Effects of focused electron beam irradiation parameters on direct nanostructure formation on Ag surfaces

• Jānis Sniķeris,
• Vjačeslavs Gerbreders,
• Andrejs Bulanovs and
• Ēriks Sļedevskis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1004–1010, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.87

• surfaces undergoing irradiation by a focused electron beam. Keywords: atomic force microscopy; electron beam; lithography; nanostructure; silver; sputtering; surface; Introduction Metallic nanostructures have various uses, including in nano-electro-mechanical systems [1], plasmonic biosensors [2], and

• nanostructures could be controlled and modified in a beneficial way. This, however, would require further research on the various properties (electric, magnetic, optical, and mechanical) of nanostructures obtained through irradiation by a focused EB on metal surfaces. Conclusion In this work we explored how

Interaction between honeybee mandibles and propolis

• Leonie Saccardi,
• Franz Brümmer,
• Jonas Schiebl,
• Oliver Schwarz,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 958–974, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.84

• substances. Similar to tree resins, which contaminate the surfaces of processing tools, propolis also adheres well to different types of surfaces [1]. Bees use propolis as a building material, for example to seal cracks and smooth out the internal walls of the hive [2][3]. In addition to its mechanical

• experiments. (A) Experimental set-up for adhesion testing with the Basalt-01 mechanical tester (Tetra GmbH). (B) Propolis contact in the presence of fluid (mineral oil) and without fluid. (C) Schematic of a bee mandible. Adhesion measurements were conducted along the arrow, the circle represents the size of

Design of a biomimetic, small-scale artificial leaf surface for the study of environmental interactions

• Miriam Anna Huth,
• Axel Huth,
• Lukas Schreiber and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 944–957, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.83

• functions (Figure 1). Among other things, it protects against herbivores and pathogens, provides mechanical stability, reflects harmful UV radiation [2][3][4][5][6], and mainly protects the plant from desiccation [7][8]. The cuticular waxes contribute significantly to this barrier function. Plant waxes

• cell development, (4) resistance to mechanical stress, (5) control of water loss, (6) control of solute uptake, (7) protection from hazardous radiation, (8) reduction of spore, bacterial, and viral attachment, (9) self-cleaning ability (modified after [9]). Schematic drawing of the device for wax

Comparing the performance of single and multifrequency Kelvin probe force microscopy techniques in air and water

• Jason I. Kilpatrick,
• Emrullah Kargin and
• Brian J. Rodriguez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 922–943, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.82

• forces in KPFM is generally expressed as the minimum detectable CPD [53], and is directly limited by the geometry of the interaction, thermal noise of the cantilever, and the detection noise limits of the AFM [36][54]. Cantilevers have a number of eigenmodes, ωn, where there is a mechanical enhancement

• ]. The regulation of tip–sample distance in KPFM imaging is generally performed by employing a feedback loop that maintains the mechanical oscillation amplitude of the cantilever at the fundamental eigenmode, ω1, at a fixed value. This precludes simultaneous measurement of electrostatic forces on this

• eigenmode (the SNR is highest on ω1). As such, strategies for achieving high SNRs generally focus on three areas: (1) Lift mode – here the surface under investigation is mapped in two passes, the first pass with only a mechanical excitation applied at ω1 and the second pass with only the electrical

Bioselectivity of silk protein-based materials and their bio-inspired applications

• Hendrik Bargel,
• Vanessa T. Trossmann,
• Christoph Sommer and
• Thomas Scheibel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 902–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.81

• , natural biological adhesives are complex materials that have evolved to meet the various functional demands. Bioadhesion can be found in the range of the micro- to the macroscale [7]. Adhesion principles include contact mechanical principles such as capillary interactions, viscous forces, non-covalent

• junctions, which are critical for electrical and mechanical coupling between adjacent cardiomyocytes [9]. The immunoglobulin superfamily is one of the largest and most diverse protein families. They are characterized by the presence of at least one immunoglobulin or immunoglobulin-like domain. Most members

• environment are surrounded by a unique, complex ECM consisting of a variety of molecules and proteins showing a diversity of assembled morphologies, structures and folding states, which are essential for their assigned functions. Besides structural and mechanical support, the present proteins are direct

Micro-structures, nanomechanical properties and flight performance of three beetles with different folding ratios

• Jiyu Sun,
• Pengpeng Li,
• Yongwei Yan,
• Fa Song,
• Nuo Xu and
• Zhijun Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 845–856, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.75

• Jiyu Sun Pengpeng Li Yongwei Yan Fa Song Nuo Xu Zhijun Zhang Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), Jilin University, Changchun, 130022, P.R. China Key Laboratory of CNC Equipment Reliability (Ministry of Education) and School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Temperature and chemical effects on the interfacial energy between a Ga–In–Sn eutectic liquid alloy and nanoscopic asperities

