Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Commons^™

A Multisystem Approach For The Characterization Of Bacteria For Sustainable Agriculture, Briana Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The chemical, physical, and biological properties of bacteria developing resistance have been explored in animal based bacteria while plant bacteria have been largely neglected. Thus, the ability to probe changes in stiffness, adhesion, binding interactions and molecular traits of bacteria causing plant diseases is of great interest to develop a new generation of more potent, yet sustainable, pesticides. Our study aims to investigate the physical and chemical properties of bacterial systems, in particular their cell walls. Building upon this fundamental understanding of the cells, we also investigate the physicochemical responses associated to multivalent nanoparticle-based bactericide treatments on bacterial systems identified …

Nanoparticle Orientation To Control Rna Loading And Ligand Display On Extracellular Vesicles For Cancer Regression, Fengmei Pi, Daniel W. Binzel, Tae Jin Lee, Zhefeng Li, Meiyan Sun, Piotr G. Rychahou, Hui Li, Farzin Haque, Shaoying Wang, Carlo M. Croce, Bin Guo, B. Mark Evers, Peixuan Guo

Markey Cancer Center Faculty Publications

Nanotechnology offers many benefits, and here we report an advantage of applying RNA nanotechnology for directional control. The orientation of arrow-shaped RNA was altered to control ligand display on extracellular vesicle membranes for specific cell targeting, or to regulate intracellular trafficking of small interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA (miRNA). Placing membrane-anchoring cholesterol at the tail of the arrow results in display of RNA aptamer or folate on the outer surface of the extracellular vesicle. In contrast, placing the cholesterol at the arrowhead results in partial loading of RNA nanoparticles into the extracellular vesicles. Taking advantage of the RNA ligand for …

Flow Patterns Through Vascular Graft Models With And Without Cuffs, Chia Min Leong, Gary B. Nackman, Timothy Wei

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The shape of a bypass graft plays an important role on its efficacy. Here, we investigated flow through two vascular graft designs±with and without cuff at the anastomosis. We conducted Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (DPIV) measurements to obtain the flow field information through these vascular grafts. Two pulsatile flow waveforms corresponding to cardiac cycles during the rest and the excitation states, with 10% and without retrograde flow out the proximal end of the native artery were examined. In the absence of retrograde flow, the straight end-to-side graft showed recirculation and stagnation regions that lasted throughout the full cardiac cycle with …

Dislocations Interaction Induced Structural Instability In Intermetallic Al2cu, Qing Zhou, Jian Wang, Amit Misra, Ping Huang, Fei Wang, Kewei Xu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Intermetallic precipitates are widely used to tailor mechanical properties of structural alloys but are often destabilized during plastic deformation. Using atomistic simulations, we elucidate structural instability mechanisms of intermetallic precipitates associated with dislocation motion in a model system of Al₂Cu. Interaction of non-coplanar <001> dislocation dipoles during plastic deformation results in anomalous reactions—the creation of vacancies accompanied with climb and collective glide of <001> dislocation associated with the dislocation core change and atomic shuffle—accounting for structural instability in intermetallic Al₂Cu. This process is profound with decreasing separation of non-coplanar dislocations and increasing temperature and is likely to be …

Mechanical Performance Of Plla Stent, Longzhen Wang, Junfei Tong, Pengfei Dong, David L. Wilson, Hiram G. Bezerra, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Stent implantation is widely used to treat blocked lumen. Stents were meshed structure made of polymers and metal alloys, including stainless steel, cobalt chrome and nitinol [1]. Clinical studies had demonstrated that stents helped to scaffold the diseased lesion up to one year when tissue adapted to the stented environment [2]. However, the permanently implanted stents inside artery were associated with complications such as stent fracture, tissue inflammation, in-stent restenosis and thrombosis [3]. Currently, biodegradable stents are attracting more attention due to its potential long-term efficacy in treating blocked lumens. The detailed characterizations of biodegradable stents are essential for the …

