Direct measurement of surface photovoltage by AC bias Kelvin probe force microscopy

• Masato Miyazaki,
• Yasuhiro Sugawara and
• Yan Jun Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 712–720, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.63

• microscopy (AFM) [22]. KPFM measures the contact potential difference (CPD), which corresponds to the difference in work function between the tip and the sample, consecutively in darkness and under illumination, to determine the SPV values: SPV = CPDlight − CPDdark. In this method, the thermal drift between

Design and selection of peptides to block the SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain by molecular docking

• Kendra Ramirez-Acosta,
• Ivan A. Rosales-Fuerte,
• J. Eduardo Perez-Sanchez,
• Alfredo Nuñez-Rivera,
• Josue Juarez and
• Ruben D. Cadena-Nava

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 699–711, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.62

• , which makes it an excellent complement to docking approaches. Thus, PRODIGY web server was used to predict the binding energy of the APD–RBD and theoretical peptide–RBD complexes [39][40][41]. The input files were acquired from ADT files in the PDB format. Contact area analysis PyMOL was used to compute

• the solvent-accessible surface area of SARS-CoV-2 RBD and the peptides that were docked to it. The surface area of the RBD–ligand complex was also calculated. The following equation was established to calculate the contact area between the RBD and each ligand analyzed: where Ac is the contact area of

• contact area (Ac) with the RBD active region were determined using docking analysis. The secondary structure and net charge of the OAPs were plotted as functions of the binding energy (Figure 5) with the aim of understanding the relationship between these parameters. Figure 5 shows the secondary structure

Experimental and theoretical study of field-dependent spin splitting at ferromagnetic insulator–superconductor interfaces

• Peter Machon,
• Michael J. Wolf,
• Detlef Beckmann and
• Wolfgang Belzig

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 682–688, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.60

• with help of the top normal contact (N), which is separated by an insulating barrier (I). (b) Circuit diagram to represent the FI–S bilayer in the quantum circuit theory. The superconductor is represented by the node, the Δ-source term, the εTh-leakage term, and its normal-state conductance G. The

A superconducting adiabatic neuron in a quantum regime

• Marina V. Bastrakova,
• Dmitrii S. Pashin,
• Dmitriy A. Rybin,
• Andrey E. Schegolev,
• Nikolay V. Klenov,
• Igor I. Soloviev,
• Anastasiya A. Gorchavkina and
• Arkady M. Satanin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 653–665, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.57

• superconducting logic cells with magnetic representation of information [43][45][51]. Fortunately, there are already such elements based on an inductively shunted two-contact interferometer with the ability to adjust parameters. However, their behavior in the quantum mode requires an additional study. Funding The

Fabrication and testing of polymer microneedles for transdermal drug delivery

• Vahid Ebrahiminejad,
• Zahra Faraji Rad,
• Philip D. Prewett and
• Graham J. Davies

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 629–640, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.55

• algorithm was used to create fine elements at the tip of the MNs. The coefficient of friction between the contact surfaces was set to 0.42 [29]. Upon MN penetration, with a constant impact speed of 4.5 m/s, the force-displacement data were recorded to estimate the insertion force. To enable the skin

Quantitative dynamic force microscopy with inclined tip oscillation

• Philipp Rahe,
• Daniel Heile,
• Reinhard Olbrich and
• Michael Reichling

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 610–619, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.53

• for technical reasons. Consequences of this inclined AFM cantilever mount have been identified before, in particular for atomic force microscopy performed in static (“contact”) mode where an effective spring constant [6][7][8] has been introduced and a torque [9][10] as well as load [11] correction

A new method for obtaining the magnetic shape anisotropy directly from electron tomography images

• Cristian Radu,
• Ioana D. Vlaicu and
• Andrei C. Kuncser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 590–598, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.51

• greatly on the user experience and can be involved with success in the approach of more challenging situations. Particle separation and identification: A modified version of the priority-flood algorithm [24] has been used in order to distinguish particles that are in contact with each other. As a first

• maintaining the labeling at the contact between adjacent particles. Shape evaluation: The procedure consists of fitting each separated particle with an ellipsoid and recovering information about size, axis ratios, and orientation of the long axis from the fit. Both the direction and the magnitude of the semi

