Enhancement Effect Research Articles

Dual-function reusable SERS substrate based on Ag/Ag3PO4/MXene heterojunction: Efficient detection and photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants.

A flexible cotton-based Ag/Ag3PO4/MXene (APMX) ternary composite material was successfully synthesized, serving as a dual-function and reusable surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate for both sensitive detection and efficient organic dye degradation. The remarkable SERS properties of the composite can be attributed to the combined effects of electromagnetic enhancement by Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs), charge transfer enhancement from Ag3PO4, and the chemical enhancement mechanisms associated with MXene. When employed for the detection of crystal violet (CV), the material exhibits outstanding sensitivity, achieving a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 3.82×10-11M. Moreover, the synergistic effects between the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Ag NPs and the high electrical conductivity of MXene significantly improve charge transfer on the Ag3PO4 surface, thereby enhancing photocatalytic efficiency. Under visible light irradiation, the composite achieves an 83.64% degradation rate of CV within 90min. By integrating the composite material onto cotton, its flexibility and practical applicability are enhanced, allowing for in-situ SERS detection and effective analysis on irregular surfaces. Additionally, the photocatalytic degradation function imparts a self-cleaning property, greatly improving its reusability and sustainability. As a high-performance, dual-function material, the APMX cotton shows great potential in environmental monitoring and pollution control by providing sensitive SERS detection and efficient wastewater pollutant degradation.

Breast Suspicious Microcalcifications on Contrast-Enhanced Mammograms: Practice and Reflection.

To evaluate the use of contrast enhanced mammography (CEM) in suspicious microcalcifications and to discuss strategies to cope with its diagnostic limitations. We retrospectively evaluated patients with suspicious calcifications who underwent CEM at our institution. We collected and analyzed morphological findings, enhancement patterns and pathological findings of suspicious microcalcifications on CEM. A small proportion of these cases underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). The enhancement patterns of CEM in this study were classified into three categories: enhancement, no enhancement, and indeterminate. CEM imaging was independently analyzed by two breast imaging specialists. A total of 44 patients with 46 lesions were collected from January 2022 to July 2024. Overall, 20 cases (43.5%) microcalcifications showed enhancement on CEM; 23 (50.0%) showed no enhancement; and 3 (6.5%) were indeterminate. Of the 20 enhancement cases, mass enhancement was seen in 9 (45%), and non-mass enhancement (NME) in 11 (55%). DCE-MRI was performed in 13 cases. One case of invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) showed enhancement on MRI but was indeterminate on CEM due to the masking effect of background parenchymal enhancement (BPE), and one case of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) lacked enhancement on CEM but had significant enhancement on MRI. CEM provides additional information on the enhancement associated with breast suspicious microcalcifications. It is not perfect for diagnosis and strategies are needed to cope with its limitations.

A novel Nitrogen-Doped Water-Soluble carbon dot for highly selective Recognition of Mg2+ by chelation conjugation enhancement effect (CCE) and its application in Synergistically enhanced photodynamic antibacterial

A novel Nitrogen-Doped Water-Soluble carbon dot for highly selective Recognition of Mg2+ by chelation conjugation enhancement effect (CCE) and its application in Synergistically enhanced photodynamic antibacterial

Factors influencing surimi gelling properties and natural additive-based gel fortification strategies: A review.

Gelation and gel properties are crucial to surimi-based seafood products, and many factors significantly influence surimi gel quality. Although physical and chemical modifications can improve surimi gel performance, challenges such as high cost, difficulties in industrialization and environmental pollution pose significant barriers to their practicality. Natural additives offer a promising alternative by reinforcing and improving the characteristics of surimi gel through mechanisms such as protein conformational transformation, protein denaturation, and altered chemical forces. By incorporating different substances into surimi gel, it is possible to tune the interaction between the additives and the myofibrillar proteins, thus enhancing the gelation process and achieving the desired textural profiles. This review comprehensively explored the factors influencing the surimi gelation chemistry, with a focus on how the natural additives such as proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, salts, enzymes, and extracts impact the surimi gel properties. It elucidated the reinforcing mechanisms of these additives and proposed a general interaction model between natural substance and myofibrillar proteins. Furthermore, this review well established the interrelation between the performance and mechanism of enhancement effects of typical natural substances on surimi gels and provided new insights on tuning surimi gelation and gel properties by adding natural additives with specific physicochemical properties, thus facilitating the production of high-quality surimi products with satisfactory gel characteristics in food industry.

