While ZnS is one of the most widely used passivation material in QDSCs, an alternative material based on ZnSe which was deposited on CdS/CdSe/TiO2 photoanode to form a semi-core/shell structure has been found to be more efficient in terms of reducing electron recombination in QDSCs in this work. It has been found that the solar cell efficiency was improved from 1.86% for ZnSe0 (without coating) to 3.99% using 2 layers of ZnSe coating (ZnSe2) deposited by successive ionic …


Pre-Differentiation Of Human Neural Stem Cells Into Gabaergic Neurons Prior To Transplant Results In Greater Repopulation Of The Damaged Brain And Accelerates Functional Recovery After Transient Ischemic Stroke, Hima C. S Abeysinghe, Laita Bokhari, Anita F. Quigley, Mahesh A. Choolani, Jerry Chan, Gregory J. Dusting, Jeremy M. Crook, Nao R. Kobayashi, Carli Roulston Jan 2015

Pre-Differentiation Of Human Neural Stem Cells Into Gabaergic Neurons Prior To Transplant Results In Greater Repopulation Of The Damaged Brain And Accelerates Functional Recovery After Transient Ischemic Stroke, Hima C. S Abeysinghe, Laita Bokhari, Anita F. Quigley, Mahesh A. Choolani, Jerry Chan, Gregory J. Dusting, Jeremy M. Crook, Nao R. Kobayashi, Carli Roulston

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

2015 Abeysinghe et al. Introduction: Despite attempts to prevent brain injury during the hyperacute phase of stroke, most sufferers end up with significant neuronal loss and functional deficits. The use of cell-based therapies to recover the injured brain offers new hope. In the current study, we employed human neural stem cells (hNSCs) isolated from subventricular zone (SVZ), and directed their differentiation into GABAergic neurons followed by transplantation to ischemic brain. Methods: Pre-differentiated GABAergic neurons, undifferentiated SVZ-hNSCs or media alone were stereotaxically transplanted into the rat brain (n=7/group) 7 days after endothelin-1 induced stroke. Neurological outcome was assessed by neurological deficit …


Increased Upconversion Performance For Thin Film Solar Cells: A Trimolecular Composition, Yuen Yap Cheng, Andrew Nattestad, Tim F. Schulze, Rowan W. Macqueen, Burkhard Fückel, Klaus Lips, Gordon G. Wallace, Tony Khoury, Maxwell J. Crossley, Timothy W. Schmidt Jan 2015

Increased Upconversion Performance For Thin Film Solar Cells: A Trimolecular Composition, Yuen Yap Cheng, Andrew Nattestad, Tim F. Schulze, Rowan W. Macqueen, Burkhard Fückel, Klaus Lips, Gordon G. Wallace, Tony Khoury, Maxwell J. Crossley, Timothy W. Schmidt

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Photochemical upconversion based on triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA-UC) is employed to enhance the short-circuit currents generated by two varieties of thin-film solar cells, a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cell and a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC). TTA-UC is exploited to harvest transmitted sub-bandgap photons, combine their energies and re-radiate upconverted photons back towards the solar cells. In the present study we employ a dual-emitter TTA-UC system which allows for significantly improved UC quantum yields as compared to the previously used single-emitter TTA systems. In doing so we achieve record photo-current enhancement values for both the a-Si:H device and the DSC, surpassing …


Electrical Stimulation Using Conductive Polymer Polypyrrole Promotes Differentiation Of Human Neural Stem Cells: A Biocompatible Platform For Translational Neural Tissue Engineering, Elise Stewart, Nao R. Kobayashi, Michael J. Higgins, Anita Quigley, Sina S. Jamali, Simon Moulton, Robert M. I Kapsa, Gordon G. Wallace, Jeremy M. Crook Jan 2015

Electrical Stimulation Using Conductive Polymer Polypyrrole Promotes Differentiation Of Human Neural Stem Cells: A Biocompatible Platform For Translational Neural Tissue Engineering, Elise Stewart, Nao R. Kobayashi, Michael J. Higgins, Anita Quigley, Sina S. Jamali, Simon Moulton, Robert M. I Kapsa, Gordon G. Wallace, Jeremy M. Crook

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Conductive polymers (CPs) are organic materials that hold great promise for biomedicine. Potential applications include in vitro or implantable electrodes for excitable cell recording and stimulation, and conductive scaffolds for cell support and tissue engineering. Here we demonstrate the utility of electroactive CP Polypyrrole (PPy) containing the anionic dopant dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS) to differentiate novel clinically relevant human neural stem cells (hNSCs). Electrical stimulation of PPy(DBS) induced hNSCs to predominantly β-III Tubulin (Tuj1) expressing neurons, with lower induction of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expressing glial cells. In addition, stimulated cultures comprised nodes or clusters of neurons with longer neurites and …