• Yujin Han,
• Pierre-Marie Thebault,
• Corentin Audes,
• Xuelin Wang,
• Haiwoong Park,
• Jian-Zhong Jiang and
• Arnaud Caron

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 817–827, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.72

• . The authors compared different modifications of the Hertzian contact mechanical model for elastic solids to account for adhesion. The authors found that the measured adhesion significantly depends on the maximum load applied before retraction. In the case of a plastic contact, adhesion was larger than

Optimizing PMMA solutions to suppress contamination in the transfer of CVD graphene for batch production

• Chun-Da Liao,
• Andrea Capasso,
• Tiago Queirós,
• Telma Domingues,
• Fatima Cerqueira,
• Nicoleta Nicoara,
• Jérôme Borme,
• Paulo Freitas and
• Pedro Alpuim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 796–806, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.70

• average molecular weight (AMW) and weight concentration in anisole, to be deposited by spin coating. Optical microscopy and Raman spectroscopy showed that the amount of PMMA residues on transferred graphene is proportional to the AMW and concentration in the solvent. At the same time, the mechanical

• strength of the PMMA layer is proportional to the AMW. These tests served to design an optimized PMMA solution made of a mixture of 550,000 (550k) and 15,000 (15k) AMW PMMA in anisole at 3% concentration. In this design, PMMA-550k provided suitable mechanical strength against breakage during the transfer

• as a supporting layer to (i) retain the integrity of graphene during the wet-etching bath required to dissolve the metallic substrate and (ii) provide mechanical stability when transferring graphene to the target substrates. During this process, two primary external sources of contamination need to

Efficient liquid exfoliation of KP₁₅ nanowires aided by Hansen's empirical theory

• Zhaoxuan Huang,
• Zhikang Jiang,
• Nan Tian,
• Disheng Yao,
• Fei Long,
• Yanhan Yang and
• Danmin Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 788–795, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.69

• weak interaction between these chains [3][4]. Therefore, those 1D materials have defect-free surfaces, high anisotropy, and carrier mobility. For example, TiS3 nanowires obtained by mechanical stripping have a large carrier mobility of about 10000 cm2·V−1·s−1 [5][6][7]. Fibrous phosphorus is also a new

Gelatin nanoparticles with tunable mechanical properties: effect of crosslinking time and loading

• Agnes-Valencia Weiss,
• Daniel Schorr,
• Julia K. Metz,
• Metin Yildirim,
• Saeed Ahmad Khan and
• Marc Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 778–787, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.68

• revealed the influence of loading a macromolecular model drug (FITC-dextran) on the mechanical properties, which decreased with raising amounts of loaded drug. Loaded particles were significantly softer, with Young’s moduli between 1.06 and 5.79 MPa for the same crosslinking time, than the blank GNPs. In

• contrast to this, lysozyme as a crosslinkable macromolecule did not influence the mechanical properties. A good in vitro cell compatibility was found investigating blank GNPs and FITC-dextran-loaded GNPs in viability assays with the cancer cell line A549 and the human primary cell-derived hAELVi cell line

• optimal treatment. Therefore, the characteristics of nanoparticles regarding mechanical properties, size, surface charge, surface composition, and degradation and drug release mechanisms must be considered during formulation development [1]. Except for the mechanical properties, the research activities do

Recent advances in nanoarchitectures of monocrystalline coordination polymers through confined assembly

• Lingling Xia,
• Qinyue Wang and
• Ming Hu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 763–777, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.67

• networks, which could simultaneously provide mechanical strength and continuous pathways for ions. These networks worked well as solid-state electrolytes in Li-ion batteries. To assemble the coordination polymer particles into a 2D configuration, dip-coating deposition was employed [141]. The evaporation

• with considerable mechanical strength. For instance, DUT-134(Cu) plates could be assembled into carpets and tubes through face-to-face or edge-to-face alignment [150]. The carpets and tubes showed excellent performance as air filter. The uptake of H2S by the carpets is 6–7 times higher than that of

• steric effects. Confined environments offer geometrical confinement and local flow with shear forces, which were particularly effective for generating laminar stacking structures. The packed coordination polymers showed unique mechanical properties and performed excellent in batteries and pollutant

A nonenzymatic reduced graphene oxide-based nanosensor for parathion

• Sarani Sen,
• Anurag Roy,
• Ambarish Sanyal and
• Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 730–744, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.65

