High Penetration Depth Research Articles

High-efficiency fluorescent and magnetic multimodal probe for long-term monitoring and deep penetration imaging of tumors

High-quality multimodal imaging requires exogenous contrast agents with high sensitivity, spatial-temporal resolution, and high penetration depth for the accurate diagnosis and surveillance of cancer. Herein, we design a highly efficient fluorescent and magnetic multimodal probe by doping fluorescent molecule 2-(4-bromophenyl)-3-(4-(4-(diphenylamino)styryl)phenyl)fumaronitrile (TB) with near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent emission (714 nm) and superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) into a polystyrene-polyethylene glycol (PS-PEG) matrix to form TB/SPIO@PS-PEG nanoparticles (TSP NPs). The as-prepared TSP NPs exhibit red aggregation-induced emission (AIE) with a maximum wavelength at 655 nm and high fluorescence quantum yield (QY) of 14.6%, facilitating the improvement of sensitivity and signal-to-background ratio for fluorescence molecular imaging (FMI). Phase behavior investigation of the TB/SPIO@PS-PEG probe system by Flory-Huggins lattice theory elucidates the highly efficient fluorescence of the multimodal probe, originating from the poor miscibility between TB and SPIO. Meanwhile, the TSP NPs possess good superparamagnetism and relaxivity and can thus be used as appropriate magnetic contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic particle imaging (MPI). In addition, the good biocompatibility and photostability of the TSP NPs make them suitable for long-term monitoring. In vivo fluorescence imaging results indicate that the TSP NPs can facilitate monitoring of subcutaneous tumor growth for more than 24 days in a real-time manner. Multimodal imaging consisting of FMI, MRI, and MPI reveals that TSP NPs can monitor a liver tumor in situ with almost unlimited depth in tissues and high temporal-spatial resolution. As a multimodal probe, the TSP NPs manifest obvious synergistic advantages of long-term monitoring and high penetration depth and hold great prospects in tumor imaging.

Application of LBW and LAHW for fillet welds of 12 and 15 mm structural steel

Laser beam welding (LBW) and laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) are attractive joining methods of medium thickness (10-20 mm) plates in a single pass welding technique. Both utilize high energy process in order to achieve high penetration depth and high welding speeds offering substantial increase in productivity. Deep and narrow welds were produced by LBW and LAHW suffered from high hardness (> 350 HV), primarily in the coarse-grained heat affected zone in joined 12 mm and 15 mm thick plates. In addition, weld imperfections like porosity, cracks, undercuts, or humping may occur. Mainly bainite and lath martensite were formed in LBW joints. By contrast, LAHW provided high volume fraction of acicular ferrite in the upper area. Filler wire was not transported to the root zone in fillet welds with flat position since standard arc mode caused unstable weld pool formation. A numerical model was developed to predict cooling rates and correlated to hardness and microstructure evolution.

Ratiometric Photoacoustic Nanoprobe for Bioimaging of Cu2.

Aberrant copper contents implicate numerous diseases including Alzheimer's disease and Wilson's disease. Conventional copper detection technologies are difficult to offer non-invasive and accurate deep tissue detection of copper. Here, we report a photoacoustic (PA) nanoprobe (NRh-IR-NMs) for ratiometric PA imaging of Cu2+. The nanoprobe consists of a selective Cu2+-responsive probe (NRh) as the indicator and a nonresponsive dye (IR) as the internal reference. In the presence of Cu2+, a selective Cu2+-induced structure change of NRh would take place, resulting in the increase of PA signal intensity increment at 716 nm (ΔPA716). However, the ΔPA834 which attributes to IR shows negligible change. Therefore, the ratiometric PA signal (ΔPA716/ΔPA834) could be used as an indicator for Cu2+ detection. This ratiometric PA detection method offers a noninvasive technology with high selectivity and tissue penetration depth, which is a promising tool for deep-tissue detection of Cu2+ in living organisms.

A hydrophobic release agent containing SiO2-CH3 submicron-sized particles for waterproofing mortar structures

Hydrophobic release agents were developed from SiO2-CH3 submicron-sized particles containing hydrophilic and hydrophobic functional groups dispersed into a vegetable oil as support. The SiO2-CH3 submicron-sized particles were synthesized by changing the molar ratio between the precursors Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and Methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) from 0.66 to 5 (MTEOS-0.66 to MTEOS-5), being the relative amount of SiO2-CH3 quantified by FTIR technique. Mortar specimens having hydrophobic properties were manufactured using 3 wt% of the above SiO2-CH3 submicron-sized particles. Additionally, the concentration effect was studied by using MTEOS-0.66 within 3–10 wt%. The hydrophobic properties of the mortar specimens were checked by measuring the contact angle within water droplets and surface. The particle size increased with the MTES/TEOS molar ratio and according to the hydrophobic properties, the proper release agent must be synthesized by using MTEOS-2.5 dispersed into the vegetable oil and having a concentration of 3 wt%. This hydrophobic release agent led mortar surfaces with contact angles higher than 145°. Waterproofing and mechanical studies on concrete specimens allowed to conclude that this demoulding agent does not have a high penetration depth but improved the concrete waterproofing properties, without depletion in the compressive strength.

