scholarly journals Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Loaded onto Polymer-Inorganic Composite Materials and Their Regulated Catalytic Activity

Polymers ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sen Yan ◽  
Chunge Jiang ◽  
Jianwu Guo ◽  
Yinglan Fan ◽  
Ying Zhang

We present a novel approach for the preparation of polymer-TiO2 composite microgels. These microgels were prepared by the in situ hydrolysis and condensation of titanium tetrabutoxide (TBOT) in a mixed ethanol/acetonitrile solvent system, using poly(styrene-co-N-isopropylacrylamide)/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-methacrylic acid) (P(St-NIPAM/P(NIPAM-co-MAA)) as the core component. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were controllably loaded onto the polymer-TiO2 composite microgels through the reduction of an ammoniacal silver solution in ethanol catalyzed by NaOH. The results showed that the P(St-NIPAM)/P(NIPAM-co-MAA)-TiO2 (polymer-TiO2) organic-inorganic composite microgels were less thermally sensitive than the polymer gels themselves, owing to rigid O–Ti–O chains introduced into the three-dimensional framework of the polymer microgels. The sizes of the AgNPs and their loading amount were controlled by adjusting the initial concentration of [Ag(NH3)2]+. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) band of the P(St-NIPAM)/P(NIPAM-co-MAA)-TiO2/Ag (polymer-TiO2/Ag) composite microgels can be tuned by changing the temperature of the environment. The catalytic activities of the polymer-TiO2/Ag composite microgels were investigated in the NaBH4 reduction of 4-nitrophenol. It was demonstrated that the organic-inorganic network chains of the polymer microgels not only favor the mass transfer of the reactant but can also modulate the catalytic activities of the AgNPs by tuning the temperature.

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Francis ◽  
Gillian Robb ◽  
Lee McCann ◽  
Bhagwati Khatri ◽  
James Keeble ◽  
...  

AbstractTuberculosis (TB) preclinical testing relies on in vivo models including the mouse aerosol challenge model. The only method of determining colony morphometrics of TB infection in a tissue in situ is two-dimensional (2D) histopathology. 2D measurements consider heterogeneity within a single observable section but not above and below, which could contain critical information. Here we describe a novel approach, using optical clearing and a novel staining procedure with confocal microscopy and mesoscopy, for three-dimensional (3D) measurement of TB infection within lesions at sub-cellular resolution over a large field of view. We show TB morphometrics can be determined within lesion pathology, and differences in infection with different strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Mesoscopy combined with the novel CUBIC Acid-Fast (CAF) staining procedure enables a quantitative approach to measure TB infection and allows 3D analysis of infection, providing a framework which could be used in the analysis of TB infection in situ.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emre Topal ◽  
Harishankaran Rajendran ◽  
Izabela Zgłobicka ◽  
Jürgen Gluch ◽  
Zhongquan Liao ◽  
...  

Diatom frustules, with their hierarchical three-dimensional patterned silica structures at nano to micrometer dimensions, can be a paragon for the design of lightweight structural materials. However, the mechanical properties of frustules, especially the species with pennate symmetry, have not been studied systematically. A novel approach combining in situ micro-indentation and high-resolution X-ray computed tomography (XCT)-based finite element analysis (FEA) at the identical sample is developed and applied to Didymosphenia geminata frustule. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy investigations are conducted to obtain detailed information regarding the resolvable structures and the composition. During the in situ micro-indentation studies of Didymosphenia geminata frustule, a mainly elastic deformation behavior with displacement discontinuities/non-linearities is observed. To extract material properties from obtained load-displacement curves in the elastic region, elastic finite element method (FEM) simulations are conducted. Young’s modulus is determined as 31.8 GPa. The method described in this paper allows understanding of the mechanical behavior of very complex structures.


Author(s):  
J. P. Revel

Movement of individual cells or of cell sheets and complex patterns of folding play a prominent role in the early developmental stages of the embryo. Our understanding of these processes is based on three- dimensional reconstructions laboriously prepared from serial sections, and from autoradiographic and other studies. Many concepts have also evolved from extrapolation of investigations of cell movement carried out in vitro. The scanning electron microscope now allows us to examine some of these events in situ. It is possible to prepare dissections of embryos and even of tissues of adult animals which reveal existing relationships between various structures more readily than used to be possible vithout an SEM.


