Integrating high-performance computing, machine learning, data management workflows, and infrastructures for multiscale simulations and nanomaterials technologies

• Fabio Le Piane,
• Mario Vozza,
• Matteo Baldoni and
• Francesco Mercuri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1498–1521, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.119

• . Ready-to-use software packages provide pre-implemented algorithms and methods, eliminating the need for researchers to develop complex simulation platforms from scratch. The availability of software platforms and packages and interfaces enables a more efficient translation of scientific and

Antimicrobial and mechanical properties of functionalized textile by nanoarchitectured photoinduced Ag@polymer coating

• Jessica Plé,
• Marine Dabert,
• Helene Lecoq,
• Sophie Hellé,
• Lydie Ploux and
• Lavinia Balan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 95–109, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.11

• and plate diffusion assays) of AgNP@polymer nanocomposites-coated textiles against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Candida albicans (C. albicans) strains. The mechanical properties (flexibility, adhesion, abrasion) were also studied using a Mini-Martindale device, a standard scratch test kit, scanning

• functionalized side of the fabric. In order to assess the adhesion properties of the Ag@polymer coatings on the cotton fabric, scratch tests were carried out on the smooth surfaces of each type of coating, i.e., Ag@PEG600DA and Ag@PEG600DA/PETIA. In accordance with the NF EN ISO 2409 standard regarding paints

• and varnishes, a scratch test was performed by first creating a grid (1 mm evenly spaced incisions) in the surface of the coating. Then a standard-approved 8.75 N adhesive tape was applied and taken off. Depending on the amount of coating remaining after the scratch test, a value of 0 to 5 is

Bending and punching characteristics of aluminum sheets using the quasi-continuum method

• Man-Ping Chang,
• Shang-Jui Lin and
• Te-Hua Fang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1303–1315, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.108

• strength at a specific structural orientation [51]. Besides, Tran et al. studied the friction and scratch characteristics of pure aluminum by the QC method. The bump width to the bump pitch (W/P) value, scratch depth, surface roughness, and indenter radius were set as variables in order to explore the

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

• debris was then removed by washing the cells three times with PBS and then the wells were replenished with 2 mL of fresh medium without serum. Then, the cells were imaged immediately and 24 h after the scratch. For the quantification of the wound-healing assay, three locations in the image scratch were

• randomly selected, the width of cell scratch was measured, and the average value was calculated. The cell migration index (Im = (G0−G1)/G0·100%) was used to represent the speed of cell migration. G0 referred to the scratch width at 0 h (i.e., immediately after scratch) and G1 referred to the scratch width

• 24 h after the scratch. The invasion assays were performed according to [11]. Cells were cultured on PAA gels with different stiffness for 48 h, removed by trypsinization, and then seeded into the upper compartment (2 × 104 cells/well) of a transwell chamber (Corning, USA) with serum-free medium. The

Poly(1-vinylimidazole) polyplexes as novel therapeutic gene carriers for lung cancer therapy

• Gayathri Kandasamy,
• Elena N. Danilovtseva,
• Vadim V. Annenkov and
• Uma Maheswari Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 354–369, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.26

• -VEGF siRNA was added to 100 µL of serum-free media. After 4 h, the medium was replaced with fresh medium. A straight scratch was made in the well using a pipette tip to remove the cells in the scratch zone. Cell migration was observed after 48 h and the images were captured using light microscope. The

Internalization mechanisms of cell-penetrating peptides

• Ivana Ruseska and
• Andreas Zimmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 101–123, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.10

• therapeutic point of view, is to recognize and point out the uptake route which produces a relevant biological response. Despite the deciphering of the uptake mechanism of CPPs being a work in progress, it is still not a scheme which should be build up from scratch. A “core” consensus exists, according to

Ion mobility and material transport on KBr in air as a function of the relative humidity

• Dominik J. Kirpal,
• Korbinian Pürckhauer,
• Alfred J. Weymouth and
• Franz J. Giessibl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2084–2093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.203

• to the surface. We collected atomic force microscopy images of KBr surfaces in a humidity-controlled glove box at various relative humidities below 40%. By scratching and poking the surface with the AFM tip, we constructed energetically unfavorable holes or scratch sites and material accumulations

Kelvin probe force microscopy of the nanoscale electrical surface potential barrier of metal/semiconductor interfaces in ambient atmosphere