Effects of substrate stiffness on the viscoelasticity and migration of prostate cancer cells examined by atomic force microscopy

• Xiaoqiong Tang,
• Yan Zhang,
• Jiangbing Mao,
• Yuhua Wang,
• Zhenghong Zhang,
• Zhengchao Wang and
• Hongqin Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 560–569, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.47

• Germany) for 2 h to prevent damage to the cells. Before the experiment, the thermal noise method was used to adjust the cantilever spring constant, and then the experiment was carried out in contact mode. The AFM probe (MLCT probe, Bruker, USA) slightly contacted the cell surface and a constant force was

Design and characterization of polymeric microneedles containing extracts of Brazilian green propolis

• Camila Felix Vecchi,
• Rafaela Said dos Santos,
• Jéssica Bassi da Silva and
• Marcos Luciano Bruschi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 503–516, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.42

• permeation mechanism [6][9][10]. Nanocarriers can be used together with polymeric MNs in a synergistic therapy. The nanocarriers can immediately come into contact with the stratum corneum with the help of polymeric MNs, enhancing the transdermal drug delivery of the drugs. Furthermore, these polymeric MNs

• epidermis and, after a period, the MN system is removed [6]. Dissolvable MNs are composed of a biodegradable matrix containing the bioactive agent. When they come in contact with aqueous fluids in the skin, these needles dissolve, releasing the drug and degrading. As they are dissolvable, they do not need

Ethosomal (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate as a novel approach to enhance antioxidant, anti-collagenase and anti-elastase effects

• Çiğdem Yücel,
• Gökçe Şeker Karatoprak,
• Sena Yalçıntaş and
• Tuğba Eren Böncü

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 491–502, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.41

• dermal sites for the study of antiaging effects. These formulations can also serve as a useful tool to prolong the contact time of EGCG with the skin. Thus, new opportunities may be created for well-controlled and modern topical application of EGCG in cosmetology. Experimental Materials

Zinc oxide nanostructures for fluorescence and Raman signal enhancement: a review

• Ioana Marica,
• Fran Nekvapil,
• Maria Ștefan,
• Cosmin Farcău and
• Alexandra Falamaș

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 472–490, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.40

• contact with Ag (WAg = 4.36 eV) and Au (WAu = 5.1 eV), whereby charge transfer occurs in the direction ZnO–Ag or Au. Furthermore, the PATP spacer between ZnO and Ag acts to inhibit the charge transfer. The study conducted by Zhou et al. [67] revealed the Raman signal of dopamine using Au–ZnO heterogeneous

• in Figure 7A based on the description in [101]. First, the ZnO is excited and because most of the electrons are trapped in the defect level of ZnO NRs, they will recombine with the holes in the VB resulting in a visible-range emission. In the case of contact between ZnO NRs and Au NPs, the Au NPs can

• of molecules in contact with nanostructured ZnO substrates. For example, [117] concluded that the surface area of ZnO or protein coverage does not influence the fluorescence enhancement, but is related to the intrinsic properties of ZnO. They also noted that the enhanced fluorescence could be

Tubular glassy carbon microneedles with fullerene-like tips for biomedical applications

• Sharali Malik and
• George E. Kostakis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 455–461, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.38

• chrome particles released from surgical stainless steel needles during needle wear in human skin. Allergic reactions such as contact dermatitis resulting from the presence of nickel and chromium in acupuncture needles have also been reported [32]. Glassy carbon is biocompatible, electrically and

The role of sulfonate groups and hydrogen bonding in the proton conductivity of two coordination networks

• Ali Javed,
• Felix Steinke,
• Stephan Wöhlbrandt,
• Hana Bunzen,
• Norbert Stock and
• Michael Tiemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 437–443, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.36

• necessary, as will be discussed below. The proton conductivity σ is then calculated from the resistance R by accounting for the thickness L and contact area A of the sample pellet between the two electrodes (σ = R−1·L·A−1) [21]. The results are shown in Table 1. Further conductivity values at 22 °C are

A non-enzymatic electrochemical hydrogen peroxide sensor based on copper oxide nanostructures