Plaque Burden Influences Accurate Classification Of Fibrous Cap Atheroma By In-Vivo Optical Coherence Tomography In A Porcine Model Of Advanced Coronary Atherosclerosis., Christian B. Poulsen, Ryan M. Pedrigi, Nilesh Pareek, Ismail D. Kilic, Niels R. Holm, Jacob F. Bentzon, Hans Erik Botker, Erling Falk, Rob Krams, Ranil De Silva

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Advanced coronary atherosclerosis assessed by in-vivo optical coherence tomography (OCT) has not been directly compared with histology. In a porcine model with human-like coronary atherosclerosis we compared in-vivo OCT images with histology in five animals. We found a high sensitivity but modest specificity of OCT in classifying fibrous cap atheroma (FCA). The modest specificity was caused by misclassification of FCA lesions as pathological intimal thickening. The misclassification most frequently occurred when plaque burden exceeded ~20%. Compared with histology, OCT has high sensitivity but modest specificity for identifying FCA. The study suggests that plaque burden should be considered when interpreting OCT …

Multifunctional Operational Component For Robotic Devices, Shane M. Farritor, Amy Lehman, Mark Rentschler

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The various embodiments disclosed herein relate to modular medical devices, including various devices with detachable modular components and various devices with pivotally attached modular components. Additional embodiments relate to procedures in which various of the devices are used cooperatively. Certain embodiments of the medical devices are robotic in vivo devices.

Scaffold Structural Microenvironmental Cues To Guide Tissue Regeneration In Bone Tissue Applications, Xuening Chen, Hongyuan Fan, Xiaowei Deng, Lina Wu, Tao Yi, Linxia Gu, Changchun Zhou, Yujiang Fan, Xingdong Zhang

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In the process of bone regeneration, new bone formation is largely affected by physico-chemical cues in the surrounding microenvironment. Tissue cells reside in a complex scaffold physiological microenvironment. The scaffold should provide certain circumstance full of structural cues to enhance multipotent mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation, osteoblast growth, extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition, and subsequent new bone formation. This article reviewed advances in fabrication technology that enable the creation of biomaterials with well-defined pore structure and surface topography, which can be sensed by host tissue cells (esp., stem cells) and subsequently determine cell fates during differentiation. Three important cues, including scaffold …

Heat Transfer Across A Nanoscale Pressurized Air Gap And Its Application In Magnetic Recording, Jinglin Zheng, Yung-Kan Chen, Qin Zhou

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigated how a thermally actuated air bearing slider heats up a fast-spinning storage disk through a highly pressurized nanoscale air gap in a magnetic recording system. A Euleriandescription- based computational approach is developed considering heat conduction through a pressurized air film and near-field radiation across the gap. A set of field equations that govern the air bearing dynamics, slider thermo-mechanics and disk heat dissipation are solved simultaneously through an iterative approach. A temperature field on the same order as the hot slider surface itself is found to be established in the disk. The effective local heat …

Interfacial Characterization By Pull-Out Test Of Bamboo Fibers Embedded In Poly(Lactic Acid), Quentin Viel, Antonella Esposito, Jean-Marc Saiter, Carlo Santulli, Joseph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In this work, the apparent shear strength at the interface between a bamboo fiber and the surrounding poly(lactic acid) (PLA) matrix is quantified. A method for processing pull-out test samples within a controlled embedded length is proposed and the details of the test procedure are presented, along with a critical discussion of the results. Two series of samples are considered: untreated and mercerized bamboo fibers from the same batch, embedded in the same polyester matrix. Electron and optical microscopy are used to observe the fiber–matrix interface before and after the test, and to identify the failure mode of each sample, …

Complementary Microscopy Techniques Applied For Characterizing The Localized Nanoscale Structure Of Poly (Vinylidene Fluoride), Wen Qian, Shuo Sun, Charles Nguyen, Wenlong Li, Stephen Ducharme, Joesph A. Turner

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Poly (vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF), a well-recognized electroactive polymer, has been studied extensively over many decades. Recently, there has been increasing interest in tuning the electrical properties of PVDF from ferroelectric to piezoelectric and to pyroelectric, which can be attained via controlling the microscale structure down to the nanoscale structure [1-2]. To optimize the preparation conditions of PVDF and its copolymers, as well as to improve the performance for many applications, comprehensive analytical techniques are of great importance. In this paper, we demonstrate complementary nanoscale characterization and measurement techniques, by conducting a systematic and coordinated study involving scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high …

