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Quantum Interference Device (quantum + interference_device)
Selected AbstractsNovel Magnetic Hydroxyapatite Nanoparticles as Non-Viral Vectors for the Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor GeneADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 1 2010Hsi-Chin Wu Abstract Nanoparticles (NPs) of synthetic hydroxyapatite (Hap) and natural bone mineral (NBM) are rendered magnetic by treatment with iron ions using a wet-chemical process. The magnetic NPs (mNPs), which are about 300,nm in diameter, display superparamagnetic properties in a superconducting quantum interference device, with a saturation magnetization of about 30,emu g,1. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the magnetic properties of the NPs are the result of the hetero-epitaxial growth of magnetite on the Hap and NBM crystallites. The mNPs display a high binding affinity for plasmid DNA in contrast to magnetite NPs which do not bind the plasmid well. The mHap and mNBM NPs result in substantial increases in the transfection of rat marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells with the gene for glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), with magnetofection compared to transfection in the absence of a magnet. The amount of GDNF recovered in the medium approaches therapeutic levels despite the small amount of plasmid delivered by the NPs. [source] High-Density Periodically Ordered Magnetic Cobalt Ferrite Nanodot Arrays by Template-Assisted Pulsed Laser DepositionADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 21 2009Xingsen Gao Abstract A novel nanopatterning method using pulsed laser deposition through an ultrathin anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) membrane mask is proposed to synthesize well-ordered nanodot arrays of magnetic CoFe2O4 that feature a wide range of applications like sensors, drug delivery, and data storage. This technique allows the adjustment of the array dimension from ,35 to ,300,nm in diameter and ,65 to ,500,nm in inter-dot distance. The dot density can be as high as 0.21 Terabit in.,2. The microstructure of the nanodots is characterized by SEM, TEM, and XRD and their magnetic properties are confirmed by well-defined magnetic force microscopy contrasts and by hysteresis loops recorded by a superconducting quantum interference device. Moreover, the high stability of the AAO mask enables the epitaxial growth of nanodots at a temperature as high as 550,°C. The epitaxial dots demonstrate unique complex magnetic domains such as bubble and stripe domains, which are switchable by external magnetic fields. This patterning method creates opportunities for studying novel physics in oxide nanomagnets and may find applications in spintronic devices. [source] Concentric Sub-micrometer-Sized Cables Composed of Ni Nanowires and Sub-micrometer-Sized Fullerene Tubes,ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 7 2007F. Tao Abstract Highly ordered arrays of submicrometer-sized coaxial cables composed of submicrometer-sized C60 and C70 tubes filled with Ni nanowires are successfully prepared by combining a sol,gel method with an electrodeposition process. The wall thickness of the submicrometer-sized tubes can be adjusted by the concentration of fullerenes and the immersion time. The thermal stability of the submicrometer-sized C60 tubes is studied by Raman spectroscopy and it is found that these structures can be easily decomposed to form carbon nanotubes at relatively low temperatures (above 573,K) in an alumina template. These novel coaxial cable structures have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field-emission SEM (FESEM), Raman spectroscopy, elemental mapping, energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) experiments, and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) measurements. Magnetic measurements show that these submicrometer-sized cables exhibit enhanced ferromagnetic behavior as compared to bulk nickel. Moreover, submicrometer-sized C70/Ni cables show uniaxial magnetic anisotropy with the easy magnetic axis being parallel to the long axis of the Ni nanowires. C70/Ni cables also exhibit a new magnetic transition at ca.,10,K in the magnetization,temperature (M,T) curve, which is not observed for the analogous C60/Ni structures. The origin of this transition is not yet clear, but might be related to interactions between the Ni nanowires and C70 molecules. There is no preferred magnetization axis in submicrometer-sized C60/Ni cables, which implies that the Ni nanocrystals have different packing modes in the two composites. These different crystalline packing modes lead to different magnetic anisotropy in the two composites, although the Ni nanocrystals have the same face-centered cubic (fcc) structure in both cases. [source] Synthesis and Characterization of Magnetic NanocontainersJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CERAMIC SOCIETY, Issue 4 2008Christos Tapeinos Magnetic hollow spheres were synthesized through a two-step process and were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, super quantum interference device, vibrating sample magnetometry and Mössbauer spectroscopy methods. First, polystyrene spheres (PS) were produced using emulsion polymerization. Second, the PS spheres were coated via the sol,gel method to form an iron oxide layer. The size of the PS spheres was controlled by the concentration of the monomer (styrene), the initiator (potassium persulfate), and the emulsifier (sodium dodecylsulfate). The sol,gel coatings were prepared by controlled hydrolysis of aqueous solutions of FeCl3 in the presence of PS latex, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and hydrochloric acid. The composite was treated in air to burn off the PS latex. Temperature treatments were optimized after extensive differential thermal analysis and thermo gravimetric analysis characterization of the samples. Treatments under hydrogen atmosphere at various temperatures gave control over the formation and extend of magnetic phases in the nanocontainers such as a Fe, hematite (Fe2O3), and magnetite (Fe3O4). The size of the containers ranged between 300 and 400 nm. [source] Noninvasive Study of Ventricular Preexcitation Using Multichannel MagnetocardiographyPACING AND CLINICAL ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 1p2 2003RICCARDO FENICI FENICI, R., et al.: Noninvasive Study of Ventricular Preexcitation Using Multichannel Magnetocardiography. In clinical practice, noninvasive classification of ventricular preexcitation (VPX) is usually done with ECG algorithms, which provide only a qualitative localization of accessory pathways. Since 1984, single or multichannel magnetocardiograpy (MMCG) has been used for three-dimensional localization of VPX sites, but a systematic study comparing the results of ECG and MMCG methods was lacking. This study evaluated the reliability of MMCG in an unshielded electrophysiological catheterization laboratory, and compared VPX classification as achieved with the five most recent ECG algorithms with that obtained by MMCG mapping and imaging techniques. A nine-channel direct current superconducting quantum interference device (DC-SQUID) MMCG system (sensitivity is 20 fT/Hz0.5) was used for sequential MMCG from 36 