Characterization of different substrates for Raman spectroscopic imaging of eukaryotic cells

For Raman spectroscopic analyses of the cells and other biological samples, the choice of the right substrate material is very important to avoid loss of information in characteristic spectral features because of competing background signals. In the current study, Raman spectroscopy is used to characterize several potential Raman substrates. Raman vibrational bands of the substrate material are discussed. The surface topography is analyzed by atomic force microscopy, and the root mean square surface roughness values are reported. Biocompatibility of the substrates is tested with Hep G2 cells evaluating cellular morphology as well as live/dead staining. Calcium fluoride, silicon, fused silica, borofloat glass, and silicon nitride membranes support cell growth and adherence. Silicon, borofloat glass, and fused silica give rise to Raman signals in the region of interest. Calcium fluoride substrate (UV grade) is suitable for Raman spectroscopic investigation of living cells. Nickel foil is suitable substrate for Raman spectroscopic investigation but cellular adherence and viability depend on the quality of the foil. Silicon nitride membranes coated with nickel chrome is a suitable Raman substrate in closed microfluidic systems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering characteristics of CuO : Mn/Ag heterojunction probed by methyl orange: effect of Mn2+ doping

Interest in the synthesis of hybrid substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has surged recently. Hereof, in the present work, a hybrid SERS substrate CuO : Mn/Ag heterojunction has been synthesised. To accomplish this, the nanostructred Ag island film and CuO : Mn nanoparticles are synthesised by vacuum thermal evaporation method and sol–gel method respectively, and thereafter, a heterojunction between the CuO : Mn and Ag is fabricated by adsorption of CuO : Mn (10^‐3 m in ethanol) on Ag island film. Further, the SERS sensitivity of CuO : Mn/Ag heterojunctions has been studied by probing methyl orange. We observed that with Mn‐doping in the lattice of CuO, the SERS signal is enhanced considerably because of ferromagnetic ordering in CuO : Mn. DFT/B3LYP/6‐311 G(d, p) method is used to calculate the energy of HOMO and LUMO level of methyl orange. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy based on conical holed enhancing substrates

In this contribution, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) based on conical holed glass substrates deposited with silver colloids was reported for the first time. It combines the advantages of both dry SERS assays based on plane films deposited with silver colloids and wet SERS assays utilizing cuvettes or capillary tubes. Compared with plane glass substrates deposited with silver colloids, the conical holed glass substrates deposited with silver colloids exhibited five-to ten-folds of increase in the rate of signal enhancement, due to the internal multiple reflections of both the excitation laser beam and the Raman scattering photons within conical holes. The application of conical holed glass substrates could also yield significantly stronger and more reproducible SERS signals than SERS assays utilizing capillary tubes to sample the mixture of silver colloids and the solution of the analyte of interest. The conical holed glass substrates in combination with the multiplicative effects model for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (MEM_SERS) achieved quite sensitive and precise quantification of 6-mercaptopurine in complex plasma samples with an average relative prediction error of about 4% and a limit of detection of about 0.02 μM using a portable i-Raman 785H spectrometer. It is reasonable to expect that SERS technique based on conical holed enhancing substrates in combination with MEM_SERS model can be developed and extended to other application areas such as drug detection, environmental monitoring, and clinic analysis, etc.     

表面增强拉曼散射光谱研究聚苯胺纳米棒的构象转变

采用电化学沉积法制备了聚苯胺(Polyaniline,PANI)纳米棒、树枝状银和纳米颗粒银基体。并利用表面增强拉曼散射光谱技术(Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering,SERS)研究了PANI纳米棒的分子链在Ag金属表面的构象变化。实验结果表明由于Ag金属表面的等离子共振效应,PANI分子中N原子的孤对电子与Ag的自由电子产生共轭效应,使得PANI分子链上的电荷重新分布,结果 C—H面内弯曲振动频率和C—C键的伸缩频率向低波数方向移动(蓝移);拉曼散射频率增强的基团在金属表面倾向垂直于分子链的主轴,拉曼散射频率减弱的基团在金属表面倾向平行于分子链主轴。     

Novel extracellular polymeric substances produced by Cupriavidus necator IPT 027 grown on glucose and crude glycerol originated from biodiesel

The aim of this study was to evaluate the production and properties of novel extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from glucose (EPS 1) and crude glycerol (CG) from castor beans oil (EPS 2). Cupriavidus necator IPT 027 cultivated with glucose and CG (35 °C, 150 rpm, 72 hr, pH 7, shaker) produced approximately 1.60 ± 0.01 and 2.83 ± 0.02 g l^?1 EPS, respectively, with high‐molecular weight (3.89 × 10⁵ and 1.89 × 10⁷ Da) and constituted of different functional groups such as uronic acid, monosaccharides (glucose, mannose, arabinose, and fucose) and primary amine group. The composition of the fermentable substrate influenced the melting temperature (221.11 and 230.18 °C), crystallinity (34.36% and 37.11%), degradation temperature (255.06 and 296.62 °C) and morphology. EPS showed pseudoplastic non‐Newtonian fluid behavior in the aqueous solutions, presenting potential applicability biotechnological and industrial mainly in food industry as emulsifiers and biosurfactants. This is the first study on the production and characterization of EPS obtained by C. necator IPT 027 in culture with glucose and CG. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