Photoacoustic Ophthalmoscopy: Principle, Application, and Future Directions.

Photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy (PAOM) is a novel, hybrid, non-ionizing, and non-invasive imaging technology that has been used to assess the retina. PAOM can provide both anatomic and functional retinal characterizations with high resolution, high sensitivity, high contrast, and a high depth of penetration. Thus, ocular diseases can be precisely detected and visualized at earlier stages, resulting in an improved understanding of pathophysiology, improved management, and the improved monitoring of retinal treatment to prevent vision loss. To better visualize ocular components such as retinal vessels, choroidal vessels, choroidal neovascularization, retinal neovascularization, and the retinal pigment epithelium, an advanced multimodal ocular imaging platform has been developed by a combination of PAOM with other optical imaging techniques such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO), and fluorescence microscopy. The multimodal images can be acquired from a single imaging system and co-registered on the same image plane, enabling an improved evaluation of disease. In this review, the potential application of photoacoustic ophthalmoscopy in both research and clinical diagnosis are discussed as a medical screening technique for the visualization of various ocular diseases. The basic principle and requirements of photoacoustic ocular imaging are introduced. Then, various photoacoustic microscopy imaging systems of the retina in animals are presented. Finally, the future development of PAOM and multimodal imaging is discussed.

Pressureless joining of SiC ceramics at low temperature

Pressureless joining of SiC ceramics at low temperature was developed using Ti powder interlayer. Phase assemblage and microstructure of SiC joint revealed that the products after diffusion bonding mainly consisted of Ti5Si3 and TiC owing to the comparatively low joining temperature. Additionally, Si and C elements were found to be with higher penetration depth in the Ti interlayer. Benefitting from the lower proportion of the brittle Ti5Si3 phase and porosity, shear strength reached a relatively higher value of 41 MPa after joining at 1200 °C for 30 min.

Vaporization Detection Imaging: A Technique for Imaging Low-Boiling-Point Phase-Change Contrast Agents with a High Depth of Penetration and Contrast-to-Tissue Ratio

Phase-change contrast agents (PCCAs) possess advantages over microbubble contrast agents, such as the ability to extravasate and circulate longer in the vasculature that could enhance the diagnostic capabilities of contrast-enhanced ultrasound. PCCAs typically have a liquid perfluorocarbon (PFC) core that can be vaporized into echogenic microbubbles. Vaporization of submicron agents filled with liquid PFCs at body temperature usually requires therapeutic pressures higher than typically used for diagnostic imaging, but low-boiling-point PCCAs using decafluorobutane or octafluoropropane can be vaporized using pressures in the diagnostic imaging regime. Low-boiling-point PCCAs produce a unique acoustic signature that can be separated from tissue and bubble signals to make images with high contrast-to-tissue ratios. In this work, we explore the effect of pulse length and concentration on the vaporization signal of PCCAs and a new technique to capture and use the signals to make high contrast-to-tissue ratio images in vivo. The results indicate that using a short pulse may be ideal for imaging because it does not interact with created bubbles but still produces strong signals for making images. Furthermore, it was found that capturing PCCA vaporization signals produced higher contrast-to-tissue ratio values and better depth of penetration than imaging the bubbles generated by droplet activation using conventional contrast imaging techniques. The resolution of the vaporization signal images is poor because of the low frequency of the signals, but their high sensitivity may be used for applications such as molecular imaging, where the detection of small numbers of contrast agents is important.

Microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of friction stir spot welded dissimilar aluminum-copper joint

Dissimilar lap joints of 1060 aluminum and T2 copper were obtained by friction stir spot welding (FSSW) at various rotational speeds. The measured process variables during welding revealed that an increasing rotational speed leads to a higher peak temperature but a lower torque and plunging force due to the greater softening degree of material. A continuous CuAl2-CuAl-Al4Cu9 laminated layer developed at the Al-Cu interface under the highest rotational speed, while the interface was characterized by the interruptedly distributed CuAl2 layer under lower rotational speeds. Intermetallic compound (IMC) formation sequence for CuAl2, CuAl and Al4Cu9 was predicted according to thermodynamic principles, which is consistent with the interfacial microstructure evolution identified by the transmission electron microscope (TEM). Besides the metallurgical bonding through the IMC layer at the Al-Cu interface, joints have a Cu hook extruded upward by the pin tool from the lower Cu sheet into the upper Al sheet, which provided additional mechanical interlocking between the sheets. Tensile properties of the joints were closely related to the thickness of the IMC layer and geometric features of the hook, higher tensile properties were found in joints owning a continuous interfacial IMC layer with a proper thickness as well as a high penetration depth of the hook into the upper Al sheet.

Enhanced luminescence properties of ZnGa2O4:Cr3+ nanoparticles with an average crystallite size of 5 nm

ZnGa2O4:Cr3+ nanophosphors with an average crystallite size of 5 nm were prepared by a combustion method. We observed changes in the luminescence properties compared with the micro-crystalline system, such as a high brightness emission band at 696 nm and a decrease in the persistent luminescence decay time for the near-infrared emission. The system does not show a change in the band gap. The emission intensity for the broad band with near-infrared emission was very high under excitation with both UV and visible wavelengths.The system presents good stability in colloidal suspensions in water and phosphate-buffered saline, which were found to conserve the luminescence properties.The system is non-toxic and shows applications for in vivo optical imaging due to the rather high penetration depth of near-infrared radiation into human tissue. Its small crystallite size enables it to enter cells for bioimaging, exhibit good dispersion in a biological environment and resist photobleaching.

Transcranial focused ultrasound stimulation of motor cortical areas in freely-moving awake rats

BackgroundLow-intensity transcranial focused ultrasound (tFUS) has emerged as a new non-invasive modality of brain stimulation with the potential for high spatial selectivity and penetration depth. Anesthesia is typically applied in animal-based tFUS brain stimulation models; however, the type and depth of anesthesia are known to introduce variability in responsiveness to the stimulation. Therefore, the ability to conduct sonication experiments on awake small animals, such as rats, is warranted to avoid confounding effects of anesthesia.ResultsWe developed a miniature tFUS headgear, operating at 600 kHz, which can be attached to the skull of Sprague–Dawley rats through an implanted pedestal, allowing the ultrasound to be transcranially delivered to motor cortical areas of unanesthetized freely-moving rats. Video recordings were obtained to monitor physical responses from the rat during acoustic brain stimulation. The stimulation elicited body movements from various areas, such as the tail, limbs, and whiskers. Movement of the head, including chewing behavior, was also observed. When compared to the light ketamine/xylazine and isoflurane anesthetic conditions, the response rate increased while the latency to stimulation decreased in the awake condition. The individual variability in response rates was smaller during the awake condition compared to the anesthetic conditions. Our analysis of latency distribution of responses also suggested possible presence of acoustic startle responses mixed with stimulation-related physical movement. Post-tFUS monitoring of animal behaviors and histological analysis performed on the brain did not reveal any abnormalities after the repeated tFUS sessions.ConclusionsThe wearable miniature tFUS configuration allowed for the stimulation of motor cortical areas in rats and elicited sonication-related movements under both awake and anesthetized conditions. The awake condition yielded diverse physical responses compared to those reported in existing literatures. The ability to conduct an experiment in freely-moving awake animals can be gainfully used to investigate the effects of acoustic neuromodulation free from the confounding effects of anesthesia, thus, may serve as a translational platform to large animals and humans.

Power System Coherency Identification Under High Depth of Penetration of Wind Power

This paper extends the dynamic coherency determination (DCD) method by including Type-3 wind power plants (WPPs) models in the coherency evaluation process and quantifies impacts of the high depth of wind power penetration on the coherency phenomena of interconnected power systems. The method is based on frequency-deviation signals, measured at nongenerator buses and terminal buses of WPPs and synchronous generators. Salient features of the presented method are its ability to account for the hybrid nature of enhanced generic models of Type-3 WPPs and expanding notion of the power system coherency beyond the classical definition by including models of Type-3 WPPs. This paper also investigates impacts of the high depth of wind power penetration; i.e., up to 30%, on the coherency structure of the 16-machine/68-bus NPCC equivalent system. The studies are based on time-domain simulations in PSS/E software. The investigations reveal that Type-3 WPPs can introduce new coherent areas, significantly change areas' boundaries and number of areas, and alter frequencies/dampings of interarea modes.

