High Trapping Efficiency Research Articles

Mercury stability of byproducts from wet flue gas desulfurization devices

Mercury released from wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) devices can be inhibited by additives that can transfer mercury to its solid phase. However, the use of additives increases the mercury content in desulfurization gypsum, and the mercury is released again during the calcination process. In this study, NaHS, 2,4,6-trimercaptotiazine, trisodium salt nonahydrate (Na3(C3N3S3)·9H2O, or TMT) and sodium dithiocarbamate (DTCR) were used as additives to control mercury emissions in simulated WFGD devices. Then, different calcination methods were adopted to study mercury release behaviors from calcination process. The transformation of mercury compound species on gypsum was also investigated to explain its behavior during calcination. The result showed that the mercury content in the solid phase increased significantly in the presence of additives. Among three additives, simulated desulfurization slurry with TMT had the highest trapping efficiency over mercury. The mercury thermal stability in gypsum increased in the order of using DTCR, TMT and NaHS. Due to the migration of mercury to the solid phase and the stronger thermal stability of resultants, the residual content of mercury in gypsum with additives after calcination were higher than that without additives. In general, using TMT coupled with slow-speed calcination had the best effect on controlling mercury contamination from WFGD slurry and WFGD byproducts. Moreover, it was verified by temperature programmed decomposition experiments that, after using NaHS, TMT and DTCR, the mercury compound in the gypsum was mainly in the form of HgS, Hg3(TMT)2, Hg(DTCR)2, respectively, which explained the mercury release behaviors during calcination.

Preparation of Nonionic Vesicles Using the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Reverse Phase Evaporation Method and Analysis of Their Solution Properties.

We have previously reported a new preparation method for liposomes using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as a solvent, referred to as the supercritical carbon dioxide reverse phase evaporation (scRPE) method. In our previous work, addition of ethanol to scCO2 as a co-solvent was needed, because lipid molecules had to be dissolved in scCO2 to form liposomes. In this new study, niosomes (nonionic surfactant vesicles) were prepared from various nonionic surfactants using the scRPE method. Among the nonionic surfactants tested were polyoxyethylene (6) stearylether (C18EO6), polyoxyethylene (5) phytosterolether (BPS-5), polyoxyethylene (6) sorbitan stearylester (TS-106V), and polyoxyethylene (4) sorbitan stearylester (Tween 61). All these surfactants have hydrophilic-lipophilic balance values (HLBs) around 9.5 to 9.9, and they can all form niosomes using the scRPE method even in the absence of ethanol. The high solubility of these surfactants in scCO2 was shown to be an important factor in yielding niosomes without ethanol addition. The niosomes prepared with the scRPE method had higher trapping efficiencies than those prepared using the conventional Bangham method, since the scRPE method gives a large number of unilamellar vesicles while the Bangham method gives multilamellar vesicles. Polyoxyethylene-type nonionic surfactants with HLB values from 9.5 to 9.9 were shown to be optimal for the preparation of niosomes with the scRPE method.

Preparation and Properties of Nonionic Vesicles Prepared with Polyglycerol Fatty Acid Esters Using the Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Reverse Phase Evaporation Method.

Previously, we reported a new preparation method for liposomes and niosomes (nonionic vesicles) using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as the solvent (scRPE method). In this study, niosomes were prepared from polyglycerol fatty acid ester (PG ester)-type nonionic surfactants. These surfactants are made from naturally derived materials and are neither harmful to the human body nor to the environment. Niosomes were prepared using the scRPE method with ethanol as the co-solvent. Through this method, decaglycerol distearate (DG2S) and decaglycerol diisostearate (DG2IS) formed niosomes. On the other hand, decaglycerol monostearate (DG1S), which has a high hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) value, yielded a solution of spherical micelles, and decaglycerol tristearate (DG3S), which has a low HLB value, yielded a gel-like solution. Niosomes of DG2IS had higher trapping efficiencies and dispersion stabilities than those of DG2S because the membrane fluidity of the DG2IS niosomes was greater than that of the DG2S niosomes. The niosomes obtained in the present study are candidates for cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications because they are formed from nonionic surfactants derived from natural sources, and prepared using the scRPE method, which avoids the use of harmful organic solvents.

Highly efficient and gentle trapping of single cells in large microfluidic arrays for time-lapse experiments.

