Abstract: By using density functional theory and non-equilibrium Green's function-based methods, we investigated the electronic and transport properties of a TiS3 monolayer p-n junction. We constructed a lateral p-n junction on a TiS3 monolayer using Li and F adatoms. An applied bias voltage caused significant variability in the electronic and transport properties of the TiS3 p-n junction. In addition, the spin-dependent current-volt-age characteristics of the constructed TiS3 p-n junction were analyzed. Important device characteristics were found, such as negative differential resistance and rectifying diode behaviors for spin-polarized currents in the TiS3 p-n junction. These prominent conduction properties of the TiS3 p-n junction offer remarkable opportunities for the design of nanoelectronic devices based on a recently synthesized single-layered material.

Abstract: We performed single particle deformation experiments on silica-coated gold nanorods under femtosecond (fs) illumination. Changes in the particle shape were analyzed by electron microscopy and associated changes in the plasmon resonance by electron energy loss spectroscopy. Silica-coated rods were found to be more stable compared to uncoated rods but could still be deformed via an intermediate bullet-like shape for silica shell thicknesses of 14 nm. Changes in the size ratio of the rods after fs-illumination resulted in blue-shifting of the longitudinal plasmon resonances. Two-dimensional spatial mapping of the plasmon resonances revealed that the flat side of the bullet-like particles showed a less pronounced longitudinal plasmonic electric field enhancement. These findings were confirmed by finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. Furthermore, at higher laser fluences size reduction of the particles was found as well as for particles that were not completely deformed yet.

Abstract: A sound theoretical rationale for the design of a magnetic nanocarrier capable of magnetic capture in vivo after intravenous administration could help elucidate the parameters necessary for in vivo magnetic tumor targeting. In this work, we utilized our long-circulating polymeric magnetic nano carriers, encapsulating increasing amounts of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) in a biocompatible oil carrier, to study the effects of SPION loading and of applied magnetic field strength on magnetic tumor targeting in CT26 tumor-bearing mice. Under controlled conditions, the in vivo magnetic targeting was quantified and found to be directly proportional to SPION loading and magnetic field strength. Highest SPION loading, however, resulted in a reduced blood circulation time and a plateauing of the magnetic targeting. Mathematical modeling was undertaken to compute the in vivo magnetic, viscoelastic, convective, and diffusive forces acting on the nanocapsules (NCs) in accordance with the Nacev-Shapiro construct, and this was then used to extrapolate to the expected behavior in humans. The model predicted that in the latter case, the NCs and magnetic forces applied here would have been sufficient to achieve successful targeting in humans. Lastly, an in vivo murine tumor growth delay study was performed using docetaxel (DTX)-encapsulated NCs. Magnetic targeting was found to offer enhanced therapeutic efficacy, and improve mice survival compared to passive targeting at drug doses of ca. 5-8 mg, of DTX/kg. This is,, to our knowledge, the first study that truly bridges the gap between preclinical experiments and clinical translation in the field of magnetic drug targeting.

Abstract: Controlled in-plane rotation of the magnetic easy axis in manganite heterostructures by tailoring the interface oxygen network could allow the development of correlated oxide-based magnetic tunnelling junctions with non-collinear magnetization, with possible practical applications as miniaturized high-switching-speed magnetic random access memory (MRAM) devices. Here, we demonstrate how to manipulate magnetic and electronic anisotropic properties in manganite heterostructures by engineering the oxygen network on the unit-cell level. The strong oxygen octahedral coupling is found to transfer the octahedral rotation, present in the NdGaO3 (NGO) substrate, to the La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) film in the interface region. This causes an unexpected realignment of the magnetic easy axis along the short axis of the LSMO unit cell as well as the presence of a giant anisotropic transport in these ultrathin LSMO films. As a result we possess control of the lateral magnetic and electronic anisotropies by atomic-scale design of the oxygen octahedral rotation.

Abstract: In this paper, two types of melanoma and glioblastoma cancer cell lines are treated with cold atmospheric plasma to assess the effect of several parameters on the cell viability. The cell viability decreases with treatment duration and time until analysis in all cell lines with varying sensitivity. The majority of dead cells stains both AnnexinV (AnnV) and propidium iodide, indicating that the plasma-treated non-viable cells are mostly late apoptotic or necrotic. Genetic mutations might be involved in the response to plasma. Comparing the effects of two gas mixtures, as well as indirect plasma-activated medium versus direct treatment, gives different results per cell line. In conclusion, this study confirms the potential of plasma for cancer therapy and emphasizes the influence of experimental parameters on therapeutic outcome.

