Titanium dioxide (TiO
2
) nanoparticles were prepared by the sol–gel method starting from a volume of 1.5 mL of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) dissolved in 10 mL of ultrapure water milliQ grade ...(pH 5). The pH of the solution was adjusted by adding HNO
3
and NaOH to reach an acidic and basic character of the sol, respectively. A wide pH range from 1 to 10 was explored. The prepared TiO
2
nanopowders were annealed at three different calcination temperatures, 100, 450 and 800 °C for 3 h. The synergic effect of pH and calcination temperature on the structural and morphological properties of TiO
2
nanoparticles was investigated by XRD and Raman analyses. At the lowest (100 °C) and highest (800 °C) calcination temperatures, we observed the dominance of anatase and rutile phases, respectively. A mixture of these phases was observed for the titania powders calcinated at 450 °C. In particular, the nanoparticles produced in strong acidic medium showed a coexistence of anatase and rutile with a dominance of rutile, whereas the anatase was the crystalline phase favored in alkaline medium environment.
Oncostatin M (OSM) is an interleukin-6 (IL-6) member family cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). OSM is a novel diagnostic biomarker ...over-expressed in the serum of IBD patients. This paper reports on the first electrochemical OSM immunosensor, developed using a multistep fabrication process aimed at covalently immobilizing OSM antibodies on a mixed self-assembled monolayer coated gold working electrode. Cyclic voltammetry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), IR spectroscopy and optical characterizations were used to validate the sensor functionalization protocol. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements were performed to assess the reliability of the immunosensor preparation and to verify the antibody-antigen complexes formation. The label-free immunosensor showed high sensitivity identifying OSM at clinically relevant concentrations (37–1000 pg mL−1) with low detection limit of 2.86 pg mL−1. Both sensitivity and selectivity of the proposed immunosensor were also demonstrated in human serum in the presence of interfering biomarkers, making it an innovative potential platform for the OSM biomarker detection in IBD patients’ serum.
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•First electrochemical immunosensor developed to detect OSM biomarker in serum.•A covalently immobilization of OSM antibodies was performed on gold electrodes.•The immunosensor exhibited a low detection limit by EIS measurements.•Detection in serum in the presence of interfering species was performed.•The immunosensor represents a potential tool for early diagnosis of IBD.
The next generation of gaseous photon detectors is requested to overcome the limitations of the available technology, in terms of resolution and robustness. The quest for a novel photocathode, ...sensitive in the far vacuum ultra violet wavelength range and more robust than present ones, motivated an R&D programme to explore nanodiamond based photoconverters, which represent the most promising alternative to cesium iodine. A procedure for producing the novel photocathodes has been defined and applied on THGEMs samples. Systematic measurements of the photo emission in different Ar/CH4 and Ar/CO2 gas mixtures with various types of nanodiamond powders have been performed. A comparative study of the response of THGEMs before and after coating demonstrated their full compatibility with the novel photocathodes.
The proposed new Electron–Ion Collider poses a technical and intellectual challenge for the detector design to accommodate the long-term diverse physics goals envisaged by the program. This requires ...a 4π detector system capable of reconstructing the energy and momentum of final state particles with high precision. The Electron-Ion Collider also requires identification of particles of different masses over a wide momentum range.
A diverse spectrum of Particle IDentification detectors has been proposed. Of the four types of detectors for hadron identification, three are based on Ring Imaging Cherenkov Counter technologies, and one is realized by the Time of Flight method. The quest for a novel photocathode, sensitive in the far vacuum ultraviolet wavelength range and more robust than cesium iodide, motivated an R&D programme to explore nano-diamond (ND) based photocathodes, started by a collaboration between INFN and CNR Bari and INFN Trieste. Systematic measurements of the photoemission in different Ar:CH4 and Ar:CO2 gas mixtures with various types of ND powders and Hydrogenated ND (H-ND) powders are reported. A first study of the response of THGEMs coated with different photocathode materials is presented.
The progress of this R&D programme and the results obtained so far by these exploratory studies are described.
In this work, the geometric and electromagnetic characteristics of electron beams generated by three photocathodes (PCs), two based on nanodiamond (ND) layers and one based on Cu (generally used as ...reference) were investigated. Specifically, the active layers of the ND-based PCs consisted of untreated and hydrogenated (H-ND) nanoparticles (250 nm in size) deposited by pulsed spray technique on p-doped silicon substrates as uniform coating. Photoemission measurements carried out by a KrF nanosecond excimer laser (λ = 248 nm) in a vacuum chamber at 10−6 mbar and the emittance evaluation, performed by the pepper pot method, are reported and discussed. For the last, radio-chromic films (HD-810 Gafchromic) were used as sensible screen for electrons. The study of the emittance was performed by varying the laser spot onto the PC surface and the accelerating voltage (5, 10 and 15 kV) . From emittance values, the normalized brightness was also estimated for all the cathodes. The obtained results showed quantum efficiency values of the ND-based photocathodes higher than that of the reference Cu one, but, at the same time, higher emittances and therefore worse performancers as the result of the enlarged beam divergence. Despite this, H-ND resulted to be the best PC between those investigated for the highest normalized beam brightness, thanks to its high electron current and low normalized emittance.