Frequency-dependent skin penetration depth of terahertz radiation determined by water sorption-desorption.

A multilayered water-skin model is used to experimentally verify a new sensing method for determining the skin penetration depth of radiation with 0.1-0.9 terahertz (THz) frequencies. A water overlayer is dripped on a skin sample to form a multilayered structure for dynamically measuring the reflected THz-wave amplitude during water desorption. Skin penetration depths can be successfully derived by using the multilayered water-skin model and by considering the measured reflectivity, water dielectric constants, and effective thicknesses of the water overlayer on the skin sample. The maximum penetration depth is approximately 0.3 mm and is obtained with wave frequencies of 0.4-0.6 THz. This penetration depth encompasses the stratum corneum (SC) and part of the epidermis. The high penetration depth of 0.4-0.6 THz waves is also confirmed in the dried and damaged SC.

Investigation on gaseous jet in forebody/inlet for shock-induced combustion ramjet (shcramjet) engines

As one of the most promising propulsion systems in the future, there are unusual advantages of the shock-induced combustion ramjet (shcramjet) engine. In the current study, the slot is placed on the second ramp of the shcramjet inlet to promote the mixing process between the fuel and the hypersonic crossflow. The influences of the injection angle and the jet-to-crossflow pressure ratio have been investigated numerically based on the grid independency analysis and the code validation. The obtained results predicted by the two-dimensional Reynolds-average Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the two equation RNG k-ε turbulence model show that the grid scale makes only a slight difference to the wall pressure profiles for all jet-to-crossflow pressure ratios employed in this article. With the smaller injection angle, higher fuel/air mixing efficiency, less loss of the stagnation pressure and lower fuel penetration depth are shown. Low jet-to-crossflow pressure ratio can increase the mixing efficiency and decrease the loss of the stagnation pressure. High jet-to-crossflow pressure ratio results in higher penetration depth. There is an optimum injection angle for each jet-to-crossflow pressure ratio to achieve the maximization of the fuel/air mixing in hypersonic flows.

Neutron RTOF Stress Diffractometer FSD at the IBR-2 Pulsed Reactor

The diffraction of thermal neutrons is a powerful tool for investigations of residual stresses in various structural materials and bulk industrial products due to the non-destructive character of the method and high penetration depth of neutrons. Therefore, for conducting experiments in this research field, the neutron Fourier stress diffractometer FSD has been constructed at the IBR-2 pulsed reactor in FLNP JINR (Dubna, Russia). Using a special correlation technique at the long-pulse neutron source, a high resolution level of the instrument has been achieved (Δd/d ≈ 2 ÷ 4 × 10−3) over a wide range of interplanar spacing dhkl at a relatively short flight distance between the chopper and sample position (L = 5.55 m). The FSD design satisfies the requirements of a high luminosity, high resolution, and specific sample environment. In this paper, the current status of the FSD diffractometer is reported and examples of performed experiments are given.

Acylstannanes: Cleavable and Highly Reactive Photoinitiators for Radical Photopolymerization at Wavelengths above 500 nm with Excellent Photobleaching Behavior.

Within this work, a novel acylstannane-based photoinitiator (PI) is presented. Tetrakis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)stannane (1) displays outstanding properties compared to state-of-the-art acylgermane-based initiators. Most importantly, the initiator shows absorption up to 550 nm, which allows higher penetration depths, especially in highly filled photopolymers. Besides that, 1 shows extremely high photoinitiating activity towards (meth)acrylic double bonds, as well as very fast photobleaching. Furthermore, unlike many organotin compounds, 1 shows surprisingly low cytotoxicity.

Impact of high-depth penetration of wind power on low-frequency oscillatory modes of interconnected power systems

This paper investigates impact of high-depth penetration of wind power, i.e., up to 30%, on low-frequency (0–2 Hz) oscillatory modes of interconnected power systems. The wind power is integrated as large Wind Power Plants (WPPs) based on Type-3 and Type-4 wind units represented by enhanced generic nonlinear and linearized models. The studies are based on eigen analysis of the 16-machine/68-bus NPCC equivalent system with multiple WPPs added to it. The case studies consider different ratios of Type-3/Type-4 WPPs to investigate impact of interaction between WPPs adopting different technologies on power system low-frequency dynamics. The studies reveal that WPPs can (i) noticeably impact the damping ratios of existing inter-area oscillatory modes at low-depth penetrations more than at high-depth ones, (ii) introduce new low-frequency oscillatory modes and (iii) cause instability by interacting with existing controllers in the system.

