Enhanced cell growth by nanoengineering zirconia to stimulate electrostatic fibronectin activation.

We address the enhanced bone growth on designed nanocrystalline zirconia implants as reported by in vivo experiments. In vitro experiments demonstrate that the activation of adhesive proteins on nanoengineered zirconia stimulates cell adhesion and growth as shown by confocal microscopy. Fibrillar fibronectin (FN) forms a matrix assembly on the nanostructured surface in the cell adhesion process. We discuss the importance of FN dimer activation due to its immobilization on the designed nanocrystalline ZrO2 implant fabricated by ion beam assisted deposition. The Monte-Carlo analysis indicates that FN activation on the surface can be promoted by selective electrostatic interactions between negatively charged ZrO2 surface patches and oppositely charged FN domains.

Formation of hydrogen bonding network of methane sulfonic acid at low degree of hydration (MSA)m·(H2O)n (m = 1-2 and n = 1-5).

This study employs ab initio calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) to investigate the structural properties, 1H-NMR spectra, and vibrational spectra of methane sulfonic acid (MSA) at low degree of hydration. The findings reveal that energetically stable structures are formed by small clusters consisting of one or two MSA molecules (m = 1 and 2) and one or two water molecules in (MSA)m·(H2O)n (m = 1-2 and n = 1-5).These stable structures arise from the formation of strong cyclic hydrogen bonds between the proton of the hydroxyl (OH) group in MSA and the water molecules. However, clusters containing three or more water molecules (n > 2) exhibit proton transfer from MSA to water, resulting in the formation of ion-pairs composed of CH3SO3- and H3O+species. The measured 1H-NMR spectra demonstrate the presence of hydrogen-bonded interactions between MSA and water, with a single MSA molecule interacting with water molecules. This interaction model accurately represents the hydrogen bonding network, as supported by the agreement between the experimental and calculated NMR chemical shift results.

Enhanced initial protein adsorption on engineered nanostructured cubic zirconia.

Motivated by experimentally-observed biocompatibility enhancement of nanoengineered cubic zirconia (ZrO(2)) coatings to mesenchymal stromal cells, we have carried out computational analysis of the initial immobilization of one known structural fragment of the adhesive protein (fibronectin) on the corresponding surface. We constructed an atomistic model of the ZrO(2) nano-hillock of 3-fold symmetry based on Atom Force Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy images. First principle quantum mechanical calculations show a substantial variation of electrostatic potential at the hillock due to the presence of surface features such as edges and vertexes. Using an implemented Monte Carlo simulated annealing method, we found the orientation of the immobilized protein on the ZrO(2) surface and the contribution of the amino acid residues from the protein sequence to the adsorption energy. Accounting for the variation of the dielectric permittivity at the protein-implant interface, we used a model distance-dependent dielectric function to describe the inter-atom electrostatic interactions in the adsorption potential. We found that the initial immobilization of the rigid protein fragment on the nanostructured pyramidal ZrO(2) surface is achieved with a magnitude of adsorption energy larger than that of the protein on the smooth (atomically flat) surface. The strong attractive electrostatic interactions are a major contributing factor in the enhanced adsorption at the nanostructured surface. In the case of adsorption on the flat, uncharged surface this factor is negligible. We show that the best electrostatic and steric fit of the protein to the inorganic surface corresponds to a minimum of the adsorption energy determined by the non-covalent interactions.

The minority spin surface bands of CoS(2)(001).

Angle-resolved photoemission was used to study the surface electronic band structure of high quality single crystals of ferromagnetic CoS(2) (below 120 K). Strongly dispersing Co t(2g) bands are identified along the ⟨100⟩ [Formula: see text] direction, the [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] line of the surface Brillouin zone, in agreement with model calculations. The calculated surface band structure includes corrections for the previously determined surface structure of CoS(2)(001) and is in general agreement with the experimental photoemission spectra in the region of the Fermi level. There is evidence of the existence of several minority spin surface states, falling into a gap of the projected minority spin bulk CoS(2)(001) band structure.

Electronic, magnetic and transport properties of rare-earth monopnictides.

The electronic structures and magnetic properties of many rare-earth monopnictides are reviewed in this article. Possible candidate materials for spintronics devices from the rare-earth monopnictide family, i.e. high polarization (nominally half-metallic) ferromagnets and antiferromagnets, are identified. We attempt to provide a unified picture of the electronic properties of these strongly correlated systems. The relative merits of several ab initio theoretical methods, useful in the study of the rare-earth monopnictides, are discussed. We present our current understanding of the possible half-metallicity, semiconductor-metal transitions, and magnetic orderings in the rare-earth monopnictides. Finally, we propose some potential strategies to improve the magnetic and electronic properties of these candidate materials for spintronics devices.

