Search results for "interfaces"
showing 10 items of 1258 documents
Detecting self-similarity in surface microstructures
2000
The relative configurational entropy per cell as a function of length scale is a sensitive detector of spatial self-similarity. For Sierpinski carpets the equally separated peaks of the above function appear at the length scales that depend on the kind of the carpet. These peaks point to the presence of self-similarity even for randomly perturbed initial fractal sets. This is also demonstrated for the model population of particles diffusing over the surface considered by Van Siclen, Phys. Rev. E 56 (1997) 5211. These results allow the subtle self-similarity traces to be explored.
Surface properties of valine-gramicidin A at the air-water interface
1996
Abstract Fluorescence microscopy, X-ray reflectivity and ellipsometry have been applied to the study of a monolayer of valine-gramicidin A (VGA) at the air-water interface to obtain insight into the conformation and orientation of VGA, and to clarify the shoulder observed in its π - A curve (12.5–16 mN m −1 , 240 – 175 A 2 molecule −1 ). At low molecular areas, the X-ray reflectivities are consistent with formation of a single layer of tubular-shaped dimers. Fluorescence microscopy yielded homogeneous pictures suggesting that on the macroscopic scale the shoulder cannot be attributed to domain formation. Thicknesses calculated from the ellipsometric isotherm are consistent with the X-ray da…
Grain size, stress and surface roughness
2008
In this article, we report molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on the formation of roughness at the surface of strained polycrystalline aluminum samples at 300 K. The computed roughness increases as a function of applied strain but does not follow a linear law for all applied strains. A linear relationship with a small slope is obtained in the elastic domain. Then, the roughness increases rapidly with the applied strain in the plastic domain studied. Moreover, the surface roughness increases as a function of grain size (between 5 and 20 nm) in the plastic domain (<6%).
Engineering Proteins at Interfaces: From Complementary Characterization to Material Surfaces with Designed Functions
2018
Abstract Once materials come into contact with a biological fluid containing proteins, proteins are generally—whether desired or not—attracted by the material's surface and adsorb onto it. The aim of this Review is to give an overview of the most commonly used characterization methods employed to gain a better understanding of the adsorption processes on either planar or curved surfaces. We continue to illustrate the benefit of combining different methods to different surface geometries of the material. The thus obtained insight ideally paves the way for engineering functional materials that interact with proteins in a predetermined manner.
Computer-Controlled Experiments in the Surface Forces Apparatus with a CCD-Spectrograph
1996
We present a computer-controlled technique to measure the distance-dependent forces in the surface forces apparatus. The power of our setup is shown by a measurement of the repulsive forces between mica surfaces immersed in a 0.01 M NaCl solution. At close distances we find an oscillatory force with a periodicity of 0.30 nm, which roughly corresponds to the diameter of a water molecule. For the distance determination we use the standard interferometric technique: the interferometer consists of a medium sandwiched between two mica sheets of equal thickness silvered on the backside. The surface separation is measured by comparing the resonance wavelength to the one obtained from contacting m…
[001] Surface Structure in SrTiO3 — Atomistic Study
1998
Thin superconducting films attract great attention as a promising material for plenty of applications. The surface determines most of the physical properties of these films. We studied the polarization effect for the [001] surface of perovskite ABO 3 superconducting crystals on the example of SrTiO 3. Optimization of the ion positions in several surface layers is provided. These ions are placed in the external field of the rest crystal. The interaction between ions is described by means of the shell model technique. We show that Ti +4, Sr 2+ and O -2 ions displace differently from their crystalline sites, which leads to the creation of a dipole moment in the near-surface region.
Adsorption of Semiflexible Polymers in Cylindrical Tubes
2021
Conformations of wormlike chains in cylindrical pores with attractive walls are explored for varying pore radius and strength of the attractive wall potential by molecular dynamics simulations of a coarse-grained model. Local quantities such as the fraction of monomeric units bound to the surface and the bond-orientational order parameter as well as the radial density distribution are studied, as well as the global chain extensions parallel to the cylinder axis and perpendicular to the cylinder surface. A nonmonotonic convergence of these properties to their counterparts for adsorption on a planar substrate is observed due to the conflict between pore surface curvature and chain stiffness. …
Surface Characteristics Control the Attachment and Functionality of (Chimeric) Avidin
2018
The physical adsorption (physisorption) of proteins to surfaces is an important but incompletely understood factor in many biological processes and is of increasing significance in bionanotechnology as well. Avidin is an important protein because of strong avidin–biotin binding, which has been exploited in numerous applications. We have undertaken thorough experimentation on the physisorption of avidin, to chemically different flat surfaces of Si and graphite and also to the curved version of the latter, on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) of different diameters. The difference in the behavior of avidin on Si versus graphite is drastic; on Si, avidin deposits as single globular tetramer…
Polymeric drug delivery micelle-like nanocarriers for pulmonary administration of beclomethasone dipropionate
2017
In this paper, the potential of novel polymeric micelles as drug delivery systems for Beclomethasone Dipropionate (BDP) administration into the lung is investigated. These nanostructures are obtained starting from α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl)-D,L-aspartamide (PHEA), which was subsequently functionalized with O-(2-aminoethyl)-Oâ-methylpolyethylenglycole (PEG2000), ethylenediamine (EDA) and lipoic acid (LA), obtaining PHEA-PEG2000-EDA-LA graft copolymer. Empty and drug-loaded micelles possess adequate chemical-physical characteristics for pulmonary administration such as spherical shape, slightly positive surface charge and mean size of about 200 nm. Besides, BDP-loaded micelles, obtained …
Control of CaCO3 Crystallization by Demixing of Monolayers
2006
In this paper we describe how to template a demixed monolayer into a spatially patterned inorganic replica. For this purpose a new amphiphilic monomer was synthesized which can be polymerized both in solution and in the monolayer of a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) trough. Since it inhibits the crystallization of CaCO3, it can be used--in combination with stearic acid (nucleation-promotor)--to control CaCO3 crystals formed under the monolayer. Investigations of the two-component monolayer (Langmuir isotherms and AFM measurements of transferred films) show--in the biphasic region--demixing in solid analogue stearic acid domains and the liquid analogue phase of the monomer. Crystallization of CaCO3 s…