N719- And D149-Sensitized 3d Hierarchical Rutile Tio2 Solar Cells - A Comparative Study, Jianjian Lin, Yoon-Uk Heo, Andrew Nattestad, Mohammed Shahabuddin, Yusuke Yamauchi, Jung Ho Kim Jan 2015

N719- And D149-Sensitized 3d Hierarchical Rutile Tio2 Solar Cells - A Comparative Study, Jianjian Lin, Yoon-Uk Heo, Andrew Nattestad, Mohammed Shahabuddin, Yusuke Yamauchi, Jung Ho Kim

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Poor dye loading on rutile TiO2 is one of the chief reasons for lower solar-to-electric conversion efficiency (η) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), compared to their anatase based counterparts. Previously, we showed that similar light harvesting for both rutile and anatase was realized by using a metal-free organic indoline dye, D149 [Sci. Rep., 2014, 4, 5769]. This was in contrast to the bulk of previous studies, which employed ruthenium based N719, leading to significant differences in light harvesting. To date, there has been no report directly comparing N719 and D149 for rutile based DSCs. In this work, three-dimensional hierarchical …


Enhanced Electron Lifetimes In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using A Di-Chromophoric Porphyrin: The Utility Of Inter-Molecular Forces, Long Zhao, Pawel W. Wagner, Holly Van Der Salm, Keith C. Gordon, Shogo Mori, Attila J. Mozer Jan 2015

Enhanced Electron Lifetimes In Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using A Di-Chromophoric Porphyrin: The Utility Of Inter-Molecular Forces, Long Zhao, Pawel W. Wagner, Holly Van Der Salm, Keith C. Gordon, Shogo Mori, Attila J. Mozer

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

Electron lifetimes in dye-sensitized solar cells employing a porphyrin dye, an organic dye, a 1:1 mixture of the two dyes and a di-chromophoric dye design consisting of the two dyes using a non-conjugated linker were measured, suggesting that the dispersion force of the organic dyes has a significant detrimental effect on the electron lifetime and that the di-chromophoric design can be utilized to control the effect of the dispersion force.


3d Braided Yarns To Create Electrochemical Cells, Chen Zhao, Syamak Farajikhah, Caiyun Wang, Javad Foroughi, Xiaoteng Jia, Gordon G. Wallace Jan 2015

3d Braided Yarns To Create Electrochemical Cells, Chen Zhao, Syamak Farajikhah, Caiyun Wang, Javad Foroughi, Xiaoteng Jia, Gordon G. Wallace

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

The demands for new configurations of electrochemical cells continue to grow and novel approaches are being enabled by the advent of new electromaterials and novel fabrication strategies. Wearable energy storage devices that can be seamlessly integrated into garments are a critical component of the wearable electronics genre. Recently, flexible yarn supercapacitors have attracted significant attention due to their ability to be integrated into fabrics, or stitched into existing textiles. Large-scale production of yarn supercapacitors using conventional manufacturing processes, however, is still a challenge. Here, we introduce the use of braiding technology to achieve a predetermined arrangement of fibre electrodes, the …


Trap-Assisted Transport And Non-Uniform Charge Distribution In Sulphur-Rich Pbs Colloidal Quantum Dot-Based Solar Cells With Selective Contacts, Victor Malgras, Guanran Zhang, Andrew Nattestad, Tracey M. Clarke, Attila J. Mozer, Yusuke Yamauchi, Jung Ho Kim Jan 2015

Trap-Assisted Transport And Non-Uniform Charge Distribution In Sulphur-Rich Pbs Colloidal Quantum Dot-Based Solar Cells With Selective Contacts, Victor Malgras, Guanran Zhang, Andrew Nattestad, Tracey M. Clarke, Attila J. Mozer, Yusuke Yamauchi, Jung Ho Kim

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

This study reports evidences of dispersive transport in planar PbS colloidal quantum dots heterojunction-based devices as well as the effect of incorporating a MoO3 hole selective layer on the charge extraction behavior. Steady state and transient characterization techniques are employed to determine the complex recombination processes involved in such devices. The addition of a selective contact drastically improves the device efficiency up to 3.15 % (especially through the photocurrent and series resistance) and extends the overall charge lifetime by suppressing the main first-order recombination pathway observed in device without MoO3. The lifetime and mobility calculated for our sulphur-rich PbS-based devices …