The isolation of single biological cells and their further cultivation in dedicated arrayed chambers are key to the collection of statistically reliable temporal data in cell-based biological experiments. In this work, we present a hydrodynamic single cell trapping and culturing platform that facilitates cell observation and experimentation using standard bio-lab equipment. The proposed design leverages the stochastic position of the cells as they flow into the structured microfluidic channels, where hundreds of single cells are then arrayed in nanoliter chambers for simultaneous cell specific data collection. Numerical simulation tools are used to devise and implement a hydrodynamic cell trapping mechanism that is minimally detrimental to the cell cycle and retains high overall trapping efficiency (∼70%) with the capability of reaching high fill factors (>90%) in short loading times (1-4 min) in a 400-trap device. A Monte Carlo model is developed using the design parameters to estimate the system trapping efficiencies, which show strong agreement with the experimentally acquired data. As proof of concept, arrayed mammalian tissue cells (MIA PaCa-2) are cultured in the microfluidic chambers for two days without viability problems.

Nb-doped Gd2O3 as charge-trapping layer for nonvolatile memory applications

The charge-trapping properties of Gd2O3 with different Nb doping levels are investigated using an Al/Al2O3/Gd2O3/SiO2/Si structure. Compared with the memory device with pure Gd2O3, the one with lightly Nb-doped Gd2O3 shows better charge-trapping characteristics, including higher programming speed (6.5 V at +12 V programming voltage for 10 ms) and better retention property (92% retained charge at 85 °C after 104 s), due to its higher trapping efficiency that resulted from higher trap density and suppressed formation of a silicate interlayer at the Gd2O3/SiO2 interface induced by the Nb doping. Moreover, the one with heavily Nb-doped Gd2O3 shows improvement in erasing behavior but worse retention and lower programming speed than the one with lightly Nb-doped Gd2O3. Further analysis reveals that the Nb-doping level determines the type of dominant trap in the Nb-doped Gd2O3, thus leading to different charge-loss mechanisms and charge-trapping characteristics.

Yeast Replicator: A High-Throughput Multiplexed Microfluidics Platform for Automated Measurements of Single-Cell Aging.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a model organism for replicative aging studies; however, conventional lifespan measurement platforms have several limitations. Here, we present a microfluidics platform that facilitates simultaneous lifespan and gene expression measurements of aging yeast cells. Our multiplexed high-throughput platform offers the capability to perform independent lifespan experiments using different yeast strains or growth media. Using this platform in minimal media environments containing glucose, we measured the full lifespan of individual yeast cells in wild-type and canonical gene deletion backgrounds. Compared to glucose, in galactose we observed a 16.8% decrease in replicative lifespan accompanied by an ∼2-fold increase in single-cell oxidative stress levels reported by PSOD1-mCherry. Using PGAL1-YFP to measure the activity of the bistable galactose network, we saw that OFF and ON cells are similar in their lifespan. Our work shows that aging cells are committed to a single phenotypic state throughout their lifespan.

Dielectrophoretic capture of low abundance cell population using thick electrodes.

Enrichment of rare cell populations such as Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) is a critical step before performing analysis. This paper presents a polymeric microfluidic device with integrated thick Carbon-PolyDimethylSiloxane composite (C-PDMS) electrodes designed to carry out dielectrophoretic (DEP) trapping of low abundance biological cells. Such conductive composite material presents advantages over metallic structures. Indeed, as it combines properties of both the matrix and doping particles, C-PDMS allows the easy and fast integration of conductive microstructures using a soft-lithography approach while preserving O2 plasma bonding properties of PDMS substrate and avoiding a cumbersome alignment procedure. Here, we first performed numerical simulations to demonstrate the advantage of such thick C-PDMS electrodes over a coplanar electrode configuration. It is well established that dielectrophoretic force ([Formula: see text]) decreases quickly as the distance from the electrode surface increases resulting in coplanar configuration to a low trapping efficiency at high flow rate. Here, we showed quantitatively that by using electrodes as thick as a microchannel height, it is possible to extend the DEP force influence in the whole volume of the channel compared to coplanar electrode configuration and maintaining high trapping efficiency while increasing the throughput. This model was then used to numerically optimize a thick C-PDMS electrode configuration in terms of trapping efficiency. Then, optimized microfluidic configurations were fabricated and tested at various flow rates for the trapping of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell line. We reached trapping efficiencies of 97% at 20 μl/h and 78.7% at 80 μl/h, for 100 μm thick electrodes. Finally, we applied our device to the separation and localized trapping of CTCs (MDA-MB-231) from a red blood cells sample (concentration ratio of 1:10).