Yielding performance of compact yielding anchor cable in working state: Analytical theory and experimental evaluation of yielding resistance enhancement effect

Yielding performance of compact yielding anchor cable in working state: Analytical theory and experimental evaluation of yielding resistance enhancement effect

Kinetics analysis of radical photopolymerizations for UV-curable nanocomposites based on cellulose nanocrystals: Promoting and enhancing mechanisms.

The interfacial interactions between the enhanced nanoscale components and the polymer matrix, as well as the photopolymerization behavior of the composite system, are of paramount importance to the quality and performance of photo-curable nanocomposites. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), a novel class of green reinforcing materials, are anticipated to facilitate the development of high-performance applications of advanced functional materials. Herein, the promoting and enhancing effects of modified CNCs on photo-curable nanocomposites are studied. As confirmed by the FTIR spectra, the active radicals introduced on the surface of the modified CNCs promote a stronger interfacial chemical interaction between the CNCs and the photopolymer molecules. Infrared thermography is performed to reflect the thermal energy changes during the photocuring of nanocomposites for investigating the acting mechanism of the modified CNCs on the curing behavior. Notably, the nanoscale structure and enhancement effect of CNCs contribute to the effective promotion of the curing reaction of the polymer matrix molecules, and increase their crosslink density. The non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) test is employed to assess the thermal properties of photocured nanocomposites with varying contents of modified CNCs, in order to identify the optimal UV curing process. Kinetic analysis based on the Kissinger model indicates that CNCs not only facilitated the formation of polymer networks, but also played a role in optimizing the reaction paths and reducing the energy barriers of the reactions. The results demonstrated that the 0.75 wt% CNC nanocomposites exhibited the most favorable reactivity at 50 and 100 mW/cm2 UV intensities, which is consistent with the mechanical property test data. In terms of micro-mechanism, the active radicals on the surface enhance the ability of CNCs to chemically bind to the photopolymer. This is coupled with their significant interfacial effects, which facilitate the formation of strong interfacial binding. The aforementioned findings provide a solid foundation for the construction of high-performance photo-curable nanocomposites.

Visible light-driven multichannel concerted antibacterial films with Photodynamically enhanced self-cascading Chemodynamic actions for long-term preservation of perishable food.

This work pioneered an innovative visible light-powered, self-cascading peroxide antimicrobial packaging system (RPFe-CS), featuring a photodynamic enhancement effect achieved through the demand-oriented design of riboflavin sodium phosphate and Fe coordination complexes (RPFe) fillers with photodynamic and peroxidase activities, and the ingenious selection of slightly acidic chitosan (CS) film matrix. In this system, the photo-responsive properties of RPFe particles not only generate the •O2-, •OH, and 1O2 required for photodynamic sterilization, but also the produced H2O2 serves as a necessary substrate for peroxidase to exert its bactericidal effect, endowing the packaging system with a "self-production and self-marketing" cascade process. The RPFe0.3-CS film achieved efficient eradication to bacteria and fungi reaching up to 99.9% and 90.6%, respectively, thereby demonstrating an excellent effect that significantly extends the storage period of cherry tomatoes by 1.5 times. These desirable properties underscore the significant advantages of RPFe0.3-CS film in addressing the challenges of food microbial spoilage.

SERS-based quantitative vertical flow assay using dual Au-Ag SERS nanoprobes

A surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based vertical flow assay (VFA) platform was developed for the point-of-care testing (POCT) to perform multiplex diagnosis and distinguish each disease with similar symptoms (e.g., analysis of respiratory diseases including SARS-CoV-2, influenza and RSV). To evaluate the feasibility of multiplexing performance of SERS-VFA platform, vertical flow cartridges with 2 × 2 test areas on the nitrocellulose membrane and two different Raman reporter-labeled SERS nanoprobes were prepared, to detect samples including two different immunoglobulins (mouse IgG and rabbit IgG). For the preparation of SERS nanoprobes, we made use of the gold-silver/core–shell metal nanostructures for the local electromagnetic-field enhancement effect, and the Raman signal could be improved. SERS mapping images for each IgG in the sample were generated by measuring Raman peak position originated from each individual SERS nanoprobes. As a result, the quantitative analysis of each individual IgG could be performed at once, with a single sample. The detection limit for each rabbit IgG and mouse IgG was calculated as 0.030 μg/mL and 0.18 μg/mL, respectively. This result shows the SERS-based VFA platform could be of significant utility in multiplexed detection of chemical or biological targets.