• Petr Knotek,
• Tomáš Plecháček,
• Jan Smolík,
• Petr Kutálek,
• Filip Dvořák,
• Milan Vlček,
• Jiří Navrátil and
• Čestmír Drašar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1401–1411, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.138

• ) were used for measuring the metal layer thickness by the scratch method and phase contrast [30][32], while conductive NSG01/TiN tips (150 kHz, 5.1 N/m) were used for Kelvin probe force measurements and contact CSG-10/Pt tips (22 kHz, 0.11 N/m) for recording I–V characteristics [33][34] for 10 replicas

Influence of dielectric layer thickness and roughness on topographic effects in magnetic force microscopy

• Alexander Krivcov,
• Jasmin Ehrler,
• Marc Fuhrmann,
• Tanja Junkers and
• Hildegard Möbius

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1056–1064, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.106

• of the resist using the AR 300-12 thinner (Allresist). The layer thickness and the degree of dilutions are shown in Table S1 (Supporting Information File 1). The thickness of the layers was measured using the AFM tip-scratch method. Phase shift as a function of the tip–substrate distance z

Direct observation of the CVD growth of monolayer MoS₂ using in situ optical spectroscopy

• Claudia Beatriz López-Posadas,
• Yaxu Wei,
• Wanfu Shen,
• Daniel Kahr,
• Michael Hohage and
• Lidong Sun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 557–564, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.57

• distinguish between the two surfaces. (b) Optical microscopy image taken from the surface at the front side of the same substrate. A scratch is indicated by the arrow. (c) AFM images recorded from the surfaces at the front and back side of the substrate, respectively. The height profile is measured along the

Advanced scanning probe lithography using anatase-to-rutile transition to create localized TiO₂ nanorods

• Julian Kalb,
• Vanessa Knittel and
• Lukas Schmidt-Mende

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 412–418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.40

• , the breaking line in Figure 3B is marked purple. The breaking line was induced by mechanical stress generated by scratching the sample with a diamond writer manually. The mechanical stress was guided through the sample from the center of the scratch to surrounding regions. The film was removed close

• to the scratch, but tiny cracks such as the one shown in the figure appear in a distance of a few micrometers. The fracture continues in grains or grain boundaries indicating preferred breaking lines along specific crystal planes. Nanorods grow only in the scratched area, while there is no preferred

• [44][45] rather than from surface charging. The effect of the number of repetitions on the resulting structure is shown in Figure 4C. Even a single writing step (one scratch in forward and one in backward direction) is enough to obtain a clear contrast between the treated and the pristine sample

Characterization of the microscopic tribological properties of sandfish (Scincus scincus) scales by atomic force microscopy

• Weibin Wu,
• Christian Lutz,
• Simon Mersch,
• Richard Thelen,
• Christian Greiner,
• Guillaume Gomard and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2618–2627, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.243

• for 5 min and with a 1 µm diamond suspension for 8 min (DP-suspension M products purchased from Struers, Willich, Germany). This procedure resulted in scratch-free surfaces and a surface roughness of Ra < 0.01 µm, determined by optical profilometry (Sensofar Plµ neox, Barcelona, Spain). The water

• in Figure 6b for comparison). Consequently, we can conclude that microscopic friction on sandfish scales is low but not exceptionally low as it might be expected. Scratch-resistance properties Sandfish swim in sand grains and these particles close to the epidermis may act as a third abrasive when

• abrasion resistance of dorsal sandfish scales on the microscale and compared it with other surfaces. Scratch resistance experiments were conducted on various samples including sandfish scales, S. diadema scales, PMMA, Teflon and aluminium. In order to provoke some wear, we increased normal load with the

Friction reduction through biologically inspired scale-like laser surface textures

• Johannes Schneider,
• Vergil Djamiykov and
• Christian Greiner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2561–2572, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.238

• perform the laser surface texturing. The last polishing step was performed with a colloidal SiO2 suspension (OP-U from Struers, Willich, Germany). The entire sample preparation process yielded a scratch-free surface, having a surface roughness of Ra < 0.01 µm as determined by optical profilometry

Friction force microscopy of tribochemistry and interfacial ageing for the SiO_x/Si/Au system

• Christiane Petzold,
• Marcus Koch and
• Roland Bennewitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1647–1658, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.157

• oxidized Si [29][30][31]. Upon scratching in air, the amorphization is accompanied by changes in chemical composition towards a higher oxide content [30] and by distortions of the crystalline structure below the scratch [29]. Our TEM images indicate that the friction-induced amorphization proceeds with