Author(s):  
D. Reis ◽  
B. Vian ◽  
J. C. Roland

Wall morphogenesis in higher plants is a problem still open to controversy. Until now the possibility of a transmembrane control and the involvement of microtubules were mostly envisaged. Self-assembly processes have been observed in the case of walls of Chlamydomonas and bacteria. Spontaneous gelling interactions between xanthan and galactomannan from Ceratonia have been analyzed very recently. The present work provides indications that some processes of spontaneous aggregation could occur in higher plants during the formation and expansion of cell wall.Observations were performed on hypocotyl of mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) for which growth characteristics and wall composition have been previously defined.In situ, the walls of actively growing cells (primary walls) show an ordered three-dimensional organization (fig. 1). The wall is typically polylamellate with multifibrillar layers alternately transverse and longitudinal. Between these layers intermediate strata exist in which the orientation of microfibrils progressively rotates. Thus a progressive change in the morphogenetic activity occurs.


Author(s):  
S. Naka ◽  
R. Penelle ◽  
R. Valle

The in situ experimentation technique in HVEM seems to be particularly suitable to clarify the processes involved in recrystallization. The material under investigation was unidirectionally cold-rolled titanium of commercial purity. The problem was approached in two different ways. The three-dimensional analysis of textures was used to describe the texture evolution during the primary recrystallization. Observations of bulk-annealed specimens or thin foils annealed in the microscope were also made in order to provide information concerning the mechanisms involved in the formation of new grains. In contrast to the already published work on titanium, this investigation takes into consideration different values of the cold-work ratio, the temperature and the annealing time.Two different models are commonly used to explain the recrystallization textures i.e. the selective grain growth model (Beck) or the oriented nucleation model (Burgers). The three-dimensional analysis of both the rolling and recrystallization textures was performed to identify the mechanismsl involved in the recrystallization of titanium.


Author(s):  
W.F. Marshall ◽  
A.F. Dernburg ◽  
B. Harmon ◽  
J.W. Sedat

Interactions between chromatin and nuclear envelope (NE) have been implicated in chromatin condensation, gene regulation, nuclear reassembly, and organization of chromosomes within the nucleus. To further investigate the physiological role played by such interactions, it will be necessary to determine which loci specifically interact with the nuclear envelope. This will not only facilitate identification of the molecular determinants of this interaction, but will also allow manipulation of the pattern of chromatin-NE interactions to probe possible functions. We have developed a microscopic approach to detect and map chromatin-NE interactions inside intact cells.Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is used to localize specific chromosomal regions within the nucleus of Drosophila embryos and anti-lamin immunofluorescence is used to detect the nuclear envelope. Widefield deconvolution microscopy is then used to obtain a three-dimensional image of the sample (Fig. 1). The nuclear surface is represented by a surface-harmonic expansion (Fig 2). A statistical test for association of the FISH spot with the surface is then performed.


Author(s):  
Greg V. Martin ◽  
Ann L. Hubbard

The microtubule (MT) cytoskeleton is necessary for many of the polarized functions of hepatocytes. Among the functions dependent on the MT-based cytoskeleton are polarized secretion of proteins, delivery of endocytosed material to lysosomes, and transcytosis of integral plasma membrane (PM) proteins. Although microtubules have been shown to be crucial to the establishment and maintenance of functional and structural polarization in the hepatocyte, little is known about the architecture of the hepatocyte MT cytoskeleton in vivo, particularly with regard to its relationship to PM domains and membranous organelles. Using an in situ extraction technique that preserves both microtubules and cellular membranes, we have developed a protocol for immunofluorescent co-localization of cytoskeletal elements and integral membrane proteins within 20 µm cryosections of fixed rat liver. Computer-aided 3D reconstruction of multi-spectral confocal microscope images was used to visualize the spatial relationships among the MT cytoskeleton, PM domains and intracellular organelles.


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