Synchrotron Computer Tomography as a Characterization Method for Engineering Materials

X-ray tomography is a non-destructive imaging technique enabling a three-dimensional representation of the irradiated volume, its internal architecture and subsequently a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of materials. It is thus an attractive method for examinations in the field of materials science, where the correlation between macroscopic properties and microstructure often is of major interest. In particular, tomography using high-energy synchrotron radiation is well suited for the examination of metallic materials due to its high penetrationdepth. In addition to absorption contrast, the (partial) coherence of a synchrotron beam also allows the utilization of phase contrast for imaging techniques [1]. The achievable spatial resolution using synchrotron beams may also be higher than that of conventional laboratory(-based) X-ray tomography using focusing optics [2].There are about fifty synchrotrons worldwide. The high brilliance achieved by third-generation facilities, such as ESRF in Grenoble, France [3] and Petra III/DESY in Hamburg, Germany [4] enables experiments in real time with recording times of up to a few MHz frame rates at selected beamlines [5]. Another benefit is the adjustability of the monochromatic beam to suitable energies for specific experiments/materials or for absorption edge tomography as well as the possible combination with other experimental methods directly at the beamline, e. g. diffraction. It is extremely difficult to give an up-to-date overview of the available energy ranges, achievable minimum voxel sizes and scanning times on synchrotron beamlines with tomographic setups suitable for 3D imaging of metallic structures due to the highly dynamic method development; orientational overviews can be found in [2, 6]. This paper will provide a summary of current methods and applications of synchrotron tomography and practical examples taken from current research topics covered by the authors.

1.7 micron optical coherence tomography for vaginal tissue characterization in vivo.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can noninvasively visualize in vivo tissue microstructure with high spatial resolution that approaches the histologic level. Currently, OCT studies in gynecology are few and limited to a conventional 1.3 μm center wavelength swept light source which provides high spatial resolution but limited penetration depth. Here, we present a novel endoscopic OCT system with improved penetration depth and high resolution. A novel endoscopic OCT system was developed based on a 1.7 µm swept source laser, which is capable of deeper tissue penetration due to its longer wavelength. To evaluate the performance of system, we imaged the human vaginas in vivo with both conventional 1.3 and 1.7 μm endoscopic OCT systems. With the 1.7 μm endoscopic OCT system, imaging depth was improved by more than 25%, allowing better visualization of the lamina propria and clear contrast of the epithelial layer from the surrounding tissues. The significantly improved performance of the novel 1.7 μm OCT imaging system demonstrates its potential use as a minimally-invasive monitoring tool of vaginal health in gynecologic practice. Lasers Surg. Med. 51:120-126, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Scintillator-Based Nanohybrids with Sacrificial Electron Prodrug for Enhanced X-ray-Induced Photodynamic Therapy.

X-ray-induced photodynamic therapy (X-PDT) has high depth of penetration and has considerable potential for applications in cancer therapy. Scintillators and heavy metals have been adopted to absorb X-rays and transmit the energy to photosensitizers. However, the low efficiency of converting X-rays to reactive oxygen species (ROS) presents a challenge for the use of X-PDT to cure cancer. In this study, a new method based on LiLuF4:Ce@SiO2@Ag3PO4@Pt(IV) nanoparticles (LAPNP) is presented that could be used to enhance the curative effects of X-PDT. To make full use of the fluorescence produced by nanoscintillators (LiLuF4:Ce), a cisplatin prodrug Pt(IV) was utilized as a sacrificial electron acceptor to increase the yield of hydroxyl radicals (·OH) by increasing the separation of electrons and holes in photosensitizers (Ag3PO4). Additionally, cisplatin is produced upon the acceptance of electrons by Pt(IV) and further enhances the damage caused by ·OH. Via two-step amplification, the potential of LAPNP to enhance the effects of X-PDT has been demonstrated.

Lanthanide-Doped Upconversion Nanocarriers for Drug and Gene Delivery.

Compared to traditional cancer treatments, drug/gene delivery is an advanced, safe, and efficient method. Nanoparticles are widely used as nanocarriers in a drug/gene delivery system due to their long circulation time and low multi-drug resistance. In particular, lanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) that can emit UV and visible light by near-infrared (NIR) upconversion demonstrated more efficient and safer drug/gene delivery. Because of the low penetration depth of UV and visible light, a photoinduced reaction such as photocleavage or photoisomerization has proven restrictive. However, NIR light has high tissue penetration depth and stimulates the photoinduced reaction through UV and visible emissions from lanthanide-doped UCNPs. This review discusses the optical properties of UCNPs that are useful in bioapplications and drug/gene delivery systems using the UCNPs as a photoreaction inducer.