A biocompatible microchip and methodology for efficiently trapping and positioning living cells into array based on negative dielectrophoresis

We present a microchip and trapping methodology based on negative dielectrophoresis (nDEP), whereby living cells were manipulated and positioned into an array with high trapping efficiency while maintaining good viability. The main factors that ensured good viability of cells were investigated including temperature of medium, extra transmembrane potential on cells, and electrolysis effect in DEP-based trapping. Optimum DEP conditions for the microchip were determined by considering both biocompatibility and trapping efficiency. Experiments demonstrated that under a voltage of 3.6–4 Vpp and at a frequency of 100 kHz, HeLa cells could be trapped and positioned into an array in less than 10 s while maintaining good viability. The normal adherence morphology and fluorescence of the cells, dyed with propidium iodide and Calcein-AM, were observed and verified the biocompatibility of the microchip and trapping methodology.

Scavenge flow analysis of opposed-piston two-stroke engine based on dynamic characteristics

Opposed-piston two-stroke engine has been proposed by Beijing Institute of Technology to improve power density and complete machine balance relative to conventional engines. In order to study opposed-piston two-stroke engine scavenging flow, a scavenging system was configured using a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model effectively coupled to experiments. The boundary conditions are obtained through one-dimensional working process simulation results and experiments. As the opposed-piston relative dynamic characteristics of opposed-piston two-stroke engine depend on different design and operating parameters including the opposed-piston motion phase difference and crank-connecting rod ratio, a numerical simulation program was built using MATLAB/Simulink to define opposed-piston motion profiles based on equivalent crank angle of opposed crank-connecting rod mechanism. The opposed-piston motion phase difference only affects scavenging timing while crank-connecting rod ratio affects scavenging timing and duration. Scavenging timing and duration are the main factors which affect scavenging performance. The results indicate that a match of opposed-piston motion phase difference and crank-connecting rod ratio has the potential to achieve high scavenging and trapping efficiency with a right flow in cylinder.

3D Insulator-based dielectrophoresis using DC-biased, AC electric fields for selective bacterial trapping.

Insulator-based dielectrophoresis (iDEP) is a well-known technique that harnesses electric fields for separating, moving, and trapping biological particle samples. Recent work has shown that utilizing DC-biased AC electric fields can enhance the performance of iDEP devices. In this study, an iDEP device with 3D varying insulating structures analyzed in combination with DC biased AC fields is presented for the first time. Using our unique reactive ion etch lag, the mold for the 3D microfluidic chip is created with a photolithographic mask. The 3D iDEP devices, whose largest dimensions are 1 cm long, 0.18 cm wide, and 90μm deep are then rapidly fabricated by curing a PDMS polymer in the glass mold. The 3D nature of the insulating microstructures allows for high trapping efficiency at potentials as low as 200 Vpp. In this work, separation of Escherichia coli from 1 μm beads and selective trapping of live Staphylococcus aureus cells from dead S. aureus cells is demonstrated. This is the first reported use of DC-biased AC fields to selectively trap bacteria in 3D iDEP microfluidic device and to efficiently separate particles where selectivity of DC iDEP is limited.

A kinetic Monte Carlo study of coarsening resistance of novel core/shell precipitates

A novel approach towards the design of coarsening-resistant nanoprecipitates in structural alloys was investigated by kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulation. The approach is motivated by recent experimental results in Cu–Nb–W alloys showing that room temperature ion irradiation resulted in W nanoprecipitation, leading to exceptional stability of W-rich-core/Nb-rich-shell nanoprecipitates formed following thermal annealing (Zhang et al., 2013 [11]). Here, image simulations of atomically resolved scanning transmission electron microscopy are performed to establish that these W nanoprecipitates are highly ramified. Thermal precipitate coarsening in an A–B–C ternary alloy similar to Cu–Nb–W is then studied by KMC simulations, where the highly immiscible and refractory C solute atoms are initially distributed into fractal nanoprecipitates, or cores, which become coated by a shell of B atoms during elevated temperature annealing. Compared with nanoprecipitates generated by compact C cores, the ramified nanoprecipitates result in exceptionally high trapping efficiency of B solute atoms during thermal coarsening, and the efficiency increases with the cluster size. The KMC results are analyzed and rationalized by noting that, owing to the Gibbs–Thomson effect, when the curvatures of the shell of the precipitates are zero or negative, the microstructure is coarsening-resistant. Such morphology can be realized by facets, or by dynamic balance within positive, negative and zero curvatures.

The C(RgdyK)-conjugated Fe3O4 nanoparticles with high drug load for dual-targeting integrin alpha(v)beta3-expressing cancer cells.

