Electron microscopy study of the central retinal fovea in Pied flycatcher: evidence of a mechanism of light energy transmission through the retina.

We present unique ultrastructural data on avian retinal cells. Presently and earlier (Zueva et al., 2016) we explored distribution of intermediate filaments (IFs) in retinal cells of the Pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca, Passeriformes, Aves) in the central foveolar zone. This retinal zone only contains single and double cone photoreceptors. Previously we found that continuous IFs span Müller cells (MC) lengthwise from the retinal inner limiting membrane (ILM) layer up to the outer limiting membrane (OLM) layer. Here we describe long cylindrical bundles of IFs (IFBs) inside the cone inner segments (CIS) adjoining the cone plasma membrane, with these IFBs following along the cone lengthwise, and surrounding the cone at equal spacing one from the other. Double cones form a combined unit, wherein they are separated by their respective plasma membranes. Double cones thus have a common external ring of IFBs, surrounding both cone components. In the layer of cilia, the IFBs that continue into the cone outer segment (COS) follow on to the cone apical tip along the direction of incident light, with single IFs separating from the IFB, touching, and sometimes passing in-between the light-sensitive lamellae of the COS. These new data support our previous hypothesis on the quantum mechanism of light energy propagation through the vertebrate retina (Zueva et al., 2016, 2019).

Quantum mechanism of light energy propagation through an avian retina.

Taking into account the ultrastructure of the Pied Flycatcher foveal retina reported earlier and the earlier reported properties of Müller cell (MC) intermediate filaments (IFs) isolated from vertebrate retina, we proposed a quantum mechanism (QM) of light energy transfer from the inner limiting membrane level to visual pigments in the photoreceptor cells. This mechanism involves electronic excitation energy transfer in a donor-acceptor system, with the IFs excited by photons acting as energy donors, and visual pigments in the photoreceptor cells acting as energy acceptors. It was shown earlier that IFs with diameter 10 nm and length 117 µm isolated from vertebrate eye retina demonstrate properties of light energy guide, where exciton propagates along such IFs from MC endfeet area to photoreceptor cell area. The energy is mostly transferred via the contact exchange quantum mechanism. Our estimates demonstrate that energy transfer efficiencies in such systems may exceed 80-90%. Thus, the presently developed quantum mechanism of light energy transfer in the inverted retina complements the generally accepted classic optical mechanism and the mechanism whereby Müller cells transmit light like optical fibers. The proposed QM of light energy transfer in the inverted retina explains the high image contrast achieved in photopic conditions by an avian eye, being probably also active in other vertebrates.

Ultrananocrystalline diamond-decorated silicon nanowire field emitters.

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were uniformly decorated with ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) by a novel route using paraffin wax as the seeding source, which is more efficient in the creation of diamond nuclei than traditional methods. These one-dimensional ultrananocrystalline diamond-decorated SiNWs (UNCD/SiNWs) exhibit uniform diameters ranging from 100 to 200 nm with a bulbous catalytic tip of ∼250 nm in diameter and an UNCD grain size of ∼5 nm. UNCD/SiNW nanostructures demonstrated enhanced electron field emission (EFE) properties with a turn-on field of about 3.7 V/µm. Current densities around 2 mA/cm(2) were achieved at 25 V/µm, which is significantly enhanced as compared to bare SiNWs.

Single-crystal γ-MnS nanowires conformally coated with carbon.

We report for the first time the fabrication of single-crystal metastable manganese sulfide nanowires (γ-MnS NWs) conformally coated with graphitic carbon via chemical vapor deposition technique using a single-step route. Advanced spectroscopy and electron microscopy techniques were applied to elucidate the composition and structure of these NWs at the nanoscale, including Raman, XRD, SEM, HRTEM, EELS, EDS, and SAED. No evidence of α-MnS and ß-MnS allotropes was found. The γ-MnS/C NWs have hexagonal cross-section and high aspect ratio (∼1000) on a large scale. The mechanical properties of individual γ-MnS/C NWs were examined via in situ uniaxial compression tests in a TEM-AFM. The results show that γ-MnS/C NWs are brittle with a Young's modulus of 65 GPa. The growth mechanism proposed suggests that the bottom-up fabrication of γ-MnS/C NWs is governed by vapor-liquid-solid mechanism catalyzed by bimetallic Au-Ni nanoparticles. The electrochemical performance of γ-MnS/C NWs as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries indicates that they outperform the cycling stability of stable micro-sized α-MnS, with an initial capacity of 1036 mAh g(-1) and a reversible capacity exceeding 503 mAh g(-1) after 25 cycles. This research advances the integration of carbon materials and metal sulfide nanostructures, bringing forth new avenues for potential miniaturization strategies to fabricate 1D core/shell heterostructures with intriguing bifunctional properties that can be used as building blocks in nanodevices.

