Multifractal Conductance Fluctuations of Helical Edge States.

Two-dimensional topological insulators are characterized by the bulk gap and one-dimensional helical states running along the edges. The theory predicts the topological protection of the helical transport from coherent backscattering. However, the unexpected deviations of the conductance from the quantized value and localization of the helical modes are generally observed in long samples. Moreover, at millikelvin temperatures significant mesoscopic fluctuations are developed as a function of the electron energy. Here we report the results of an experimental study of the transport in a HgTe quantum well with an inverted energy spectrum that reveal a multifractality of the conductance fluctuations in the helical edge state dominated transport regime. We attribute observed multifractality to mesoscopic fluctuations of the electron wave function or local density of states at the spin quantum Hall transition. We have shown that the mesoscopic two-dimensional topological insulator provides a highly tunable experimental system in which to explore the physics of the Anderson transition between topological states.

Stokes flow around an obstacle in viscous two-dimensional electron liquid.

The electronic analog of the Poiseuille flow is the transport in a narrow channel with disordered edges that scatter electrons in a diffuse way. In the hydrodynamic regime, the resistivity decreases with temperature, referred to as the Gurzhi effect, distinct from conventional Ohmic behaviour. We studied experimentally an electronic analog of the Stokes flow around a disc immersed in a two-dimensional viscous liquid. The circle obstacle results in an additive contribution to resistivity. If specular boundary conditions apply, it is no longer possible to detect Poiseuille type flow and the Gurzhi effect. However, in flow through a channel with a circular obstacle, the resistivity decreases with temperature. By tuning the temperature, we observed the transport signatures of the ballistic and hydrodynamic regimes on the length scale of disc size. Our experimental results confirm theoretical predictions.

Dynamic light scattering biosensing based on analyte-induced inhibition of nanoparticle aggregation.

A new approach to direct quantitative detection of small molecules (haptens) by dynamic light scattering biosensing is presented. The proposed technique implements a homogeneous competitive immunoassay and is based on optical detection of specific inhibition of nanoparticle aggregation induced by the analyte in a sample. The technique performance was tested both in buffer and milk for detection of chloramphenicol - antibiotic relevant to food safety diagnostics. Good specificity, sensitivity (LOD in milk is 2.4 ng/ml), precision (4.0 ± 1.2%), ruggedness (8.3%), and 96% recovery in conjunction with a record wide dynamic range (3 orders of magnitude) of the nanosensing technique were demonstrated. Such characteristics complemented by the assay simplicity (no washing step) and a short assay time make the approach attractive for application as an analytical platform for point-of-care and field-oriented diagnostics. Graphical abstract.

Electronic thermal conductivity in 2D topological insulator in a HgTe quantum well.

We have measured the differential resistance in a two-dimensional topological insulator (2DTI) in a HgTe quantum well, as a function of the applied dc current. The transport near the charge neutrality point is characterized by a pair of counter propagating gapless edge modes. In the presence of an electric field, the energy is transported by counter propagating channels in the opposite direction. We test a hot carrier effect model and demonstrate that the energy transfer complies with the Wiedemann Franz law near the charge neutrality point in the edge transport regime.

Microwave-Induced Magneto-Oscillations and Signatures of Zero-Resistance States in Phonon-Drag Voltage in Two-Dimensional Electron Systems.

We observe the phonon-drag voltage oscillations correlating with the resistance oscillations under microwave irradiation in a two-dimensional electron gas in perpendicular magnetic field. This phenomenon is explained by the influence of dissipative resistivity modified by microwaves on the phonon-drag voltage perpendicular to the phonon flux. When the lowest-order resistance minima evolve into zero-resistance states, the phonon-drag voltage demonstrates sharp features suggesting that current domains associated with these states can exist in the absence of external dc driving.

Persistence of a two-dimensional topological insulator state in wide HgTe quantum wells.

Our experimental studies of electron transport in wide (14 nm) HgTe quantum wells confirm the persistence of a two-dimensional topological insulator state reported previously for narrower wells, where it was justified theoretically. Comparison of local and nonlocal resistance measurements indicate edge state transport in the samples of about 1 mm size at temperatures below 1 K. Temperature dependence of the resistances suggests an insulating gap of the order of a few meV. In samples with sizes smaller than 10 µm a quasiballistic transport via the edge states is observed.

[Study of the influence of gold nanoparticles on activation of human blood neutrophils].

Activation of neutrophils in the presence of gold nanoparticles is accompanied by the formation of free radical peroxidation products recording the flash of chemiluminescence. The basis for the activation mechanism has its origins most likely in the influence of the gold particles on the surface membrane potential of neutrophils. Investigation of changes in the fluorescence intensity of the negatively charged ANS probe on the surface of model membranes by adding different concentrations of gold nanoparticles indicates the change in the membrane surface charge density that can cause cell activation.