• , enhanced electron transport facility, excellent mechanical, thermal, and electrical stability [11][25][26][27]. The electronic structure and surface physicochemistry of graphene are beneficial for electron transfer. Several graphene-based nanocomposites based on complex synthesis processes are reported as

• showed thermal and mechanical stability, ERGO/GCE could be a suitable electrode material for rapid screening of PT in actual samples. To determine the storage stability, the electrocatalytic response of 10 μM PT was monitored in seven-day intervals for the first two months, and it retained about 96.17

Modeling a multiple-chain emeraldine gas sensor for NH₃ and NO₂ detection

• Hana Sustkova and
• Jan Voves

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 721–729, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.64

• molecular properties of polyaniline have been studied by quantum mechanical means in [4][8]. The band structure was calculated by Reis et al. [9], together with transmittance, electrical current flow, and charge density. For these calculations, density functional theory (DFT, [10]) based on the generalized

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

• affect the neuron ability to non-linearly transform the magnetic signal. In order to describe the quantum mechanical behavior of the system (Equation 1), we start from the case of a Josephson junction with a large shunted resistance (ωc−1→0). In this case, Equation 1 can be interpreted as the equation of

Antibacterial activity of a berberine nanoformulation

• Hue Thi Nguyen,
• Tuyet Nhung Pham,
• Anh-Tuan Le,
• Nguyen Thanh Thuy,
• Tran Quang Huy and
• Thuy Thi Thu Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 641–652, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.56

• ], glycerol, a safe substance in pharmaceutical applications, was used to dissolve BBR in this study. Sonication provided mechanical energy to improve the dispersion of the nanosized BBR crystals. Homogeneous BBR NPs were produced with a size of 156 nm under a certain sonication conditions. The solubility of

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

• Vahid Ebrahiminejad Zahra Faraji Rad Philip D. Prewett Graham J. Davies School of Engineering, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield Central, QLD 4300, Australia Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom Oxacus Ltd., Dorchester-on

• fabrication of MNs. The low manufacturing cost and desirable mechanical properties of medical-grade thermoplastics such as COPs make them a particularly attractive choice of materials [15][16]. MN thermoplastic replicas are readily fabricated using injection molding or hot embossing [17]. However, process

• required depth [18]. There should be no MN-induced skin contamination, for example, due to breakage of the tips, and zero toxicity demands medical-grade materials. Evaluation of MN mechanical strength requires an investigation of MN insertion characteristics and possible failure scenarios. During the

Comparative molecular dynamics simulations of thermal conductivities of aqueous and hydrocarbon nanofluids

• Adil Loya,
• Antash Najib,
• Fahad Aziz,
• Asif Khan,
• Guogang Ren and
• Kun Luo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 620–628, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.54

• Adil Loya Antash Najib Fahad Aziz Asif Khan Guogang Ren Kun Luo National University of Sciences and Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, H-12, Islamabad, Pakistan Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology, Department of Mechatronics Engineering, Karachi, Pakistan Aeroprecinyx

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

• unclear how mechanical properties regulate the cellular response to the environmental matrix. In this study, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and laser confocal imaging were used to qualitatively evaluate the relationship between substrate stiffness and migration of prostate cancer (PCa) cells. Cells

• mechanical properties may be correlated with the migration of PCa cells. After actin depolymerisation, the elasticity of the PCa cells decreased while the viscosity increased, and the migration ability was correspondingly decreased. In conclusion, this study clearly demonstrated the relationship between

• substrate stiffness and the mechanical properties of cells in prostate tumour metastasis, providing a basis for understanding the changes in the biomechanical properties at a single-cell level. Keywords: actin cytoskeleton; atomic force microscopy; migration; prostate cancer cells; substrate stiffness

Ciprofloxacin-loaded dissolving polymeric microneedles as a potential therapeutic for the treatment of S. aureus skin infections

• Sharif Abdelghany,
• Walhan Alshaer,
• Yazan Al Thaher,
• Maram Al Fawares,
• Amal G. Al-Bakri,
• Saja Zuriekat and
• Randa SH. Mansour

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 517–527, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.43

• activity of ciprofloxacin-loaded polymeric microneedles against S. aureus. Agarose gel, a transparent gelatinous substance composed of a carbohydrate polymer extracted from certain red seaweed, was proposed in recent studies as an in vitro model for the mechanical properties of the human skin [22][23

• ]. Gelatinous substances can interact with water, which allows one to control various physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of the artificial skin, such as hardness, and surface properties [24]. Therefore, agarose gel was utilized as artificial skin and was subsequently treated with inoculum of

• solution in the initial step. Microneedle characterization The shape and dimensions of CIP_MN1 and CIP_MN2 arrays were examined using a digital light microscope (Swift SW380B, China). Studying the mechanical strength of the microneedles, heights before compression were first measured. After pressing the