In this paper, we report a study on proton beams produced via laser interaction from hydrogenated solid targets useful for the development of new sources devoted to medical applications, such as ...hadron therapy and isotope production. The hydrogenation of the targets was made before the laser-matter interaction. In this study, we used as solid targets, pure samples of Ti, Ta and Al which in a first phase were treated by laser cleaning (via KrF excimer laser at the irradiance I = 3×107 W/cm2) and then they were exposed to laser irradiation (1500 pulses, I = 3×107 W/cm2}) under a constant flow of H2 (HiQ Hydrogen 6.0, highly pure). After that, the targets were maintained under H2 flow for 5 minutes, in order to promote a further hydrogen adsorption. We report laser ablation measurements performed at fluences of 1.3, 2.5 and 5.0 J/cm2. The results on hydrogenated targets showed an increase of proton yield of 25% (Ti), 64% (Al) and 550% (Ta), with respect to the corresponding untreated ones.
Proton extraction from transition metals using PLATONE Velardi, L.; Delle Side, D.; Kràsa, J. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
2014, Letnik:
735
Journal Article
Recenzirano
In this work we present a study on proton beams extraction from a plasma generated by pulsed laser ablation of titanium and tantalum disks. The device used was the PLATONE laser ion source operating ...at the LEAS Laboratory in Lecce, Italy. It is based on a KrF laser operating at low irradiance (109-1010 W/cm2) and ns pulse duration. The proton and ions emission was analyzed by the time-of-flight technique using a Faraday cup as ion collector and an electrostatic barrier to identify the particles. Studies on the produced protons and ions at different laser irradiance values were performed. The extracted beams showed high proton flux up to 1010 protons/cm2.
The investigation of two different photocathodes (PCs) based on nanodiamond (ND) layers, irradiated by a KrF nanosecond excimer laser (wavelength,λ=248nm; photon energy,EPh=5eV) is reported. The ND ...layers were deposited by means of a pulsed spray technique. Specifically, the active layer of each PC consisted of untreated (as-received) and hydrogenated ND particles, 250 nm in size, sprayed on ap-doped silicon substrate. The ND-based photocathodes were tested in a vacuum chamber at10−6mbarand compared to a Cu-based one, used as reference. All the photocathodes were irradiated at normal incidence. The quantum efficiency (QE) of the photocathodes was assessed. QE values of the ND-based photocathodes were higher than that of the reference one. In particular, the hydrogenated ND-based PC exhibited the highest QE due to the negative electron affinity that results from the surface terminated by hydrogen. Additionally, the photocathode surface/local temperature and the multiphoton process contribution to the electron emission were studied.
In this work we report a study on the influence of innovative pulsed stresses utilizing an UV laser and a homemade generator of magnetic field on radish seeds (Raphanus sativus L.) growth. We ...analysed the seed germination and seedling growth. The UV pulsed laser was an excimer KrF operating at 248 nm, 23 ns of pulse duration, with a laser fluence of about 40 mJ/cm2. The generator of pulsed magnetic field was realized by the electric discharge on a coil of a high voltage capacitor of 150 μF, 60 kV . The magnetic field pulse waveform exhibited damped oscillations at 215 kHz with a maximum intensity of 400 mT . Groups of uniform radish seeds were exposed to laser pulses at five different doses: 30000 shots (KrF/1), 80000 shots (KrF/2), 145000 shots (KrF/3), 225000 shots (KrF/4) and 275000 shots (KrF/5). Other groups were exposed to magnetic field at eight different doses: 3600 shots (MF/1), 7200 shots (MF/2), 10800 shots (MF/3), 14400 shots (MF/4), 18000 shots (MF/5), 21600 shots (MF/6), 32400 kshots (MF/7) and 36000 shots (MF/8). Simultaneously, untreated seeds were used as control. All treatments were performed at room temperature. Both untreated and treated seeds were transferred in Petri dishes and followed for their germination and seedling growth up to 96 h. The results showed that the stress induced by UV laser photons brought a significant stimulation on root growth which may contribute to improve the performance and the productivity of the plants. On the contrary, all physical stresses induced by magnetic fields did not have effect on seed germination, as well as on cell elongation growth and on hypocotyls in comparison to control seeds.
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