Saw Assisted Domain Wall Motion In Co/Pt Multilayers, Westin Edrington, Uday Singh, Maya Abo Dominguez, James Rehwaldt Alexander, Rabindra Nepal, Shireen Adenwalla

Shireen Adenwalla Papers

The motion of domain walls in thin ferromagnetic films is of both fundamental and technological interest. In particular, the ability to use drivers other than magnetic fields to control the positions of domain walls could be exciting for memory applications. Here, we show that high frequency dynamic strain produced by surface acoustic waves is an efficient driver of magnetic domain walls in ferromagnetic films with perpendicular anisotropy. A standing surface acoustic wave of resonant frequency 96.6MHz increases the domain wall velocities in thin films of [Co/Pt]n by an order of magnitude compared to magnetic fields alone. This effect is highly …

Improved A-B10C2+XHY/Si P-N Heterojunction Performance After Neutron Irradiation, George Peterson, Qing Su, Yongqiang Wang, Natale J. Ianno, Peter Dowben, Michael Nastasi

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

The impact of neutron irradiation, in the energy range of ~0.025 eV, on amorphous semiconducting partially dehydrogenated boron carbide (a-B₁₀C_2+xH_y) on silicon p-n heterojunction diodes was investigated. The heterojunction devices were created by synthesizing a-B₁₀C_2+xH_y via plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition on n-type silicon. Unlike many electronic devices, the performance of the a-B₁₀C_2+xH_y heterojunction diode improved with neutron irradiation, in spite of the large neutron cross section of ¹⁰B. There is also increased charge carrier lifetime of more than …

Tissue Stresses In Stented Coronary Arteries With Different Geometries: Effect Of The Relation Between Stent Length And Lesion Length, Xiang Shen, Song Ji, Yong-Quan Deng, Hong-Fei Zhu, Jia-Bao Jiang, Linxia Gu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

In-stent restenosis after stent deployment remains an obstruction in the long-term benefits of stenting. This study sought to investigate the influence of the relation between stent length and lesion length on the mechanics of the arterial wall with different geometries, including straight and tapered vessels. Results showed that when the length of the stent was longer than the lesion length, the maximum stress in plaque and vessel increased as the length of stent increased. When the length of the stent was shorter than the lesion length, the vessel stress induced by stent inflation was lower; both ends of the stenosis …

Experimental Measurement Of Dolphin Thrust Generated During A Tail Stand Using Dpiv, Frank E. Fish, Terrie M. Williams, Erica Sherman, Yae Eun Moon, Vicki Wu, Timothy Wei

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Faculty Publications

Estimation of force generated by dolphins has long been debated. The problem was that indirect estimates of force production for dolphins resulted in low values that could not be validated. Bubble digital particle image velocimetry (DPIV) measured hydrodynamic force production for swimming dolphins and demonstrated high force production. To validate the bubble DPIV and reconcile force production measurements, two bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) performing tail stands were measured with bubble DPIV. Microbubbles were generated from a finely porous hose and compressed air source. Displacement of the bubbles by the propulsive motions of the dolphin was tracked with a …

Engineering Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles To Be Used As Nanofertilizers, Zeinah Elhaj Baddar

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Zinc deficient soils, or soils with low Zn bioavailability, are widespread, which exacerbates Zn deficiency in human as crops grown on these soils have low Zn content. Often crop yields are also compromised. Fertilizers based on soluble Zn salts often have limited efficacy in such soils. In this research, we evaluate the performance of polymer coated and bare ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) in an attempt to overcome limitations of soluble Zn salts in alkaline soils. We first synthesized 20-30 nm bare ZnO NPs with different surface chemistries to impart colloidal stability to the particles. Bare ZnO were treated in phosphate solution …

Fundamental Studies Of Chemical Stability And Carrier Process In Hybrid Perovskite Materials, Jue Gong