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

• mechanically characterized. The results of the mechanical analysis showed that formulations containing 3% of P407 presented the highest compression values in a hard surface, which was also confirmed by the height and base values of the morphological analysis and by the microscopy images. It was possible to

• : development; mechanical; microneedles; propolis extract; technology; Introduction In recent decades, microneedle devices have been widely used for non-invasive dermal delivery of various drugs [1][2][3]. Microneedles (MNs) are large enough to penetrate and open small holes only in the stratum corneum and the

• ethanolic or glycolic extracts of Brazilian green PRP. A 32 full-factorial design was utilized to determine the influence of P407 and PRP extract on the morphology and mechanical characteristics of MNs. They were characterized macroscopically, microscopically, and regarding size and texture, yielding an

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

• ethosomal formulations containing a potent antioxidant, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), and to evaluate their potential for use in cosmetics by determining their antioxidant and antiaging effects. Ethosomes (ETHs) were prepared via mechanical dispersion and characterized in vitro in terms of particle

• was prepared using mechanical dispersion [22][24]. The prepared ETHs consisted of 2–4% (w/v) phospholipids, 15–45% (v/v) ethanol and the effects of phospholipid and ethanol concentration on the characterization properties of the formulations were investigated. The SPC was added to the round-bottomed

Investigation of electron-induced cross-linking of self-assembled monolayers by scanning tunneling microscopy

• Patrick Stohmann,
• Sascha Koch,
• Yang Yang,
• Christopher David Kaiser,
• Julian Ehrens,
• Jürgen Schnack,
• Niklas Biere,
• Dario Anselmetti,
• Armin Gölzhäuser and
• Xianghui Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 462–471, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.39

• create ultrathin carbon nanomembranes (CNMs) [25][26]. Depending on the precursor molecules and the exposure conditions, thickness [27], mechanical stiffness [28], and electronic transport characteristics [29][30] of CNMs can be tailored. Carbon nanomembranes have been applied as electron microscopy

• supports [31][32], mechanical resonators [33], and dielectrics in nanocapacitors [34][35]. It has been shown that CNMs possess subnanometer pores, which can block the passage of most molecules and ions, but let water and helium pass through, enabling the use of CNMs in molecular filtration and ion

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

• response and, as a consequence, the selectivity of the sensor. This type of sensor is characterized by good reproducibility of measurement, low production cost, fast response, high sensitivity and selectivity, and chemical and mechanical stability in aggressive environments [40][41][42][43][44][45][46

• mechanical stability, and can, thus, be easily damaged during production, storage, and measurement. These disadvantages can be avoided by using an in situ growth process of CuO nanostructures directly on a copper substrate, in the presence of certain surfactants or additives. This method makes it possible to

• describes the preparation of a nanostructured coating of CuO and its application as a working electrode for the electrochemical determination of H2O2. The resulting coating is distinguished by high homogeneity and adhesion to the copper wire, which ensures high mechanical and chemical resistance of the

Effect of sample treatment on the elastic modulus of locust cuticle obtained by nanoindentation

• Chuchu Li,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Hamed Rajabi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 404–410, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.33

• Chuchu Li Stanislav N. Gorb Hamed Rajabi Functional Morphology and Biomechanics, Institute of Zoology, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany Division of Mechanical Engineering and Design, School of Engineering, London South Bank University, London, UK 10.3762/bjnano.13.33 Abstract Cuticle is one of the

• most abundant, but least studied, biological composites. As a result, it has contributed very little to the field of biomimetics. An important step to overcome this problem is to study cuticle biomechanics by means of accurate mechanical measurements. However, due to many reasons, mechanical testing on

• : biomimetics; cuticle; locust; material properties; mechanical testing; nanoindentation; water content; Introduction Cuticle is a lightweight material that forms the whole exoskeleton of insects, from the flexible intersegmental membrane to the stiff jaws and claws. Cuticle of each insect body part has

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

• pull-in as the working mechanism have attracted researcher’s attention because of the low cost and the simple structures. Extensive research has shown that modeling the bending of the flexible devices is only limited to the mechanical behavior of the flexible interconnect lines, and hardly involves the

• . The voltage between the plates creates an electrostatic force that causes the upper plate to move down, and the spring provides a restoring force that prevents it from moving. When the applied voltage is lower than the pull-in voltage, the electrostatic force and mechanical recovery force on the upper

• should be considered first. Electrostatic NEM switches The simplest application of the pull-in phenomenon are NEM switches, which are the basis for the other component or system level applications. NEM switches represent a class of nanoscale devices, integrating both electrical and mechanical