Quantum hall effect in n-p-n and n-2D topological insulator-n junctions.

We have studied quantized transport in HgTe wells with inverted band structure corresponding to the two-dimensional topological insulator phase (2D TI) with locally controlled density allowing n-p-n and n-2D TI-n junctions. The resistance reveals the fractional plateau 2h/e(2) in the n-p-n regime in the presence of the strong perpendicular magnetic field. We found that in the n-2D TI-n regime the plateaux in resistance in not universal and results from the edge state equilibration at the interface between chiral and helical edge modes. We provided the simple model describing the resistance quantization in n-2D TI-n regime.

Nonlocal transport near charge neutrality point in a two-dimensional electron-hole system.

Nonlocal resistance is studied in a two-dimensional system with a simultaneous presence of electrons and holes in a 20 nm HgTe quantum well. A large nonlocal electric response is found near the charge neutrality point in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. We attribute the observed nonlocality to the edge state transport via counterpropagating chiral modes similar to the quantum spin Hall effect at a zero magnetic field and graphene near a Landau filling factor ν=0.

Diffusion-limited binding explains binary dose response for local arterial and tumour drug delivery.

BACKGROUND: Local drug delivery has transformed medicine, yet it remains unclear how drug efficacy depends on physicochemical properties and delivery kinetics. Most therapies seek to prolong release, yet recent studies demonstrate sustained clinical benefit following local bolus endovascular delivery. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the current study was to examine interplay between drug dose, diffusion and binding in determining tissue penetration and effect. METHODS: We introduce a quantitative framework that balances dose, saturable binding and diffusion, and measured the specific binding parameters of drugs to target tissues. RESULTS: Model reduction techniques augmented by numerical simulations revealed that impact of saturable binding on drug transport and retention is determined by the magnitude of a binding potential, B(p), ratio of binding capacity to product of equilibrium dissociation constant and accessible tissue volume fraction. At low B(p) (< 1), drugs are predominantly free and transport scales linearly with concentration. At high B(p) (> 40), drug transport exhibits threshold dependence on applied surface concentration. CONCLUSIONS: In this paradigm, drugs and antibodies with large B(p) penetrate faster and deeper into tissues when presented at high concentrations. Threshold dependence of tissue transport on applied surface concentration of paclitaxel and rapamycin may explain threshold dose dependence of in vivo biological efficacy of these drugs.

[Immunochemical properties of immunoglobulin G conjugated with dextran]. / Immunokhimicheskie svoistva immunoglobulina G, kon"iugirovannogo s dekstranom.

Antigen-binding activity and effector functions of immunoglobulin G from horse and rabbit sera have been investigated, using hemagglutination, kinetic immune lysis, immune lysis in microplates and rosette-forming test with peritoneal mononuclear cells of mice, after their conjugation with dextran, MW 35-50 kD. The formation of conjugates of two types has been demonstrated: protein-dextran and protein-dextran-protein. It has been revealed that protein-dextran-protein conjugates have high specific antigen-binding activity, as compared to native IgG from rabbit sera specific for SRBC, while interactions with the complement system and Fc receptors is depressed.

[Anaphylactogenicity of dextran-conjugated serum globulins]. / Anafilaktogennost' syvorotochnykh globulinov, kon''iugirovannykh s dekstranami.

Active anaphylaxis in 238 guinea-pigs has revealed a decrease in the anaphylactogenic activity of horse blood serum IgG conjugates with dextran and of serum treated with dextran according to Diaferm method. The conjugates were used for a challenge injection. The sensitizing activity of dextran-conjugated proteins was higher than that of native proteins. The effect was most pronounced with 150,000 D dextran used as a matrix. A lower increase in sensitizing protein activity and a decrease in anaphylactogenic activity were achieved with dextran matrix of the molecular weight of 35-50 D and protein/dextran ratio from 1:6 to 1:9.

[Effect of nonionizing microwave radiation on autoimmune reactions and antigenic structure of serum proteins]. / Vliianie neioniziruiushchei mikrovolnovoi radiatsii na autoimmunnye reaktsii i antigennuiu strukturu syvorotochnykh belkov.

The authors discuss the possibility of stimulating the autoimmune reactions of the organism by microwave irradiation. The immunochemical analysis of protein fractions of blood serum has revealed a destabilization of functional activity of the immune system humoral factors at 500 W/cm2 which is manifested by the formation of a new protein with the immunoglobulin G physico-chemical properties.