Structural and magnetic transitions in cubic Mn3Ga.

The structural, magnetic and electron-transport properties of cubic Mn3Ga have been investigated. The alloys prepared by arc melting and melt-spinning show an antiferromagnetic spin order at room temperature but undergo coupled structural and magnetic phase transitions at 600 and 800 K. First-principles calculations show that the observed magnetic properties are consistent with that of a cubic Mn3Ga crystallizing in the disordered Cu3Au-type structure. The samples exhibit metallic electron transport with a resistance minimum near 30 K, followed by a logarithmic upturn below the minimum. The observed anomaly in the low-temperature resistivity has been discussed as a consequence of electron scattering at the low-lying excitations of the structurally disordered Mn3Ga lattice.

Effect of the ordered interfacial water layer in protein complex formation: A nonlocal electrostatic approach.

Using a nonlocal electrostatic approach that incorporates the short-range structure of the contacting media, we evaluated the electrostatic contribution to the energy of the complex formation of two model proteins. In this study, we have demonstrated that the existence of an ordered interfacial water layer at the protein-solvent interface reduces the charging energy of the proteins in the aqueous solvent, and consequently increases the electrostatic contribution to the protein binding (change in free energy upon the complex formation of two proteins). This is in contrast with the finding of the continuum electrostatic model, which suggests that electrostatic interactions are not strong enough to compensate for the unfavorable desolvation effects.

The surface relaxation and band structure of Mo(112).

The experimental and theoretical surface band structures of Mo(112) are compared. This surface band structure mapping is presented with corrections included for the lattice relaxation of the Mo(112) surface. Quantitative low energy electron diffraction (LEED) has been used to determine the details of the Mo(112) surface structure. The first layer contraction is 14.9% by LEED intensity versus voltage analysis and is in general agreement with the 17.6% contraction found from total surface energy optimization. The electronic band structure is mapped out along [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] of the surface Brillouin zone (SBZ). There is strong evidence of electron-phonon coupling particularly in the region of the Fermi level band crossing at 0.54 Å(-1).

Electronic and magnetic properties of endohedrally doped fullerene Mn@C(60): a total energy study.

We perform total energy calculations on a manganese atom encapsulated inside a C(60) cage using density functional theory with the generalized gradient approximation through three optimization schemes and along four paths inside the cage. We find that when Mn is located in the central region, its electronic and magnetic properties are not exactly the same as those of a free Mn atom due to weak coupling between Mn and the cage. As Mn is shifted toward to the edge, the total energy and spin start to change significantly when Mn is situated about one-third of the way between the cage center and edge, and the total energy reaches a local minimum. Finally the interaction between Mn and the cage turns repulsive as Mn approaches the edge. We also find that, along the lowest energy path, there exist three consecutive local energy minima and each of these has a different spin M. The ground state has the lowest M=3, Mn is located about 1.6 A away from the cage center, and the binding energy is 0.08 eV. We attribute the decrease in total energy and spin to Mn and C hybridization.

Surface magnetoelectric effect in ferromagnetic metal films.

A surface magnetoelectric effect is revealed by density-functional calculations that are applied to ferromagnetic Fe(001), Ni(001), and Co(0001) films in the presence of an external electric field. The effect originates from spin-dependent screening of the electric field which leads to notable changes in the surface magnetization and the surface magnetocrystalline anisotropy. These results are of considerable interest in the area of electrically controlled magnetism and magnetoelectric phenomena.

Magnetic moment softening and domain wall resistance in Ni nanowires.

We perform ab initio calculations of the electronic structure and conductance of atomic-size Ni nanowires with domain walls only a few atomic lattice constants wide. We show that the hybridization between noncollinear spin states leads to a reduction of the magnetic moments in the domain wall resulting in the enhancement of the domain wall resistance. Experimental studies of the magnetic moment softening may be feasible with modern techniques such as scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

Ballistic anisotropic magnetoresistance.

Electronic transport in ferromagnetic ballistic conductors is predicted to exhibit ballistic anisotropic magnetoresistance-a change in the ballistic conductance with the direction of magnetization. This phenomenon originates from the effect of the spin-orbit interaction on the electronic band structure which leads to a change in the number of bands crossing the Fermi energy when the magnetization direction changes. We illustrate the significance of this phenomenon by performing ab initio calculations of the ballistic conductance in ferromagnetic Ni and Fe nanowires which display a sizable ballistic anisotropic magnetoresistance when magnetization changes direction from parallel to perpendicular to the wire axis.