• Irena Mihailova,
• Vjaceslavs Gerbreders,
• Marina Krasovska,
• Eriks Sledevskis,
• Valdis Mizers,
• Andrejs Bulanovs and
• Andrejs Ogurcovs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 424–436, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.35

• mm length to provide electrical contact with the equipment. The measurements were carried out using an electrochemical station (Zanher, Germany), supplemented by a custom-made electrochemical cell (for more details about its structure, see our publication [71]). During the measurement, a three

Electrostatic pull-in application in flexible devices: A review

• Teng Cai,
• Yuming Fang,
• Yingli Fang,
• Ruozhou Li,
• Ying Yu and
• Mingyang Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 390–403, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.32

• plate are balanced. As the voltage continues to increase, the upper plate moves rapidly downward and the two plates eventually contact, known as pull-in. The critical voltage [11] that leads to the pull-in phenomenon is: where k is the elastic modulus of the flexible material, g is the initial distance

• contact electrodes [25][26], or intermediate layer [27], and can greatly improve the life cycles of switches. However, CNTs prepared by CVD are randomly oriented, and positioning CNTs at the desired location is a challenge that hinders scalable manufacturing. Ward et al. [28] and Cha et al. [21] used spin

• tear of the switches, especially for CNT [16] and GR [29] switches. Permanent adhesion caused by the dielectric charging [52][53] and chemical bonding [24] are the focus of the research on improving the life cycles. At present, it is mainly solved by reducing the electrode contact area [14] or

Micro- and nanotechnology in biomedical engineering for cartilage tissue regeneration in osteoarthritis

• Zahra Nabizadeh,
• Mahmoud Nasrollahzadeh,
• Hamed Daemi,
• Mohamadreza Baghaban Eslaminejad,
• Ali Akbar Shabani,
• Mehdi Dadashpour,
• Majid Mirmohammadkhani and
• Davood Nasrabadi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 363–389, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.31

The effect of metal surface nanomorphology on the output performance of a TENG

• Yiru Wang,
• Xin Zhao,
• Yang Liu and
• Wenjun Zhou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 298–312, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.25

• surface. When the materials are separated, the positive and negative electrostatic charges on the materials will also be separated, resulting in a potential difference. The charge transfer strongly depends on the work functions of the two materials in contact, for example, metal–metal, semiconductor

• –semiconductor and semiconductor–metal contact pairs [14][15]. A semiconductor–metal contact can be described by the band diagram shown in Figure 1. The frictional electrical properties of materials depend on their work functions and Fermi levels [16][17]. The intermediate state in the bandgap can reduce the

• ], many attempts have been made to enhance the energy harvesting efficiency. There are four ways to enhance the efficiency of energy collection. These are (1) surface treatment of the contact materials, including increasing the surface roughness and physical surface modification to enhance the surface

Plasma modes in capacitively coupled superconducting nanowires

• Alex Latyshev,
• Andrew G. Semenov and
• Andrei D. Zaikin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 292–297, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.24

• wires can be treated as independent only provided that they are located far from each other. If, on the contrary, the distance between the wires becomes sufficiently short they develop electromagnetic coupling even though there exists no direct electric contact between them. In this case each

Relationship between corrosion and nanoscale friction on a metallic glass

• Haoran Ma and
• Roland Bennewitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 236–244, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.18

• linear increase of the friction force with the applied load is also observed for the outer layer after immersion in phosphate buffer (Figure 4b). We attribute the increase in friction for the outer layer to the contact area between the outer layer and tip, which grows in parallel to the increased contact

• immersion time due to the development of defects in the surface film [40][41]. The increase in the friction coefficient of the outer layer indicates the growth of the outer layer with increasing immersion time. More material of possibly higher shear strength is in contact with the sliding tip, which

• during deformation [48][49]. No plastic strain occurs in this work, given the much higher yield strength of Zr-based MGs (approx. 1.7 GPa [50]) than that of copper (69–365 MPa [51]). The maximum contact pressure in this work is ca. 0.49 GPa (JKR model), smaller than the yield strength of MGs. As a

Impact of device design on the electronic and optoelectronic properties of integrated Ru-terpyridine complexes