points on the anterior chest wall, within an area20 × 20 cm. Twenty-eight patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome were examined at least twice, on the same day or after several months to test the reproducibility of the measurements. In eight patients, the reproducibility of MMCG was also evaluated using different MCG instrumentation during maximal VPX and/or atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia induced by transesophageal atrial pacing via a nonmagnetic catheter. The results of VPX localization with ECG algorithms and MMCG were compared. Equivalent current dipole, effective magnetic dipole, and distributed currents imaging models were used for the inverse solution. MMCG classification of VPX was found to be more accurate than ECG methods, and also provided additional information for the identification of paraseptal pathways. Furthermore, in patients with complex activation patterns during the delta wave, distributed currents imaging revealed two different activation patterns, suggesting the existence of multiple accessory pathways. (PACE 2003; 26[Pt. II]:431,435) [source] Severe iron overload in Blackfan-Diamond anemia: A case-control study,AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HEMATOLOGY, Issue 11 2009Simona Roggero Chronic iron overload is a serious complication in transfusion-dependent patients. Few studies have addressed this issue in Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA). We describe a retrospective analysis of iron overload, and its related complications in 31 transfusion-dependent Italian DBA patients whose records included one or more evaluation of liver iron concentration (LIC) by means of noninvasive magnetic liver susceptometry with a superconductive quantum interference device (SQUID). This cohort is also matched with a group of transfusion-dependent ,-thalassemia major patients to look for differences. A severe iron overload was observed in 54% patients, especially among those inadequately chelated. The DBA patients displayed a significantly higher LIC than the regularly chelated ,-thalassemics. This difference may have been attributable to nonoptimal chelation (late onset, type, dose, prescription, and compliance), or an unknown biological mechanism that lead to an early severe iron overload. We therefore suggest that all transfusion patients should have an accurate record of their iron intake, a regular monitoring of iron overload, in order to start chelation when a critical transfusion load is reached, and to test the efficacy/compliance of chelation treatment. Physicians taking care of transfusion-dependent DBA patients must be concerned about the frequent and early complications such as cardiac toxicity. Am. J. Hematol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Rapid and sensitive magnetometer surveys of large areas using SQUIDs , the measurement system and its application to the Niederzimmern Neolithic double-ring ditch explorationARCHAEOLOGICAL PROSPECTION, Issue 2 2008Volkmar Schultze Abstract A geomagnetic field measurement system for the detection of archaeological signatures in the subsoil is presented based on the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). The system provides fast mapping of large areas with high magnetic field gradient resolution as well as lateral precision. The acquired data are geographically referenced and also the altitude profile is given. The properties of the system were tested intensively at the large Neolithic double-ring ditch enclosure of Niederzimmern near Weimar, Germany. Differences of the signal acquisition compared with caesium magnetometers are discussed. In the Niederzimmern double-ring ditch enclosure, with an area of 27,ha, archaeological patterns were found only near the gates. These SQUID measurements, together with accompanying excavations, provide a complex picture of the double-ring ditch enclosure, dated about 5600 years old. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Macroscopic quantum behavior of superconducting quantum interference devicesFORTSCHRITTE DER PHYSIK/PROGRESS OF PHYSICS, Issue 4-5 2003M.G. CastellanoArticle first published online: 24 APR 200 Superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) are made by a superconducting loop interrupted by one or more Josephson junctions. They are described in terms of a macroscopic variable, the magnetic flux, which shows quantum effects such as tunnelling through a potential barrier. Besides making up the source of a quantum state, SQUIDs also provide the instruments necessary for its probing: as a fact, SQUID based magnetometers have a sensitivity approaching the quantum limit. In this paper I will review the working principle of these devices and illustrate the system of SQUIDs realized in my group to test the quantum behavior at a macroscopic level. [source] Multiscale observation of biological interactions of nanocarriers: From nano to macroMICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 9 2010Su-Eon Jin Abstract Microscopic observations have played a key role in recent advancements in nanotechnology-based biomedical sciences. In particular, multiscale observation is necessary to fully understand the nano-bio interfaces where a large amount of unprecedented phenomena have been reported. This review describes how to address the physicochemical and biological interactions of nanocarriers within the biological environments using microscopic tools. The imaging techniques are categorized based on the size scale of detection. For observation of the nanoscale biological interactions of nanocarriers, we discuss atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). For the micro to macro-scale (in vitro and in vivo) observation, we focus on confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) as well as in vivo imaging systems such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), superconducting quantum interference devices, and IVIS®. Additionally, recently developed combined techniques such as AFM-CLSM, correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM), and SEM spectroscopy are also discussed. In this review, we describe how each technique helps elucidate certain physicochemical and biological activities of nanocarriers such as dendrimers, polymers, liposomes, and polymeric/inorganic nanoparticles, thus providing a toolbox for bioengineers, pharmaceutical scientists, biologists, and research clinicians. Microsc. Res. Tech. 73:813,823, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Phase effects in HgTe quantum structuresPHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 9 2007M. König Abstract HgTe quantum well structures with high electron mobilities have been used to fabricate quantum interference devices. Aharonov-Bohm oscillations have been studied in the low and high magnetic field regime. In the latter case a decrease of the effective ring radius is observed. Additionally, as a consequence of the strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling within this material, it was possible to observe conductance oscillations which are due to the so-called Aharonov-Casher effect. These quantum interference effects are effectively controlled by the applied magnetic and electric field. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] | ||||||||||||||||