Search results for "Microscopy"

Structural and Optical Properties of Novel Surfactant Coated TiO2–Ag Based Nanoparticles

2010

Stable dispersions of surfactant-coated TiO2–Ag based nanoparticles in apolar medium have been prepared by performing sequentially the hydrolysis of titanium(IV) isopropoxide and the reduction of Ag? in the confined space of sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (NaAOT) reverse micelles. Depending on the sequence length, this novel procedure allowed the synthesis of semiconductor–metal nanoparticles, nominally indicated as TiO2/Ag, TiO2/Ag/TiO2, and TiO2/Ag/TiO2/ Ag, stabilized by a monolayer of oriented surfactant molecules. The structural characterization of these nanoparticles has been performed by High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM), while optical properties were …

Removing striping artifacts in light-sheet fluorescence microscopy: a review

2022

Abstract In recent years, light-sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) has found a broad application for imaging of diverse biological samples, ranging from sub-cellular structures to whole animals, both in-vivo and ex-vivo, owing to its many advantages relative to point-scanning methods. By providing the selective illumination of sample single planes, LSFM achieves an intrinsic optical sectioning and direct 2D image acquisition, with low out-of-focus fluorescence background, sample photo-damage and photo-bleaching. On the other hand, such an illumination scheme is prone to light absorption or scattering effects, which lead to uneven illumination and striping artifacts in the images, oriented…

Subtractive imaging in confocal scanning microscopy using a CCD camera as a detector

2012

[EN] We report a scheme for the detector system of confocal microscopes in which the pinhole and a large-area detector are substituted by a CCD camera. The numerical integration of the intensities acquired by the active pixels emulates the signal passing through the pinhole. We demonstrate the imaging capability and the optical sectioning of the system. Subtractive-imaging confocal microscopy can be implemented in a simple manner, providing superresolution and improving optical sectioning. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America

Membrane Stiffness of Animal Cells Challenged by Osmotic Stress

2006

Optical modeling of nickel-base alloys oxidized in pressurized water reactor

2012

International audience; The knowledge of the aging process involved in the primary water of pressurized water reactor entails investigating a mixed growth mechanism in the corrosion of nickel-base alloys. A mixed growth induces an anionic inner oxide and a cationic diffusion parallel to a dissolution-precipitation process forms the outer zone. The in situ monitoring of the oxidation kinetics requires the modeling of the oxide layer stratification with the full knowledge of the optical constants related to each component. Here, we report the dielectric constants of the alloys 600 and 690 measured by spectroscopic ellipsometry and fitted to a Drude-Lorentz model. A robust optical stratificati…

Photothermal Ablation of Cancer Cells Using Folate-Coated Gold/ Graphene Oxide Composite

2017

Objective: A new tumor targeted polymer-coated gold/graphene hybrid has been developed for achieving simultaneously thermoablation and chemoterapy of folate receptor-positive cancer cells. Methods: The gold/graphene hybrid was prepared by depositing gold nanospheres onto graphene oxide and coating it with an inulin-folate conjugate. Paclitaxel was loaded by sonication. The hybrid was characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, DSC analysis and SEM microscopy. The cytotoxicity, thermoablation and anticancer activity were evaluated in vitro on MCF-7 and 16 HBE. Results: In vitro tests showed that the paclitaxel-loaded hybrid improved the effectiveness of the drug especially after photothermal treat…

Passive Behavior and Passivity Breakdown of AISI 304 in LiBr Solutions through Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

2014

The passive behavior and passivity breakdown of AISI 304 stainless steel in LiBr solutions has been investigated by means of scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM). The sample generation - tip collection (SG-TC) mode was used to operate the SECM and the tip potential was biased to detect the electroactive species. The evolution of the current at the ultramicroelectrode tip with the applied potential within the passive range was followed at different LiBr concentrations. Results show that the absolute value of the current at the tip increases with the applied potential. Additionally, SECM was also used to detect stable pits formed on the stainless steel surface in a 0.2 M LiBr solution. …

Polymeric nanospheres as strategy to increase the amount of triclosan retained in the skin: passive diffusion vs. iontophoresis

2012

The aim of this study was to evaluate the passive and iontophoretic permeation of triclosan in human skin using a triclosan solution and triclosan-loaded cationic nanospheres in order to determine which of the two strategies is more effective in allowing the deposition of triclosan within the skin. Triclosan-loaded nanospheres were prepared by the emulsification-solvent displacement technique using aminoalkyl methacrylate (Eudragit® RL 100) as polymer matrix. Nanospheres of 261.0 ± 15.1 nm with a positive surface charge (Ψz = 26.0 ± 3.2 mV) were obtained. Drug loading was 62.0 ± 1.7%. Results demonstrated that the amount of triclosan retained within the skin was significantly greater (8.5-f…

Structure and chemical bonds in reactively sputtered black Ti–C–N–O thin films

2011

The evolution of the nanoscale structure and the chemical bonds formed in Ti–C–N–O films grown by reactive sputtering were studied as a function of the composition of the reactive atmosphere by increasing the partial pressure of an O2+N2 gas mixture from 0 up to 0.4 Pa, while that of acetylene (carbon source) was constant. The amorphisation of the films observed by transmission electron microscopy was confirmed by micro- Raman spectroscopy, but it was not the only effect associated to the increase of the O2+N2 partial pressure. The chemical environment of titanium and carbon, analysed by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, also changes due to the higher affinity of Ti towards oxygen and nitro…

Quenching and blue shift of UV emission intensity of hydrothermally grown ZnO:Mn nanorods

2015

Abstract ZnO:Mn alloyed nanorods (Mn nominal concentration – 3–5 wt%) were synthesized by using hydrothermal process at an optimized growth temperature of 200 °C and a growth time of 3 h. The XRD, SEM and Raman, FTIR investigations reveal that ZnO:Mn (Mn – 3–5 wt%) retained hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure with nanorod morphology. The HRTEM and SAED analysis confirm the single crystalline nature of hydrothermally grown ZnO and ZnO:Mn (5 wt%) nanorods. The ZnO:Mn nanorods (Mn – 0–5 wt%) displayed optical band gap in the range 3.23–3.28 eV. The blue shift of UV emission peak (PL) from 393 (ZnO) to 386 nm and quenching of photoluminescence emission in ZnO:Mn is due to the Mn incorporation …