Colorimetric sensors: temperature-activated reverse sensing behavior of pd nanowire hydrogen sensors (small 2/2013).

The image shows an artistic version of a Pd nanowire surrounded by hydrogen molecules. The nanowire is electrically connected to the Pt electrodes of a sensor device by L. F. Fonseca and co-workers to study the effects of reduced temperature on its electrical response during hydrogen gas exposure. The TEM image shows the ordered crystal structure of the material. As described on page 188, when temperature is reduced, a crossover from a bulk- to a percolationcontrolled response is observed. This effect was confirmed in nanowires arrays on interdigitated electrodes and single nanowires integrated to MEMS devices.

Temperature-activated reverse sensing behavior of Pd nanowire hydrogen sensors.

Hydrogen sensors built with individual palladium nanowires (Pd NWs) have been achieved by integrating Pd NWs across microelectromechanical system (MEMS) electrodes, followed by assembling and bonding them to a chip carrier platform. The sensing measurements reveal that the sensors with individual Pd NWs show reverse sensing behaviors between the temperature zones of (370-263 K) and (263-120 K).

Ferroelectric-carbon nanotube memory devices.

One-dimensional ferroelectric nanostructures, carbon nanotubes (CNT) and CNT-inorganic oxides have recently been studied due to their potential applications for microelectronics. Here, we report coating of a registered array of aligned multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) grown on silicon substrates by functional ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) which produces structures suitable for commercial prototype memories. Microstructural analysis reveals the crystalline nature of PZT with small nanocrystals aligned in different directions. First-order Raman modes of MWCNT and PZT/MWCNT/n-Si show the high structural quality of CNT before and after PZT deposition at elevated temperature. PZT exists mostly in the monoclinic Cc/Cm phase, which is the origin of the high piezoelectric response in the system. Low-loss square piezoelectric hysteresis obtained for the 3D bottom-up structure confirms the switchability of the device. Current-voltage mapping of the device by conducting atomic force microscopy (c-AFM) indicates very low transient current. Fabrication and functional properties of these hybrid ferroelectric-carbon nanotubes is the first step towards miniaturization for future nanotechnology sensors, actuators, transducers and memory devices.

Increasing surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy effect of RNA and DNA components by changing the pH of silver colloidal suspensions.

This work focused on establishing the parameters for enhancing the Raman signals of DNA and RNA constituents: nitrogenous bases, nucleosides and nucleotides, using metallic nanoparticles as surface enhanced Raman scattering substrates. Silver nanospheres were synthesized using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent and sodium citrate as a capping agent. The prepared nanoparticles had a surface plasmon band at ∼384nm and an average size of 12±3nm. The nanoparticles' surface charge was manipulated by changing the pH of the Ag colloidal suspensions in the range of 1-13. Low concentrations as 0.7µM were detected under the experimental conditions. The optimum pH values were: 7 for adenine, 9 for AMP, 5 for adenosine, 7 for dAMP and 11 for deoxyadenosine.

Growth and characterization of branched carbon nanostructures arrays in nano-patterned surfaces from porous silicon substrates.

A method to grow branched carbon nanostructures arrays is presented. We employ the electron-beam-induced deposition method using a transmission electron microscope in poor vacuum conditions where hydrocarbons are present in the chamber. The hydrocarbons are attracted to the substrates by the local electric fields. Saw-tooth nano-patterns were made with a focused ion beam in porous silicon substrates with high porosity in order to create sites with high-local electric fields. We found that the adequate ion dose to create well-defined saw-tooth nano-patterns was between 8 and 10 nC/microm(2). Raman and electron energy-loss spectroscopy on the branched carbon nanostructures show a high concentration of sp(2) sites suggesting that they are made of graphite-like hydrogenated amorphous carbon. Selected area electron diffraction, high-resolution images and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS) are also presented.

Synthesis and agglomeration of gold nanoparticles in reverse micelles.

Reverse micelles prepared in the system water, sodium bis-(2-ethylhexyl) sulfoccinate (AOT), and isooctane were investigated as a templating system for the production of gold nanoparticles from Au(III) and the reducing agent sulfite. A core-shell Mie model was used to describe the optical properties of gold nanoparticles in the reverse micelles. Dynamic light scattering of gold colloids in aqueous media and in reverse micelle solution indicated agglomeration of micelles containing particles. This was verified theoretically with an analysis of the total interaction energy between pairs of particles as a function of particle size. The analysis indicated that particles larger than about 8 nm in diameter should reversibly flocculate. Transmission electron microscopy measurements of gold nanoparticles produced in our reverse micelles showed diameters of 8-10 nm. Evidence of cluster formation was also observed. Time-correlated UV-vis absorption measurements showed a red shift for the peak wavelength. This was interpreted as the result of multiple scattering and plasmon interaction between particles due to agglomeration of micelles with particles larger than 8 nm.