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation comprehensively studies the optoelectronic properties of organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites to fundamentally answer their foundations of outstanding performance on solar cells, photodetectors, nanowire lasers and other optoelectronic applications. Specifically, a novel type of charge carrier-lattice interaction was discovered in perovskite methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3), where photoluminescence lifetime of photoinduced carriers is strongly dependent on the rotational frequency of CH3NH3+, as modulated via substitution of hydrogens with deuterium atoms in the organic cation. In addition, two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite (CH3NH3)2Pb(SeCN)2I2 was first synthesized and characterized in the field, and its photoluminescence properties were systematically examined. The existence of intensive photoluminescence peak …

Investigating The Effects Of Orientation Control Of Graphene Nanoplatelet Suspensions By A Magnetic Field On The Viscosity Of A Nanofluid System, Radhika Iyer

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

In this investigation, the rheological behavior of paraffin oil containing diamagnetic suspensions is characterized under varying magnetic field conditions. The particles suspended in the white paraffin oil at mass concentrations of 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1% m/m are two-dimensional graphene nanoplatelets with an average thickness of 2 – 8 nm. Rheological experiments were conducted using a Brookfield DV2T viscometer with a modified cylindrical spindle over the range of shear rates between 192 s-1 to 1928 s-1. A Neodymium N42 ring magnet with a surface strength of 1.32 T generated the magnetic field conditions for the rheological experiments and was …

The Role Of Microenvironment Reagent Solubility On Reaction Kinetics Of 4-Nitrophenol Reduction, Michael P. Zeevi, Andrew Harrison, Christina Tang

UROP Posters

The Role of Microenvironment Reagent Solubility on Reaction Kinetics of 4-Nitrophenol Reduction

Michael Zeevi¹ with Andrew Harrison¹ and Christina Tang, PhD¹

¹Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, VCU School of Engineering

Introduction: Nanoparticles are of increasing interest due to their high surface area to volume ratio, as well as that they enable fine-tuning of the reaction microenvironment. Through flash nanoprecipitation, core-shell polymer nanoreactors were formed by directed self-assembly. Using the reduction of 4-nitrophenol as a model reduction reaction, we investigated the effect of reagent solubility in the nanoreactor microenvironment’s on nanoreactor kinetics.

Methods: The standard …

Electrodeposited Semiconductor Nanostructures & Epitaxial Thin Films For Flexible Electronics, Naveen Kumar Mahenderkar

Doctoral Dissertations

"Single-crystal Si is the bedrock of semiconductor devices due to the high crystalline perfection which minimizes electron-hole recombination, and the dense native silicon oxide which minimizes surface states. To expand the palette of electronic materials beyond planar Si, an inexpensive source of highly ordered material is needed that can serve as an inert substrate for the epitaxial growth of grain boundary-free semiconductors, photonic materials, and superconductors. There is also a need for a simple, inexpensive, and scalable fabrication technique for the growth of semiconductor nanostructures and thin films. This dissertation focuses on the fabrication of semiconducting nanowires (polycrystalline Ge & …

Development Of Antimicrobial Chitosan Based Nanofiber Dressings For Wound Healing Applications, Lee Cremar, Jorge Gutierrez, Jennifer Martinez, Luis A. Materon, Robert Gilkerson, Fenghua Xu, Karen Lozano

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

Objective(s): Chitosan based composite fine fibers were successfully produced via a centrifugal spinning technology. This study evaluates the ability of the composites to function as scaffolds for cell growth while maintaining an antibacterial activity.

Materials and Methods: Two sets of chitosan fiber composites were prepared, one filled with anti-microbial silver nanoparticles and another one with cinnamaldeyhde. Chitosan powder was dissolved in trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane followed by addition of the fillers. The fiber output was optimized by configuring the polymer weight concentration (7, 8, and 9 w/w% chitosan) and applied angular velocity (6000-9000 RPM) within the spinning process.