A novel drug delivery system c(RGDyK)-modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles with high DOX load (R-DMP), which combines magnetic targeting, integrin alpha(v)beta3 targeting and high drug loading properties, was developed by chemical coupling both doxorubicin and peptide c(RGDyK) on the synthetic dual function magnetic nanoparticles (DMP) using a multi-hand cross-linker poly-L-glutamic acid. R-DMP has high drug loading ratio and trapping efficiency for magnetic targeting, and the drug loading ratio can be controlled by adjusting the reactant ratio. Moreover, R-DMP presents narrow size distribution and is sensitive to pH for drug releasing. Compare with those of doxorubicin coupled DMP without peptide c(RGDyK) modification, D-DMP shows enhanced uptake by integrin alpha(v)beta3 targeting expressing tumor cells and displays stronger cancer cell cytotoxicity. This investigate provides a new approach for the dual-targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to tumors with controlled low carrier toxicity and high efficiency.

Quantification of High-Efficiency Trapping of Nanoparticles in a Double Nanohole Optical Tweezer

We measure the dynamics of 20 nm polystyrene particles in a double nanohole trap to determine the trap stiffness for various laser powers. Both the autocorrelation analysis of Brownian fluctuations and the trapping transient analysis provide a consistent value of ∼ 0.2 fN/nm stiffness for 2 mW of laser power, which is similar to theoretical calculations for aperture trapping. As expected, the stiffness increases linearly with laser power. This is comparable to the stiffness obtained for conventional optical traps for trapping, but for ten times smaller dielectric particles and less power. This approach will allow us to quantitatively evaluate future aperture-based optical traps, with the goal of studying the folding dynamics of smaller proteins (∼ 10 kDa) and small-molecule interactions.

A rapid and sensitive method for hydroxyl radical detection on a microfluidic chip using an N-doped porous carbon nanofiber modified pencil graphite electrode.

Hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) play an important role in human diseases. Traditional detection methods are time consuming and require expensive instruments. Here, we present a simple and sensitive method for the detection of hydroxyl radicals on a microfluidic chip using an electrochemical technique. Aniline monomer is electrochemically polymerized on the surface of a pencil graphite electrode and carbonized at 800 °C. The resulting N-doped porous carbon nanofiber-modified pencil graphite electrode is embedded into a microfluidic chip directly as a working electrode. 4-Hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) is selected as the trapping agent owing to its unique 3,4-DHBA product and high trapping efficiency. A low detection limit of 1.0 × 10(-6) M is achieved on the microfluidic chip. As a demonstration, the microfluidic chip is successfully utilized for the detection of ˙OH in cigarette smoke. The strong π-π stacking and hydrophobic interactions between the nitrogen-doped carbon materials and the pencil graphite make the modified electrode well-suited for the microfluidic chip.

Optical trapping and Raman spectroscopy of solid particles.

The heterogeneous interactions of gas molecules on solid particles are crucial in many areas of science, engineering and technology. Such interactions play a critical role in atmospheric chemistry and in heterogeneous catalysis, a key technology in the energy and chemical industries. Investigating heterogeneous interactions upon single levitated particles can provide significant insight into these important processes. Various methodologies exist for levitating micron sized particles including: optical, electrical and acoustic techniques. Prior to this study, the optical levitation of solid micron scale particles has proved difficult to achieve over timescales relevant to the above applications. In this work, a new vertically configured counter propagating dual beam optical trap was optimized to levitate a range of solid particles in air. Silica (SiO2), α-alumina (Al2O3), titania (TiO2) and polystyrene were stably trapped with a high trapping efficiency (Q = 0.42). The longest stable trapping experiment was conducted continuously for 24 hours, and there are no obvious constraints on trapping time beyond this period. Therefore, the methodology described in this paper should be of major benefit to various research communities. The strength of the new technique is demonstrated by the simultaneous levitation and spectroscopic interrogation of silica particles by Raman spectroscopy. In particular, the adsorption of water upon silica was investigated under controlled relative humidity environments. Furthermore, the collision and coagulation behaviour of silica particles with microdroplets of sulphuric acid was followed using both optical imaging and Raman spectroscopy.

A Biochip with a 3D microfluidic architecture for trapping white blood cells

We present a microfluidic biochip for trapping single white blood cells (WBCs). The novel biochip, microfabricated using standard surface micromachining processes, consists of an array of precisely engineered microholes that confine single cells in a tight, three dimensional space and mechanically immobilize them. A high (>87%) trapping efficiency was achieved when WBC-containing samples were delivered to the biochip at the optimal pressure of 3psi. The biochip can efficiently trap up to 7500 cells, maintaining a high trapping efficiency even when the number of cells is extremely low (∼200 cells). We believe that the developed biochip can be used as a standalone unit in a biology/clinical lab for trapping WBCs as well as other cell types and imaging them using a standard fluorescent microscope at the single cell level. Furthermore, it can be integrated with other miniaturized optical modules to construct a portable platform for counting a wide variety of cells and therefore it can be an excellent tool for monitoring human diseases at the point-of-care.