Combining ion-pair strategy and chemical enhancers to develop mirtazapine long-acting transdermal patches for depression treatment

Although mirtazapine (MZP) tablets have been recommended as a first-line treatment for depression in clinical, frequent administration and unsteady blood concentration lead to poor patient compliance and severe side effects. The purpose of this study was to develop a drug-in-adhesive transdermal patch that can deliver MZP stably for 3 days with high utilization. The formulation factors such as counterion, pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA), and chemical permeation enhancer (CPE) were screened by in vitro skin permeation study and further optimized by Box-Behnken design. Pharmacokinetics was investigated to verify the transdermal performance of the optimized MZP patch in vivo. Adhesion properties and skin irritation were also evaluated. The combined enhancement effects of ion-pair strategy and CPEs in the release process were characterized by rheology study, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), FTIR, and molecular docking, and the effects in the skin permeation process were studied by ATR-FTIR, Raman and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The 80 μm thickness of the optimized patch containing 9% MZP-C6 and 10% Plurol® Oleique CC 497 (POCC) showed fabulous delivery abilities (Q72h = 752.74 μg/cm2) and high utilization (69.62%) in vitro. Pharmacokinetics indicated the steady plasma concentration within 72 h (AUC0-t = 5595.86 ± 431.08 h ng/mL, MRT0-t = 26.27 ± 4.72 h). Molecular mechanism revealed that CPEs promoted drug release and skin penetration by enhancing the molecular mobility of adhesive chain and skin lipids as well as competing with ion-pairs for binding to the same site on the adhesive and ceramide. In summary, this MZP long-acting patch was successfully developed, holding promise as an alternative treatment for depression.

Symmetrical "super learning": Enhancing causal learning using a bidirectional probabilistic outcome.

In a learning environment, with multiple predictive cues for a single outcome, cues interfere with or enhance each other during the acquisition process (e.g., Baker et al., 1993). Previous experiments have focused on cues that signal the presence or absence of binary outcomes. This introduces a perceptual and perhaps motivational asymmetry between excitatory and inhibitory learning. Here, using a bidirectional outcome, we asked whether learning about both generative (incremental positive outcome) and preventative (incremental negative outcome) causal cues show similar enhancement effects in opposite directions. In three experiments with humans using predictive learning tasks, participants (N = 133) were exposed to probabilistic predictive cues for opposite polarity events. Generative cues caused an increase in outcome likelihood, while preventative cues decreased it. An analysis of explicit predictive ratings found evidence for symmetrical learning and enhanced learning for both generative and preventative cues. The results are discussed in relation to super learning, an effect derived from theories of competitive learning based on error correction and theories of contrasting probability estimates. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Controllable multivalent LYTACs enhance targeted protein degradation.

We present a versatile DNA-based LYTAC framework that allows control over the valency of chimeras and the distance between ligands through DNA self-assembly. By evaluating the degradation capabilities of LYTACs with 1, 3, and 9 valences, we confirm the broad applicability of the multivalent enhancement effect across different lysosome-targeting receptor-mediated degradation pathways. Our findings provide valuable insights into improving the degradation efficiency of LYTACs.

A highly selective mercury ion electrochemical detection based on the enhancement of oxidase-like activity by mercury on electrodeposited palladium nanoparticles@reduced graphene oxide

The enhancement effect of the oxidase-like activity arising from the specific combination of Hg2+ and PdNPs was studied on modified electrodes, based on which a highly selective, rapid and eco-friendly electrochemical Hg2+ sensor was constructed.

