Remodelling of collagen fibers has been described during every phase of cancer genesis and progression. Changes in morphology and organization of collagen fibers contribute to the formation of ...microenvironment that favors cancer progression and development of metastasis. However, there are only few data about remodelling of collagen fibers in healthy looking mucosa distant from the cancer. Using SHG imaging, electron microscopy and specialized softwares (CT-FIRE, CurveAlign and FiberFit), we objectively visualized and quantified changes in morphology and organization of collagen fibers and investigated possible causes of collagen remodelling (change in syntheses, degradation and collagen cross-linking) in the colon mucosa 10 cm and 20 cm away from the cancer in comparison with healthy mucosa. We showed that in the lamina propria this far from the colon cancer, there were changes in collagen architecture (width, straightness, alignment of collagen fibers and collagen molecules inside fibers), increased representation of myofibroblasts and increase expression of collagen-remodelling enzymes (LOX and MMP2). Thus, the changes in organization of collagen fibers, which were already described in the cancer microenvironment, also exist in the mucosa far from the cancer, but smaller in magnitude.
The rise of innovation in the electrical industry is driven by the controlled design of new materials. The hybrid materials based on magnetite/nanocellulose are highly interesting due to their ...various applications in medicine, ecology, catalysis and electronics. In this study, the structure and morphology of nanocellulose/magnetite hybrid nanomaterials were investigated. The effect of nanocellulose loading on the crystal structure of synthesized composites was investigated by XRD and FTIR methods. The presented study reveals that the interaction between the cellulose and magnetic nanoparticles depends on the nanocellulose content. Further, a transition from cellulose II to cellulose I allomorph is observed. SEM and EDS are employed to determine the variation in morphology with changes in component concentrations. By the calculation of magnetic interactions between adjacent Fe3+ and Fe2+ ions within composites, it is determined that ferromagnetic coupling predominates.
Na0.25K0.25Bi0.5TiO3 (NKBT) perovskite particles are synthesized by solid-state method and used as a filler for polyvinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) co-polymer. X-ray diffraction ...analysis of NKBT powders shows that the particles have a rhombohedral perovskite crystal structure (R3c symmetry). Raman spectroscopy reveals that the co-polymer crystallizes predominantly into the mixture of polar β- and γ-crystals, while there is also a contribution of the non-polar α-crystal phase. The introduction of the NKBT into the PVDF-HFP results with an increase in effective dielectric permittivity and this effect depends on the inorganic content in the composite. The most interesting result of the present study is that the introduction of NKBT particles induces the appearance of an additional transition peak in the dielectric spectra of the co-polymer matrix. At the fixed frequency of ~2 kHz, the observed process appears at ~10 °C (about 45° above the glass transition temperature) and its magnitude strongly depends on the amount of the NKBT in the composite. Dielectric spectroscopy measurements of the composites are carried out in the wide range of frequencies (from 0.1 Hz to 1 MHz) and temperatures (from −100 to 100 °C). They reveal that the novel process can be clearly distinguished in the frequency range between 160 Hz and ~50 kHz.
•Na0.25K0.25Bi0.5TiO3 (NKBT) perovskite particles are synthesized by solid state method.•PVDF-HFP/NKBT composite films were prepared by solution mixing.•NKBT particles induce an increase in effective dielectric permittivity of the films.•An additional transition peak was observed in the dielectric spectra of the composite film.•The magnitude of the novel transition depends on the NKBT content.
Freeze drying was compared with spray drying regarding feasibility to process wild thyme drugs in order to obtain dry formulations at laboratory scale starting from liquid extracts produced by ...different extraction methods: maceration and heat-, ultrasound-, and microwave-assisted extractions. Higher total powder yield (based on the dry weight prior to extraction) was achieved by freeze than spray drying and lower loss of total polyphenol content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) due to the drying process. Gelatin as a coating agent (5% w/w) provided better TPC recovery by 70% in case of lyophilization and higher total powder yield in case of spray drying by diminishing material deposition on the wall of the drying chamber. The resulting gelatin-free and gelatin-containing powders carried polyphenols in amount ~190 and 53–75 mg gallic acid equivalents GAE/g of powder, respectively. Microwave-assisted extract formulation was distinguished from the others by a higher content of polyphenols, proteins and sugars, higher bulk density and lower solubility. The type of the drying process mainly affected the position of the gelatin-derived -OH and amide bands in FTIR spectra. Spray-dried formulations compared to freeze-dried expressed higher thermal stability as confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry analysis and a higher diffusion coefficient; the last feature can be associated with the lower specific surface area of irregularly shaped freeze-dried particles (151–223 µm) compared to small microspheres (~8 µm) in spray-dried powder.