Optimal scale-free network with a minimum scaling of transport efficiency for random walks with a perfect trap

Average trapping time (ATT) is central in the trapping problem since it is a key indicator characterizing the efficiency of the problem. Previous research has provided the scaling of a lower bound of the ATT for random walks in general networks with a deep trap. However, it is still not well understood in which networks this minimal scaling can be reached. Particularly, explicit quantitative results for ATT in such networks, even in a specific network, are lacking, in spite that such networks shed light on the design for optimal networks with the highest trapping efficiency. In this paper, we study the trapping problem taking place on a hierarchical scale-free network with a perfect trap. We focus on four representative cases with the immobile trap located at the root, a peripheral node, a neighbor of the root with a single connectivity, and a farthest node from the root, respectively. For all the four cases, we obtain the closed-form formulas for the ATT, as well as its leading scalings. We show that for all the four cases of trapping problems, the dominating scalings of ATT can reach the predicted minimum scalings. This work deepens the understanding of behavior of trapping in scale-free networks, and is helpful for designing networks with the most efficient transport process.

Immobilized transferrin Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticle with high doxorubicin loading for dual-targeted tumor drug delivery

Transferrin (Tf) was immobilized onto Fe3O4@SiO2 nanoparticles with high doxorubicin (DOX) loading (TfDMP), for dual targeting of cancer, by chemically coupling both Tf and DOX with dual-function magnetic nanoparticles (DMPs) using a multi-armed crosslinker, poly-L-glutamic acid. With high trapping efficiency for magnetic targeting, TfDMP exhibits a Tf receptor-targeting function. Moreover, the DOX loading percentage of TfDMP is high, and can be controlled by adjusting the reactant ratio. TfDMP presents a narrow size distribution, and is sensitive to pH for drug release. Compared with DOX-coupled DMP without Tf modification (DDMP), TfDMP exhibits enhanced uptake by Tf receptor-expressing tumor cells, and displays stronger cancer cell cytotoxicity. This study provides an efficient method for the dual-targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to tumors, with controlled low carrier toxicity and high efficiency.

Ultrathin HfON/SiO2 dual tunneling layer for improving the electrical properties of metal–oxide–nitride–oxide–silicon memory

A high-k gate stack structure with ultrathin HfON/SiO2 as dual tunneling layer (DTL), AlN as charge storage layer (CSL) and HfAlO as blocking layer (BL) is proposed to make a charge-trapping-type metal–oxide–nitride–oxide–silicon non-volatile memory device by employing in-situ sputtering method. The validity of the structure is examined and confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The memory window, program/erase, endurance and retention properties are investigated and compared with similar gate stack structure with Si3N4/SiO2 as DTL, HfO2 as CSL and Al2O3 as BL. Results show that a large memory window of 3.55V at a program/erase (P/E) voltage of +8V/−15V, high P/E speed, and good endurance and retention characteristic can be achieved using the Au/ HfAlO/AlN/(HfON/SiO2)/Si gate stack structure. The main mechanisms lie in the enhanced electron injection through the ultrathin high-k HfON/SiO2 DTL with suitable band offset, high trapping efficiency of the high-k AlN material, and effective blocking role of the high-k HfAlO BL.

The [formula omitted] Paul trap: A radiofrequency-quadrupole ion trap for precision [formula omitted] studies

The β-decay Paul trap is a linear radiofrequency-quadrupole ion trap that has been developed for precision β-decay studies. The design of the trap electrodes allows a variety of radiation detectors to surround the cloud of trapped ions. The momentum of the low-energy recoiling daughter nuclei following β decay is negligibly perturbed by scattering and is available for study. This advantageous property of traps allows the kinematics of particles that are difficult or even impossible to directly detect to be precisely reconstructed using conservation of energy and momentum. An ion-trap system offers several advantages over atom traps, such as higher trapping efficiencies and element-independent capabilities. The first precision experiment using this system is a measurement of β-decay angular correlations in the decay of 8Li performed by inferring the momentum of the neutrino from the kinematic shifts imparted to the breakup α particles. Many other β-decay studies that would benefit from a determination of the nuclear recoil can be performed with this system.