Design of meta-surface lens integrated with pupil filter

<sec>Metasurface lenses are miniature flat lenses that can precisely control the phase, amplitude, and polarization of incident light by modulating the parameters of each unit on the substrate. Compared with conventional optical lenses, they have the advantages of small size, light weight, and high integration, and are the core components of photonic chips. Currently, the hot topics for metasurface lens are broadband and achromatic devices, and there is still less attention paid to the resolution improvement. To break through the diffraction limit and further improve the focusing performance and imaging resolution of metasurface lenses, we use unit cells to perform multi-dimensional modulation of the incident light field. Specifically, in this paper, we combine phase modulation of metasurface lens with a pupil filtering, which has been widely applied to traditional microscopy imaging and adaptive optics and has demonstrated powerful resolution enhancement effects. The integrating of these two technologies will continue to improve the imaging performance of metasurface lenses and thus expanding their application fields.</sec><sec>In this work, we firstly design a single-cell super-surface lens composed of a silicon nanofin array and a silica substrate as a benchmark for comparing the performance of integrated super-surface lens. The lens achieves an ideal focal spot for incident light at 633 nm, resulting in a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 376.0 nm. Then, a three-zone phase modulating pupil filter is proposed and designed with the same aperture of metasurface lens, which has a phase jump of 0-π-0 from the inside to the outside of the aperture. From the simulation results, the main lobe size of the focal spot is compressed obviously. In the optimization, its structural parameters are scanned for the best performance, and an optimal set of structural parameters is selected and used in the integrated metasurface lens. Finally, the integrated metasurface lens is designed by combining the metasurface lens with a three-zone phase modulating pupil filter, and the FWHM of its focal spot is compressed to 323.4 nm (≈ 0.51<i>λ</i>), which is not only 15% smaller than original metasurface lens’s FWHM of 376.0 nm, but also much smaller than the diffraction limit of 0.61<i>λ</i>/NA (when NA = 0.9, it is approximately 429.0 nm). This result preliminarily demonstrates the super-resolution performance of the integrated super-surface lens. With the comprehensive regulation of multi-dimensional information, such as amplitude, polarization, and vortex, the integrated super-surface optical lens will achieve more excellent super-resolution focusing and imaging performance, and will also be widely used in the fields of super-resolution imaging, virtual reality, and three-dimensional optical display, due to its characteristics of high resolution, high integration, and high miniaturization.</sec>

Cascaded MXene/Metal-Organic framework system enables rapid gelation of ultrastretchable and high-toughness conductive hydrogels for multifunctional wearable electronics

Flexible conductive hydrogels have emerged as promising materials for the fabrication of advanced wearable electronics. Although various crosslinking strategies and functional materials have been introduced to prepare hydrogels with high resilience, conformal adhesion and fatigue resistance, the rapid, facile and energy-free gelation of conductive hydrogels with excellent mechanical strength remains a critical challenge. Herein, a facile and universal strategy for the rapid gelation of hydrogels is proposed via constructing a cascade catalytic system comprising MXene and Fe-MIL-88NH2 metal–organic framework to accelerate the gelation process through their synergistic enhancement effect. The cascade system not only initiates the gelation of hydrophilic monomers within 101 s, but also functions as the cross-linker and conductive filler to form a multibond network and multiple conductive pathways with oxidized sodium alginate (OSA) and Ca2+, which significantly improves the mechanical and electrical performance of the hydrogels, including high stretchability (2200 %), toughness (1.15 MJ/m−3(−|-)), tunable adhesion, stability, excellent fatigue resistance (1500 cycles) and superior conductivity (3.51 S m−1). With high strain sensitivity (gauge factor = 9.51) and low detection limit, hydrogel-based wearable sensors are capable of accurately and consistently monitoring of the movements and electrophysiological signals from the human body. By harmonizing the preparation and performance of hydrogels, this universal strategy sheds new light on the construction of next-generation of advanced wearable electronics.

Study on the influence of TiO2 nanoparticles on the breakdown voltage of transformer oil under severe cold conditions.

The modified nanoparticles can significantly improve the insulation characteristics of transformer oil. Currently, there is a lack of research on the actual motion state of particles in nanofluid to further understand the micro-mechanism of nanoparticles improving the insulation characteristics of transformer oil. In this study, the nanofluid containing 0.01g/L of TiO2 with a particle size of 20nm is prepared using the thermal oscillation method. Breakdown voltage tests are carried out. The experimental test results show that adding nanoparticles can significantly reduce the breakdown probability of transformer oil. The more the water content, the less the enhancement effect of the nanofluid on breakdown voltage. The higher the temperature, the stronger the enhancement effect of the nanofluid on breakdown voltage. Finally, the polarization process of nanoparticles and the trajectory of charged particles in the transformer oil under different electric fields are simulated using COMSOL to further analyze the influence mechanism of nanoparticles on the insulation characteristics of transformer oil. The simulation results show that under the action of the electric field, nanoparticles polarize and generate charge shallow traps to adsorb electrons, reducing the high-speed free charges in the oil, and indirectly increasing the breakdown voltage.