Abstract: In this article we report on the synthesis and characterization of a system of colloidal spheres suspended in an aqueous solvent which can be refractive index-matched, thus allowing for investigations of the particle near-wall dynamics by evanescent wave dynamic light scattering at concentrations up to the isotropic to ordered transition and beyond. The particles are synthesized by copolymerization of a fluorinated acrylic ester monomer with a polyethylene-glycol (PEG) oligomer by surfactant free emulsion polymerization. Static and dynamic light scattering experiments in combination with cryo transmission electron microscopy reveal that the particles have a core shell structure with a significant enrichment of the PEG chains on the particles surface. In index-matching DMSO/water suspensions the particles arrange in an ordered phase at volume fraction above 7%, if no additional electrolyte is present. The near-wall dynamics at low volume fraction are quantitatively described by the combination of electrostatic repulsion and hydrodynamic interaction between the particles and the wall. At volume fractions close to the isotropic to ordered transition, the near-wall dynamics are more complex and qualitatively reminiscent of the behaviour which was observed in hard sphere suspensions at high concentrations.

Abstract: Understanding how painted works of art were constructed, layer-by-layer, requires a range of macroscopic and microscopic X-ray and infrared-based analytical methods. Deconstructing complex assemblies of paints horizontally across a picture and vertically through it provides insight into the detailed production process of the art work and on the painting techniques and styles of its maker. The unwanted chemical transformations that some paint pigments undergo are also detectable; these changes can alter the paint's optical properties. Understanding the chemistry behind such paint degradation gives conservators vital clues to counter these effects and is an invaluable asset in protecting these cultural artefacts for future generations.

Abstract: The increasing production of nitrogen-containing fertilizers is crucial to meet the global food demand, yet high losses of reactive nitrogen associated with the food production/consumption chain progressively deteriorate the natural environment. Currently, mesophilic nitrogen-removing microbes eliminate nitrogen from wastewaters. Although thermophilic nitrifiers have been separately enriched from natural environments, no bioreactors are described that couple these processes for the treatment of nitrogen in hot wastewaters. Samples from composting facilities were used as inoculum for the batch-wise enrichment of thermophilic nitrifiers (350 days). Subsequently, the enrichments were transferred to a bioreactor to obtain a stable, high-rate nitrifying process (560 days). The community contained up to 17% ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOAs) closely related to 'Candidatus Nitrososphaera gargensis', and 25% nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOBs) related to Nitrospira calida. Incorporation of C-13-derived bicarbonate into the respective characteristic membrane lipids during nitrification supported their activity as autotrophs. Specific activities up to 198 +/- 10 and 894 +/- 81 mg N g(-1) VSS per day for AOAs and NOBs were measured, where NOBs were 33% more sensitive to free ammonia. The NOBs were extremely sensitive to free nitrous acid, whereas the AOAs could only be inhibited by high nitrite concentrations, independent of the free nitrous acid concentration. The observed difference in product/substrate inhibition could facilitate the development of NOB inhibition strategies to achieve more cost-effective processes such as deammonification. This study describes the enrichment of autotrophic thermophilic nitrifiers from a nutrient-rich environment and the successful operation of a thermophilic nitrifying bioreactor for the first time, facilitating opportunities for thermophilic nitrogen removal biotechnology.

Abstract: The idea of stacking multiple monolayers of different two-dimensional materials has become a global pursuit. In this work, a silicene armchair nanoribbon of width W and van der Waals-bonded to different transition-metal dichalcogenide (TMD) bilayer substrates MoX2 and WX2, where X = S, Se, Te is considered. The orbital resolved electronic structure and ballistic transport properties of these systems are simulated by employing van der Waals-corrected density functional theory and nonequilibrium Green's functions. We find that the lattice mismatch with the underlying substrate determines the electronic structure, correlated with the silicene buckling distortion and ultimately with the contact resistance of the two-terminal system. The smallest lattice mismatch, obtained with the MoTe2 substrate, results in the silicene ribbon properties coming close to those of a freestanding one. With the TMD bilayer acting as a dielectric layer, the electronic structure is tunable from a direct to an indirect semiconducting layer, and subsequently to a metallic electronic dispersion layer, with a moderate applied perpendicular electric field.