Review on nanoparticles and nanostructured materials: history, sources, toxicity and regulations

• Jaison Jeevanandam,
• Ahmed Barhoum,
• Yen S. Chan,
• Alain Dufresne and
• Michael K. Danquah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1050–1074, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.98

• stiffness, and as transparent layers used for heated, mist and ice-free, window panes [35]. By the end of 2003, Mercedes-Benz brought a NP-based clear coat into series production for both metallic and nonmetallic paint finishes. The coating increases the scratch resistance and enhances the gloss. Liquid

Bioinspired self-healing materials: lessons from nature

• Joseph C. Cremaldi and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 907–935, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.85

• strong, protective layer does not detract from movement or flexibility, one of the reasons that arthropods are so successful in biodiversity [25]. Because the exoskeleton builds from within, damage to outer layers does not affect the growth process. In effect, a wound (scratch) that does not penetrate

Optimisation of purification techniques for the preparation of large-volume aqueous solar nanoparticle inks for organic photovoltaics

• Furqan Almyahi,
• Thomas R. Andersen,
• Nathan A. Cooling,
• Natalie P. Holmes,
• Matthew J. Griffith,
• Krishna Feron,
• Xiaojing Zhou,
• Warwick J. Belcher and
• Paul C. Dastoor

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 649–659, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.60

• (KLA-Tencor Alpha-step 500 surface profilometer) over a scratch on annealed (140 °C for 4 min) spin coated samples on a glass substrate. The spin coating recipe was adjusted for each sample to obtain the desired thickness. Reflectance of the prepared devices was measured on a Varian Cary 6000i with an

Periodic structures on liquid-phase smectic A, nematic and isotropic free surfaces

• Anna N. Bagdinova,
• Evgeny I. Demikhov,
• Nataliya G. Borisenko,
• Sergei M. Tolokonnikov,
• Gennadii V. Mishakov and
• Andrei V. Sharkov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 342–352, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.34

• deeper. Experiments with different film thickness showed that the size of the crater-like structures became smaller as the film thickness decreased. Figure 3 shows an AFM (topographical) scan of the SmA surface. The scratch-like character of the image shows that the tip of the probe microscope has

• with the size of the craters (FCD) observed with the ISSA in Figure 2. The distance between the tip and the surface was held about 20 nm and is larger than in Figure 4. The interaction between the tip and the surface is negligibly weak. This is the reason why we do not see the scratch-like

• perturbations due to the tip of the SNOM and instead some amorphous structures correlating with the FCDs. In Figure 5, the tip is shifted to the position where we begin to see the interaction with the surface. This interaction is visualized in the AFM image in Figure 5a as scratch-like perturbations. The SNOM

Molecular dynamics simulations of nanoindentation and scratch in Cu grain boundaries

• Shih-Wei Liang,
• Ren-Zheng Qiu and
• Te-Hua Fang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2283–2295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.228

• scratch conditions were studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The type of grain boundary is the main factor in the control of the substrate atoms with respect to the size of dislocations since the existence of the grain boundary itself restricts the movement associated with dislocations. In this

• . In this study, the substrate first undergoes a balance process for about 200 ps. The indentation and scratch processes will not begin until the substrate is stable. In the transverse grain boundary and multilayers, a periodic boundary condition was imposed in the x and y directions, while the z

• direction was considered to be the real size. Regarding the scratch for the vertical grain boundary, the y and z directions were considered to be the real size. The parameter was set according to the arrangement property for the x-axis, thereby preventing the boundary from affecting the simulation results

High-stress study of bioinspired multifunctional PEDOT:PSS/nanoclay nanocomposites using AFM, SEM and numerical simulation

• Alfredo J. Diaz,
• Hanaul Noh,
• Tobias Meier and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2069–2082, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.207

• thickness was calculated using the scratch method (see methods). The thickness obtained from AM-AFM (only one eigenmode) is used as the original thickness (l0) for the strain calculation, ε = (l0 − l)/l0, where l is the reduced thickness obtained from an increased amplitude of the second eigenmode. The

• measured with AFM by the scratch method (a sharp knife was used to remove the coating and expose the substrate). The ITO coated PET (Sigma-Aldrich 639281) with surface resistivity of 100 Ω/sq and the glass slides (micro cover glasses, 22 × 30 mm × 0.13–0.16 mm thick, Ted Pella, Inc.) were cleaned similarly