• Max Mennicken,
• Sophia Katharina Peter,
• Corinna Kaulen,
• Ulrich Simon and
• Silvia Karthäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 219–229, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.16

• overcome for hopping conductance. Furthermore, EA corresponding to ΔEH points to hole conduction through the energetically accessible HOMO of Ru(TP)2-complexes, as also discussed in [31][32]. In practical nanowire devices other contributions such as an additional contact resistance or an activation energy

Engineered titania nanomaterials in advanced clinical applications

• Padmavati Sahare,
• Paulina Govea Alvarez,
• Juan Manual Sanchez Yanez,
• Gabriel Luna-Bárcenas,
• Samik Chakraborty,
• Sujay Paul and
• Miriam Estevez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 201–218, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.15

• contact angle, which is reported to be favorable for biomedical applications. Likewise, Gatoo et al. proposed that amorphous titania materials are hydrophilic due to the presence of a higher concentration of hydroxy groups upon their surface and the high polarity of the O–Ti–O bond [23]. The surface

• (GNP2) presented good osseointegration [61]. In another recent study, TiO2 nanotubes (TNT) were grown on the surface of medical-grade titanium alloy and then coated with silver nps (Ag nps) to improve the antimicrobial properties of the implants. Moreover, to avoid direct contact of Ag nps with human

A comprehensive review on electrospun nanohybrid membranes for wastewater treatment

• Senuri Kumarage,
• Imalka Munaweera and
• Nilwala Kottegoda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 137–159, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.10

• layer had a significant effect on the hydrophilicity of the membrane by decreasing the water contact angle from 130° to 13°. A water flux of 5.5 m3/m2/day, has been achieved by the membrane with the lowest contact angle [67]. Zhang et al. demonstrated the electrospinning of a blend of PLA and poly(3

• separating nanohybrid membrane with a SiO2 NP-integrated F-PBZ functional layer on the surface of an electrospun core–shell-structured membrane of CA/PI nanofibers. The membrane showed hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 160° and superlipophilicity with an extremely low oil contact angle of 0°. The

• hydrophobic PVDF membrane to a hydrophilic membrane with a water contact angle of 22.72°. The nanohybrid membrane showed a dye removal efficiency of 88.9% and an adsorption capacity of 72.6 mg/g for IC [78]. Huong et al. developed a waste protein-immobilized cationic dye removal membrane from PAN. In this

Nanoscale friction and wear of a polymer coated with graphene

• Robin Vacher and
• Astrid S. de Wijn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 63–73, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.4

• used by Li and co-workers [32]. ε = 0.092 eV is the depth potential, and σ2 = 3 Å is the distance at which the potential is equal to zero. In our system, the tip and polymer are never in direct contact. They are always separated by graphene. We therefore do not need to model their interactions. However

Effect of lubricants on the rotational transmission between solid-state gears

• Huang-Hsiang Lin,
• Jonathan Heinze,
• Alexander Croy,
• Rafael Gutiérrez and
• Gianaurelio Cuniberti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 54–62, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.3

• formation process between gears. Keywords: lubricants; MD simulation; rotational transmission; solid-state gears; Introduction In mechanical systems, lubrication is the most common way to reduce friction and wear [1][2][3][4]. The idea of lubricants is preventing direct contact between surfaces to avoid

• problem are carried out with fixed rotational speed for both gears. In this case, the gears will never be in contact with each other and only lubricant properties are calculated accordingly by the dynamical meshing at each time step. Moreover, as the system dimension approaches the nanoscale, the

• ]. To proceed further, one may ask if lubricants can provide the same functionality as in the macroscopic case and are able to improve the transmission efficiency. Consider the case where the lubricant film within the contact area consists only of a small number of molecules. In this case, the pressure

Design aspects of Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ THz sources: optimization of thermal and radiative properties

• Mikhail M. Krasnov,
• Natalia D. Novikova,
• Roger Cattaneo,
• Alexey A. Kalenyuk and
• Vladimir M. Krasnov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1392–1403, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.103

• in a direct contact with the sapphire substrate (no epoxy). This creates a good thermal sink and, as a result, Tmax falls to ≈23 K. Addition of an exchange gas does not play a major role in this case because the main heat sink channel is provided by the electrode [33][34] acting as a heat spreading