Abstract: Vegetables and fruits are an important part of a healthy food diet, however, the eco-sustainability of the production of these can still be significantly improved. European farmers and consumers spend an estimated Euro15.5 billion per year on inorganic fertilizers and the production of N-fertilizers results in a high carbon footprint. We investigated if fertilizer type and medium constituents determine microbial nitrogen conversions in organic growing media and can be used as a next step towards a more sustainable horticulture. We demonstrated that growing media constituents showed differences in urea hydrolysis, ammonia and nitrite oxidation and in carbon dioxide respiration rate. Interestingly, mixing of the growing media constituents resulted in a stimulation of the function of the microorganisms. The use of organic fertilizer resulted in an increase in amoA gene copy number by factor 100 compared to inorganic fertilizers. Our results support our hypothesis that the activity of the functional microbial community with respect to nitrogen turnover in an organic growing medium can be improved by selecting and mixing the appropriate growing media components with each other. These findings contribute to the understanding of the functional microbial community in growing media and its potential role towards a more responsible horticulture.

Abstract: Studying protein interactions is of vital importance both to fundamental biology research and to medical applications. Here, we report on the experimental proof of a universally applicable label-free homogeneous platform for rapid protein analysis. It is based on optically detecting changes in the rotational dynamics of magnetically agitated core-shell nanorods upon their specific interaction with proteins. By adjusting the excitation frequency, we are able to optimize the measurement signal for each analyte protein size. In addition, due to the locking of the optical signal to the magnetic excitation frequency, background signals are suppressed, thus allowing exclusive studies of processes at the nanoprobe surface only. We study target proteins (soluble domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 – sHER2) specifically binding to antibodies (trastuzumab) immobilized on the surface of our nanoprobes and demonstrate direct deduction of their respective sizes. Additionally, we examine the dependence of our measurement signal on the concentration of the analyte protein, and deduce a minimally detectable sHER2 concentration of 440 pM. For our homogeneous measurement platform, good dispersion stability of the applied nanoprobes under physiological conditions is of vital importance. To that end, we support our measurement data by theoretical modeling of the total particle-particle interaction energies. The successful implementation of our platform offers scope for applications in biomarker-based diagnostics as well as for answering basic biology questions.

Abstract: The water-gas-shift reaction (WGSR) is an important industrial process that can be significantly enhanced at suitable catalyst surfaces. In this work, we investigate the catalytic behavior of metallic Cu(1 0 0) and bimetallic Cu–Au(1 0 0) surfaces. With density functional theory calculations, the variation in the Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), the activation barriers, and the rate constants for the WGSR are calculated. The variation in ΔG° for water dissociation shows that the process is spontaneous up to 520 K on the bimetallic surface and up to 229 K on the Cu(1 0 0) surface. The calculated rate constants for the process also show that the bimetallic surface is much more reactive than the Cu(1 0 0) surface. The calculated pressure–temperature phase diagram for water dissociation shows that the partial pressure of H2O required for water dissociation on the bimetallic surface is substantially lower than that on the Cu(1 0 0) surface at all the studied temperatures. Additionally, the calculations demonstrate that the kinetics of the water-gas-shift reaction is dominated by redox processes on both the surfaces.

Abstract: Zirconium trisulphide (ZrS3), a member of the layered transition metal trichalcogenides (TMTCs) family, has been studied by angle-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy (ARPLS). The synthesized ZrS3 layers possess a pseudo one-dimensional nature where each layer consists of ZrS3 chains extending along the b-lattice direction. Our results show that the optical properties of few-layered ZrS3 are highly anisotropic as evidenced by large PL intensity variation with the polarization direction. Light is efficiently absorbed when the E-field is polarized along the chain (b-axis), but the field is greatly attenuated and absorption is reduced when it is polarized vertical to the 1D-like chains as the wavelength of the exciting light is much longer than the width of each 1D chain. The observed PL variation with polarization is similar to that of conventional 1D materials, i.e., nanowires, and nanotubes, except for the fact that here the 1D chains interact with each other giving rise to a unique linear dichroism response that falls between the 2D (planar) and 1D (chain) limit. These results not only mark the very first demonstration of PL polarization anisotropy in 2D systems, but also provide novel insight into how the interaction between adjacent 1D-like chains and the 2D nature of each layer influences the overall optical anisotropy of pseudo-1D materials. Results are anticipated to have an impact on optical technologies such as polarized detectors, near-field imaging, communication systems, and bio-applications relying on the generation and detection of polarized light.

Abstract: Interfaces between different materials underpin both new scientific phenomena, such as the emergent behaviour at oxide interfaces, and key technologies, such as that of the transistor. Control of the interfaces between materials with the same crystal structures but different chemical compositions is possible in many materials classes, but less progress has been made for oxide materials with different crystal structures. We show that dynamical self-organization during growth can create a coherent interface between the perovskite and fluorite oxide structures, which are based on different structural motifs, if an appropriate choice of cations is made to enable this restructuring. The integration of calculation with experimental observation reveals that the interface differs from both the bulk components and identifies the chemical bonding requirements to connect distinct oxide structures.