Search results for "PC(O)"

Photonic Crystal‐Driven Spectral Concentration for Upconversion Photovoltaics

2014

The main challenge for applying upconversion (UC) to silicon photovoltaics is the limited amount of solar energy harvested directly via erbium-based upconverter materials (24.5 W m–2). This could be increased up to 87.7 W m–2 via spectral concentration. Due to the nonlinear behavior of UC, this could increase the best UC emission by a factor 13. In this paper, the combined use of quantum dots (QDs)—for luminescent down-shifting—and photonic crystals (PCs)—for reshaping the emission—to achieve spectral concentration is shown. This implies dealing with the coupling of colloidal QDs and PC at the high-density regime, where the modes are shifted and broadened. In the first fabricated all-optica…

NIR excitation of upconversion nanohybrids containing a surface grafted Bodipy induces oxygen-mediated cancer cell death

2020

We report the preparation of water-dispersible, ca. 30 nm-sized nanohybrids containing NaYF4:Er3+, Yb3+ up-conversion nanoparticles (UCNPs), capped with a polyethylene glycol (PEG) derivative and highly loaded with a singlet oxygen photosensitizer, specifically a diiodo-substituted Bodipy (IBDP). The photosensitizer, bearing a carboxylic group, was anchored to the UCNP surface and, at the same time, embedded in the PEG capping; the combined action of the UCNP surface and PEG facilitated the loading for an effective energy transfer and, additionally, avoided photosensitizer leaching from the nanohybrid (UCNP-IBDP@PEG). The effectiveness of the nanohybrids in generating singlet oxygen after n…

Parametric conversion in micrometer and sub-micrometer structured ferroelectric crystals by surface poling

2012

We report on recent technological improvements concerning nonlinear patterning of lithium niobate and lithium tantalate in the micrometer and submicrometer scales using surface periodic poling for ferroelectric domain inversion. The fabricated samples were employed for frequency doubling via quasiphase-matching both in bulk and guided wave geometries, including forward and backward configurations and wavelength conversion in bands C and L. We also investigated short-period quasiperiodic samples with randomly distributed mark-to-space ratios.

Upconversion luminescent nanoparticles in physical sensing and in monitoring physical processes in biological samples.

2015

The most frequently used strategy for sensing is based on the emission variation of a photoactive system and it can be classified as chemical or physical depending on its response to either a chemical or a physical stimulus. There are a large number of luminescent nanomaterials that respond to chemical species, but comparatively, with the exception of temperature sensing, to date there are few examples showing the capacity of photoactive nanosystems responsive to physical stimuli, such as magnetic and electric fields, high radiation energy, tension/pressure, viscosity, etc, and very few of them comprise upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). These nanomaterials consist of an inorganic matrix d…

Study of upconversion in highly Er-doped photonic crystal fibers through laser-transient dynamics

2014

The dynamic response after pump switch-on of a 980 nm pumped-ring laser based on an active photonic crystal fiber with an Er3+ ion concentration of ≈1020 ions cm−3 was registered. Then a numerical fitting procedure of a theoretical model was followed to the experimental values of the relaxation oscillation parameters as a function of the input pump power. Non-radiative energy-transfer mechanisms’ coefficients: homogeneous upconversion coefficient (Cup) and critical radii for upconversion (Ru) and migration (Rm) were determined. The calculated best-fit coefficients (Cup = 1.3  ×  10−24 m3 s−1, Ru = 9  ×  10−10 m, Rm = 13  ×  10−10 m) were compared to those obtained with other steady-state an…

Photovoltaics: Photonic Crystal-Driven Spectral Concentration for Upconversion Photovoltaics (Advanced Optical Materials 4/2015)

2015

A Critical Perspective on the Supplementation of Akkermansia muciniphila: Benefits and Harms

2023

Akkermansia muciniphila is a mucin-degrading bacterium of the intestinal niche, exerting beneficial effects on the host metabolic profile. Accumulating evidence indicated Akkermansia as a promising therapeutic probiotic against metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. However, in specific intestinal microenvironments, its excessive enrichment may be not beneficial. Conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Salmonella typhimurium infection or post-antibiotic reconstitution may not benefit from Akkermansia supplementation. Furthermore, using Akkermansia in patients with endocrine and gynecological disorders—such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PC…

Lengthening the Lifetime of Common Emissive Probes to Microseconds by a Jigsaw‐Like Construction of NIR‐Responsive Nanohybrids

2020

2013

Rodents are most useful models to study physiological and pathophysiological processes in early development, because they are born in a relatively immature state. However, only few techniques are available to monitor non-invasively heart frequency and respiratory rate in neonatal rodents without restraining or hindering access to the animal. Here we describe experimental procedures that allow monitoring of heart frequency by electrocardiography (ECG) and breathing rate with a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) element without hindering access to the animal. These techniques can be easily installed and are used in the present study in unrestrained awake and anesthetized neonatal C57/Bl6 mice and…

Need for liver evaluation in polycystic ovary syndrome

2007

Medicine is changing and requires a more in-depth knowledge also in fields that were previously considered completely different and dedicated to other specialists. A good example of this general trend is the paper by Cerda et al. [1] that shows a high prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). The authors studied 41 young women with PCOS and found that 17 patients (41%) had NAFLD. In addition, 7 patients with NAFLD had increased aminotransferase levels raising the possibility of a transition to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Other reports have shown similar data recently [2–5]. It is time therefore that doctors caring for pat…