Vacuum degree detection performance improvement of vacuum switches based on NELIBS

We aimed to investigate the enhancement effects of silver nanoparticles on signals under low-pressure. By analyzing spectral data, plasma images, and radiation integral intensity, we seek to improve the accuracy of vacuum level measurements.

Microphysical Processes and Enhancement Effect of Natural Seeder-Feeder in Stratiform Snowfall Observed by Millimeter-Wave Cloud Radar

Microphysical Processes and Enhancement Effect of Natural Seeder-Feeder in Stratiform Snowfall Observed by Millimeter-Wave Cloud Radar

Fabrication of Ag based Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering substrates with periodic mask arrays by electron beam deposition.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has attracted much attention as a powerful detection and analysis tool with high sensitivity and fast detection speed. The intensity of the SERS signal mainly depended on the highly enhanced electromagnetic field of nanostructure near the substrate. However, the fabrication of high-quality SERS nanostructured substrates is usually complicated, makes many methods unsuitable for large-scale production of SERS substrates. A new strategic preparation method is needed, which is simple and inexpensive in the preparation process, can achieve large-scale mass production, and also ensures the good performance of the SERS substrate. For the first time, we propose constructing a silver (Ag) surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate with different angular quadrilateral periodic arrays by combining a mask plate and vapor deposition. The mask plate can precisely control the period and angle of the nano-arrays, and thus regulate the intensity of the local "hot spots". The analytical results show that the tetragonal periodic Ag SERS substrate with a 15° angle of the mask plate exhibits a significant enhancement effect in the detection of Rhodamine 6G (R6G), Rhodamine B (RhB), and Methyl Orange (MO) probe molecules, and the limit of detection (LOD) of this substrate is low as 10-11mol/L for all the three solutions. The enhancement factors (EFs) are 6.5×106, 4.2×105, and 2.6×105, respectively. The accuracy of the experimental results was further verified through a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation. In this paper, we propose that the SERS substrate was fabricated using the new strategy with a lower detection limit for multiple dye molecules simultaneously. The results show that the SERS substrate prepared in this study has great potential for applications in high-performance SERS sensors. Additionally, this new preparation method may also be applicable to other metal materials, offering broad research prospects.

Gold nanostars and nanourchins for enhanced photothermal therapy, bioimaging, and theranostics.

Photothermal therapy (PTT), a recently emerging method for eradicating tumors, utilizes hyperthermia induced by photo-absorbing materials to generate heat within cancer cells. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have gained reliability for in vitro and in vivo applications in PTT due to their strong light absorbance, stability, and biocompatibility. Yet, their potential is limited by their spherical shape, impacting their size capabilities, electromagnetic enhancement effects, and localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Anisotropic shapes have been tested and implemented in this treatment to overcome the limitations of spherical AuNPs. Nanostars (AuNSs) and nanourchins (AuNUs) offer unique properties, such as increased local electron density, improved catalytic activity, and an enhanced electromagnetic field, which have proven to be effective in PTT. Additionally, these shapes can easily reach the NIR-I and NIR-II window while exhibiting improved biological properties, including low cytotoxicity and high cellular uptake. This work covers the critical characteristics of AuNS and AuNUs, highlighting rough surface photothermal conversion enhancement, significantly impacting recent PTT and its synergy with other treatments. Additionally, the bioimaging and theranostic applications of these nanomaterials are discussed, highlighting their multifaceted utility in advanced cancer therapies.

Konjac glucomannan-based hydrogels with tunable mechanical strength and frictional resistance for biomedical applications.

Hydrogels with favorable biocompatibility are regarded as ideal biomedical materials. However, their poor mechanical and tribological properties limit their further clinical applications. Konjac glucomannan (KGM), a safe natural polysaccharide, has the potential to bridge this gap by regulating the mechanical and tribological properties of hydrogels. This work prepares physical-physical and physical-chemical composite hydrogels to validate the enhancement effect of KGM. Within both types of hydrogels, KGM macromolecules aggregate and regulate their compression properties. As an additive, KGM enhances the compressive strength of polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogel from 140.78 KPa to 638.79 KPa and reduces the coefficient of friction (CoF) of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and PAM substrates by 52.57 % and 60.60 %, respectively. Moreover, KGM exhibits excellent biocompatibility. In summary, KGM emerges as a safe and effective candidate for regulating the mechanical and tribological properties of hydrogels, thereby demonstrating great potential for further biomedical applications.