Titanium dioxide is a photocatalyst, known not only for its ability to oxidize organic contaminants, but also for its antimicrobial properties. In this article, significant enhancement of the ...antimicrobial activity of TiO2 (up to 32 times) was demonstrated after its activation by ball milling. The antimicrobial activity was analyzed for one fungal and 13 bacterial ATCC strains using the microdilution method and recording the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values. In order to further investigate the correlation between the mechanical activation of TiO2 and its antimicrobial activity, the structure, morphology and phase composition of the material were studied by means of Electron Microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and nitrogen adsorption‐desorption measurements. UV‐Vis diffuse reflectance spectra were recorded and the Kubelka‐Munk function was applied to convert reflectance into the equivalent band gap energy (Eg) and, consequently, to investigate changes in the Eg value. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to analyze the influence of mechanical activation on the Ti 2p and O 1s spectra. The presented results are expected to enable the development of more sustainable and effective advanced TiO2‐based materials with antimicrobial properties that could be used in numerous green technology applications.
In this study, we report the influence of vanadium oxide (VO), as a photosensitive component, on the photoactivity of TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs). A series of TNTs of varying tube diameter were synthesized ...by the anodization of titanium foils at different voltages, while vanadium oxide was deposited on TNTs by wet chemical deposition. An improvement in the optical properties of nanotubes was observed after the deposition of vanadium oxide. An improvement in the optical properties (redshift in UV-Vis spectra) of TNTs and TNT/VO was noted. The photocatalytic activity was improved with increasing tube diameter, while it was weakened after the deposition of VO. Furthermore, photoactivity was investigated in photodiodes based on TNTs or TNT/VO and single crystals of CH3NH3PbI3. The photoelectric measurement revealed that different TNT diameters did not influence the I-V characteristic of the photodiodes, while the deposition of VO improved the photocurrent for smaller TNTs.
Herein, the ability of gamma irradiation to enhance the photoluminescence properties of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) was investigated. Different doses of γ-irradiation were used on GQDs to examine ...the way in which their structure and optical properties can be affected. The photoluminescence quantum yield was increased six times for the GQDs irradiated with high doses compared to the nonirradiated material. Both photoluminescence lifetime and values of optical band gap were increased with the dose of applied gamma irradiation. In addition, the exploitation of the gamma-irradiated GQDs as photosensitizers was examined by monitoring the production of singlet oxygen under UV illumination. The main outcome was that the GQDs irradiated at lower doses act as better photoproducers than the ones irradiated at higher doses. These results corroborate that the structural changes caused by gamma irradiation have a direct impact on GQD ability to produce singlet oxygen and their photostability under prolonged UV illumination. This makes low-dose irradiated GQDs promising candidates for photodynamic therapy.
Mechanically activated strontium titanate (SrTiO
3
) powders with various manganese dioxide (MnO
2
) doping levels (1.5, 3 and 6 wt%) were prepared by solid state method. Due to the possibility of ...manganese ion incorporation in SrTiO
3
at Ti
4+
and/or Sr
2+
sites a detailed analysis of the influence of dopants on the microstructure, morphology and optical properties of perovskite oxide was conducted. The investigation showed that manganese was incorporated into the lattice and surface layers of SrTiO
3
particles with the presence of manganese segregation and inhomogeneities. Optical measurements indicated a shift of the absorption edge to higher values of wavelengths where the lowest value of the band gap (3.10 eV) was for the longest activation time (120 min) and the highest weight percentage of dopant (6 wt%). In the case of lower concentration (1.5 wt%), there was a significant relative contribution of the substitution of Sr
2+
ions by Mn
2+
ions, while the substitution of Ti
4+
ions by Mn
4+
ions dominated samples with an increased concentration.
Structural changes caused by mechanical activation of SrTiO3 powders were investigated using a variety of methods. Average crystallite size continuously decreased with increased activation time to ...around 20 nm after 120 min activation, while mesopore volume and specific surface area increased accordingly. Higher activation times lead to increased agglomeration of nanoparticles to form agglomerates of around 2 μm in size, ultimately producing a relatively stable powder, which exhibits lower microstrain than powders activated for shorter periods of time. Raman spectroscopy shows that the behavior of TO2 and TO4 modes is consistent with a decrease in particle size, while behavior of the nonpolar TO3 mode is markedly different, indicating relaxation of the inversion symmetry in polycrystalline SrTiO3. UV-VIS spectra show that mechanical activation has negligible effect on SrTiO3, with a slight shift caused by TiO2 contamination due to presence of air. Other than this, the mechanical activation process preserves the chemical purity of the initial powder.
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•SrTiO3 nanocrystalline powders were prepared using mechanical activation.•Powders mechanically activated for 30 min have narrowest size distribution.•Shift in TO polar modes to higher frequencies due to introduction of micro-strains.•Observed relaxation of the inversion symmetry in SrTiO3 due to activation.•Band gap decreases due to TiO2 contamination, due to milling in air.
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