The effect of electrochemical lithiation on physicochemical properties of RF-sputtered Sn thin films

Thin films of Sn were deposited on Pt/Si substrates by sputtering technique and subjected to electrochemical lithiation studies. Electrochemical lithiation of Sn resulted in the formation of Sn–Li alloys of different compositions. Charging of Sn-coated Pt/Si electrodes was terminated at different potentials and the electrodes were examined for physicochemical properties. The scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images suggested that the Sn films expanded on lithiation. Roughness of the film increased with an increase in the quantity of Li present in Sn–Li alloy. Electrochemical impedance data suggested that the kinetics of charging became sluggish with an increase in the quantity of Li in Sn–Li alloy.     

Incorporation of bromo-octadecane into long-chain ester monolayers at the air/water interface

Surface compatibility of 2-methoxy ethyl stearate and oleate esters with 1-bromo-octadecane (RBr) has been investigated at the air/water interface with a Langmuir film balance. The methoxy ethyl head group in the esters promotes flat conformation at the air/water interface as observed from its higher surface area (stearate, 22.41 Ų/molecule; oleate, 57.20 Ų/molecule) in comparison to the corresponding acids. The stearate ester forms a homogeneous mixed monolayer with maximal incorporation of 0.5 mole fraction of RBr. This is indicated by the retention of liquid condensed and solid condensed phases of stearate ester, and the positive deviation of the mean molecular area of the mixed film from the calculated additive areas. When the mole fraction of RBr (x ₂) exceeds 0.5, the onset of formation of heterogeneous mixed film is indicated by the appearance of initial and final collapse pressures. On the contrary, oleate ester shows the least compatibility with RBr, which is indicated by the progressive decrease in mean molecular area with x ₂. The more liquid expanded-phase structure of oleate ester probably does not promote compatibility with RBr at the air/water interface.     

Improved analysis of sinigrin in Ethiopian mustard

An ion‐pair reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the analysis of sinigrin in Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun) seed and seed fractions. Separation was compared on several RP‐HPLC columns (Inertsil^® ODS‐4 C₁₈ and ZORBAX^® Eclipse XDB‐C₁₈) with an isocratic eluent containing 100% aqueous (aq.) tetramethylammonium bromide (10 mm , pH 5.0). Sinigrin retention was affected by HPLC variables including the type of ion‐pair reagent, buffer strength and pH, acetonitrile concentration, column temperature and eluent flow rate. Partial validation demonstrated this optimised chromatographic condition to be linear, accurate and precise. Multistage extraction using 70% (v/v) aq. methanol was more efficient than 50% (v/v) aq. acetonitrile. In addition, the matrix effect and recovery rate as well as processing efficiency of the analytical protocol were determined. This method is suitable for high throughput analysis of sinigrin in Ethiopian mustard seed and seed fractions.     

Development of docetaxel nanocapsules for improving in vitro cytotoxicity and cellular uptake in MCF-7 cells

The aim of this study was to fabricate docetaxel loaded nanocapsules (DTX-NCs) with a high payload using Layer-by-Layer (LbL) technique by successive coating with alternate layers of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. Developed nanocapsules (NCs) were characterized in terms of morphology, particle size distribution, zeta potential (ζ-potential), entrapment efficiency and in vitro release. The morphological characteristics of the NCs were assessed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) that revealed coating of polyelectrolytes around the surface of particles. The developed NCs successfully attained a submicron particle size while the ζ-potential of optimized NCs alternated between (+) 34.64?±?1.5 mV to (?) 33.25?±?2.1 mV with each coating step. The non-hemolytic potential of the NCs indicated the suitability of the developed formulation for intravenous administration. A comparative study indicated that the cytotoxicity of positively charged NCs (F4) was significant higher (p?in vitro on MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, cell uptake studies evidenced a higher uptake of positive NCs (≥1.2 fold) in comparison to negative NCs. In conclusion, formulated NCs are an ideal vehicle for passive targeting of drugs to tumor cells that may result in improved efficacy and reduced toxicity of encapsulated drug moiety.     

Hybrid trefftz plane elasticity elements with p -method capabilities

A family of p-method plane elasticity elements is derived based on the hybrid Trefftz formulation.¹ Exact solutions of the Lamé-Navier equations are used for the intra-element displacement field together with an independent displacement frame function field along the element boundary. The final unknowns are the parameters of the frame function field consisting of the usual degrees of freedom at corner nodes and an optional number of hierarchic degrees of freedom associated with the mid-side nodes. Since the element matrices do not involve integration over the element area, the elements have a polygonal contour with an optional number of curved sides. The quadrilateral element has the same external appearance as the conventional p-method plane elasticity element.^2,3 But unlike in the conventional p-method approach, suitable special-purpose Trefftz functions are generally used to handle the singularity and/or stress concentration problems rather than a local mesh refinement. The practical efficiency of the new elements is assessed through a series of examples.     

An Investigation into the Use of Physical Modeling for the Prediction of Various Feature Types Visible from Different Viewpoints

Given that aspect graph and viewsphere-based object recognition systems provide a valid mechanism for 3D object recognition of man-made objects, this paper provides a flexible, automated, and general purpose technique for generating the view information for each viewpoint. An advantage of the work is that the technique is unaffected by object complexity because each step makes no assumptions about object shape. The only limitation is that the object can be described by a boundary representation. A second advantage is that the technique can include other feature types such as specularity. The reason for this is that raytracing techniques are used to simulate the physical process of image generation. Hence it is extendible to visible features resulting from effects due to lighting, surface texture, color, transparency, etc. The work described in this paper shows how occluding and nonoccluding edge-based features can be extracted using image processing techniques and then parametrized and also how regions of specularity can be predicted and described. The use of physical modeling enables situations to be simulated and predicted that are intractable for CAD-based methods (e.g., multiscale feature prediction). An advantage of the method is that the interface between the technique and the raytracing module is a rendered image. Should better physics-based image formation algorithms become available, then they could replace the raytracing module with little modification to the rest of the method.