测量界面软铬层力学性质的纳米压入法

为了测量双层铬的界面软铬层力学性质,提出了化学腐蚀基体法,通过溶解掉基体制备没有基体支撑的自由铬层,将在横截面内线状显示的界面转化为界面表面(铬层与基体相连接的面),避免了横截面不能显示界面表面的缺点。对界面表面进行纳米压入实验和借助于表征薄膜力学性质的表面压入能量法,测得了描述界面软铬层力学性质的弹性模量和压入弹、塑性功等参数。     

Nanospherical Surface‐Supported Seeded Growth of Au Nanowires: Investigation on a New Growth Mechanism and High‐Performance Hydrogen Peroxide Sensors

In this paper, a novel strategy with a new growth mechanism for fast and large‐scale growth of Au long nanowires on high‐curvature SiO₂ nanospherical surfaces has been developed. The synthesis includes three steps, i.e., amino modification of SiO₂ nanospheres, Au seed loading on aminated SiO₂ nanospheres and subsequently, Au seed‐mediated nanowire growth on SiO₂ nanospheres. The prepared Au nanowires (Au NWs) (exhibit long length, high aspect ratio, and good flexibility, and can naturally form the dense nanowire film, which is promising as a stable conductive electrode. In addition, the effect of synthetic conditions such as reactant feeding order, Au seeds and SiO₂@Au seeds on the morphology of Au nanostructures (nanowires, nanoteeth, and nanoflowers) has been investigated. It is found that Au seeds and high‐curvature SiO₂ nanospherical surfaces are necessary conditions for the successful preparation of Au NWs and nanowire films. The different growth mechanisms for Au NWs and nanoteeth have been proposed and discussed. Moreover, the novel nonenzymatic H₂O₂ sensor based on Au NWs exhibits much enhanced performance such as higher sensitivity, stability, and selectivity, wider linear range and lower detection limit, compared with that of Au nanoparticles‐based H₂O₂ sensor.     

衬底加热和电极修饰对提高有机场效应晶体管性能的影响

通过衬底加热和氧化钼(MoO3)修饰源漏极制备了并五苯有机场效应晶体管.研究了衬底温度和电极修饰层厚度对器件性能的影响.实验结果表明:当衬底温度为60℃、MoO3修饰层为10 nm时,器件性能获得了显著增强,场效应迁移率由原来的3.39×10-3 cm2/(V·s)提高到2.25 ×10-1 cm2/(V·s),阈值电压由12 V降低到3V.器件性能的改善归因于:衬底加热可以优化有源层形貌,改善载流子传输;而MoO3修饰层显著降低了电极与有源层之间的接触势垒,提高了载流子的注入.因此,衬底加热与电极修饰对于制备高性能有机场效应晶体管是不可或缺的优化手段.     

Effects of 3,4-dihydrophenyl groups in water-soluble phospholipid polymer on stable surface modification of titanium alloy

The surface of a titanium (Ti) alloy substrate was modified by a simple and quick process using a water-soluble polymer, and the effects of 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl (DHP) groups in the polymer side chain on the modification process were examined. The polymers (PMDP) composed of both 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC) unit and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl methacrylate unit were synthesized for surface anchoring. The Ti alloy substrate was coated with PMDP using an aqueous solution of the polymer. A PMDP layer with a thickness of 20 nm was formed on the Ti alloy substrate simply by dip coating for 10 s without drying. Even when the Ti alloy substrate with PMDP coating was immersed in the aqueous medium for 1 week, no change in the thickness was observed, i.e., the PMDP layer was bound to the surface very stably. Oxidation of the DHP groups reduced the stability of the polymer layer significantly. Thus, the DHP groups play a significant role in achieving stable binding. Protein was adsorbed on the Ti alloy substrate; however, this was not observed for the PMDP-coated Ti alloy substrate. In conclusion, we confirmed the effects of DHP groups in PMDP on the stability of the coating on the Ti alloy substrate. Moreover, we found that surface treatment using PMDP was simple, quick, and reliable, and thus, it has great potential for improving biofouling of Ti alloy substrates used in medical devices.     

分子印迹聚合物负载纳米金催化剂的制备及其底物识别性能

以4-硝基苯甲醇与氯金酸的络合物为模板,利用聚合物空腔内胺基捕获NaBH4还原的纳米粒子,设计和制备了一种具有底物识别性能的分子印迹聚合物负载纳米Au催化剂(Au/MIP).运用红外光谱、紫外-可见光谱和扫描电镜等方法对催化剂进行了表征.同时以水为溶剂,过氧化氢为氧化剂,考察了催化剂在取代苯甲醇氧化反应中的催化性能.结...