Nanotribological behavior of deep cryogenically treated martensitic stainless steel

• Germán Prieto,
• Konstantinos D. Bakoglidis,
• Walter R. Tuckart and
• Esteban Broitman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1760–1768, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.177

• radius of 5 μm was employed. The applied normal load was set at 1000 μN and each reported value corresponds to the average of at least three valid tests. The theoretical Hertzian contact pressure was estimated at 10.7 GPa. In order to evaluate if the scratch tests were generating wear and not only

• plastically deforming the surfaces, the elastic recovery (ER) was calculated for each sample by nanoindentation using the same tip and normal load as in the scratch tests. ER is calculated as the ratio between the maximum (ht) and the residual (hr) height as follows: Results and Discussion Microstructural

• . Instead, we propose that the improved mechanical resistance of the cryogenically treated martensite was responsible for the reduction in friction and the marginal decrease in the wear coefficient. Representation of the applied cryogenic treatment. Schematics of the used scratch method to measure friction

A top-down approach for fabricating three-dimensional closed hollow nanostructures with permeable thin metal walls

• Carlos Angulo Barrios and
• Víctor Canalejas-Tejero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1231–1237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.124

• shown in (b) after an oxygen-plasma treatment. The sidewalls appear transparent to the electron beam. The black scale bar in all images is 300 nm. SEM image of hollow, closed, cylindrical nanocages made of thin-walled Al after an intentional scratch with a scalpel. Broken nanocages allow the observation

Colorimetric gas detection by the varying thickness of a thin film of ultrasmall PTSA-coated TiO₂ nanoparticles on a Si substrate

• Urmas Joost,
• Andris Šutka,
• Meeri Visnapuu,
• Aile Tamm,
• Meeri Lembinen,
• Mikk Antsov,
• Kathriin Utt,
• Krisjanis Smits,
• Ergo Nõmmiste and
• Vambola Kisand

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 229–236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.25

• mode was utilized in order to provide an optimal performance. OTESPA AFM tips (manufactured by Bruker) were used. To measure thickness of films, they were scratched with stainless steel tweezers and the step height of the scratch was measured. To ensure that only the film was scratched away (and not

• the substrate) scratching was carried out using different forces; the results were similar. The position of the bottom of the scratch was measured from three different places and so was the surface of the film; the measurements were averaged. In case of AFM measurements the films were exposed to

Characterization of spherical domains at the polystyrene thin film–water interface

• Khurshid Ahmad,
• Xuezeng Zhao,
• Yunlu Pan and
• Danish Hussain

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 581–590, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.51

• thickness of the PS film, measured with AFM using the scratch profile method, was 42.0 ± 7 nm. Results and Discussion Analysis of radius, lateral size and height of spherical objects on PS thin films Various-sized spherical or nearly spherical objects were found at the PS–water interface. The size ranged

• these spherical objects showed the presence of contaminants on the top of these domains (Figure 9a,b). Similarly, in some cases, we also observed scratch-like patterns on these spherical domains (Figure 9b). The scratches and possible contaminants on these domains bring doubt to the possibility that

• insensitive to contact as well as lateral force. Unlike the micro-/nanobubbles, the force measurements did not show long range hydrophobic attraction (Figure 7a). These objects did not show significant movement or deformation during the CM-AFM measurements (Figure 5a,b). Furthermore, contaminants and scratch

Nanoscale rippling on polymer surfaces induced by AFM manipulation

• Mario D’Acunto,
• Franco Dinelli and
• Pasqualantonio Pingue

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2278–2289, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.234

• evolution in single scratch tests. In this model, the atomic structure of the substrate is not considered. This makes the continuum model more suitable for polymeric materials that are amorphous and have fully entangled molecules, i.e., for Mw >> Mc. They have also introduced an indentation rate N, varying

• single scratch [57]. Recently, Yan et al. [35] have improved the ripple patterning regularity and efficiency by scratching at very high loads. They have studied the influence of the scratch geometry and other parameter as the tip feed during the scan. The samples are injection-molded PC films purchased

• from a manufacturer. PC is known to be amorphous, however the Mw value is not reported. In another paper [58] the same research group has studied the effect of the scanning angle on the ripple formation by a single scratch at very high loads on polycarbonate (PC) (Figure 12). Finally, by combining