Results: …

Preparation And Characterization Of Nickel Based Nanocomposite Coatings With Enhanced Mechanical And Surface Properties, Malay Kumar Das

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Ni-W alloy and Ni-W/diamond monolayer and multilayer composite coatings were prepared by electrodeposition from a Ni-W plating bath with diamond particles suspended into the bath. Ni-W/diamond composite coatings were also prepared with varying amounts of Cobalt sulphate additives. The morphology and the composition of the deposits was investigated by means of SEM and EDS, respectively. The effect of operating conditions and additives on the Ni-W coatings were analyzed. The effect of the plating parameters, composite particle size, multilayer deposits and cobalt additives on microstructure and mechanical properties of the Ni-W/diamond composite coatings was investigated. The electrodeposited Ni-W/diamond deposits reported a …

Preparation Of Graphene Nanocomposites For Anticorrosion And Sensors, Nadtinan Promphet

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This dissertation focused on the development of graphene (GO) nanocomposite coating to improve various substrate properties for the sensor application, which is divided into 2 main parts. The first part is the development of GO incorporated into electroless nickel phosphorus (NiP) coating to improve the properties of metal for electrochemical sensor application. Nickel phosphorus - titanium dioxide sol - reduced graphene oxide (NiP-TiO2 sol -RGO) coated surface was successfully prepared by one-pot electroless deposition on the steel substrate. The results show that the homogeneously formation of water-repellent RGO film covering on the coated surface leading to improve the corrosion resistance …

Structural Characterization Of Ultra-Thin Irmn Films And Their Heterostructures, Kunpot Mopoung

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

We have investigated structural properties of IrMn ultra-thin films with different Mn contents (expected to be at 76 at% and 79 at%) and the substrate temperatures (room temperature and 250 °C). The IrMn films with thickness approximately 50 nm were grown on Ru/SiO2/Si substrates by DC sputtering process. Structural investigation results consist of 3 parts as follows: effects of (i) growth parameters, (ii) water corrosion and (iii) thermal annealing. Effect of growth parameters on growth morphologies and crystal structure of the IrMn alloy was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and wide-angle X-ray …

Lanthanide-Based Core-Shell Nanoparticles As Multifunctional Platforms For Targeted Radionuclide Therapy And Multimodal Molecular Imaging, Miguel Toro-Gonzalez

Theses and Dissertations

Lanthanide phosphate (LnPO₄) and lanthanide vanadate (LnVO₄) nanoparticles (NPs) are promising platforms for theranostic applications because of their chemical stability, low solubility, low toxicity, and unique luminescence and magnetic properties. Motivated by the high radiation resistance and ability to host actinides of naturally occurring lanthanide-based compounds, LnPO₄ and LnVO₄ NPs were studied as radionuclide carriers for targeted radionuclide therapy using in vivoα-generators, ²²³Ra, ²²⁵Ac, and ²²⁷Th. The implementation of these radionuclides has shown potential for the treatment of micrometastases and solid tumors as well as challenges in the retention of …

Graphene As A Solid-State Ligand For Palladium Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions, Yuan Yang

Theses and Dissertations

Palladium-catalyzed carbon-carbon cross-coupling reactions have emerged a broadly useful, selective and widely applicable method to synthesize pharmaceutical active ingredients. As currently practiced in the pharmaceutical industry, homogeneous Pd catalysts are typically used in cross-coupling reactions. The rational development of heterogeneous catalysts for cross-coupling reactions is critical for overcoming the major drawbacks of homogeneous catalysis including difficulties in the separation, purification, and quality control process in drug production. In order to apply heterogeneous catalysis to flow reactors that may overcome this limitation, the catalyst must be strongly bound to a support, highly stable with respect to leaching, and highly active. While …

Plasmon-Enhanced Optical Sensing By Engineering Metallic Nanostructures, Peng Zheng

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The world’s booming population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050 causes enormous stresses on environmental safety, food supply, and healthcare, which in return threatens human civilizations. One of the most promising solutions lies at innovating point-of-care (POC) sensing technologies to conduct detection of environmental hazards, monitoring of food safety, and early diagnosis of diseases in a timely and accurate manner. The discovery of surface-enhanced spectroscopy in the 1970s has significantly stimulated research on light-matter interaction which gives rise to enhanced optical phenomena such as surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), plasmon-enhanced fluorescence (PEF), and particularly, they have found enormous applications in …