scholarly journals A Flexible a-SiC-Based Neural Interface Utilizing Pyrolyzed-Photoresist Film (C) Active Sites

Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 821
Author(s):  
Chenyin Feng ◽  
Christopher L. Frewin ◽  
Md Rubayat-E Tanjil ◽  
Richard Everly ◽  
Jay Bieber ◽  
...  

Carbon containing materials, such as graphene, carbon-nanotubes (CNT), and graphene oxide, have gained prominence as possible electrodes in implantable neural interfaces due to their excellent conductive properties. While carbon is a promising electrochemical interface, many fabrication processes are difficult to perform, leading to issues with large scale device production and overall repeatability. Here we demonstrate that carbon electrodes and traces constructed from pyrolyzed-photoresist-film (PPF) when combined with amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) insulation could be fabricated with repeatable processes which use tools easily available in most semiconductor facilities. Directly forming PPF on a-SiC simplified the fabrication process which eliminates noble metal evaporation/sputtering and lift-off processes on small features. PPF electrodes in oxygenated phosphate buffered solution at pH 7.4 demonstrated excellent electrochemical charge storage capacity (CSC) of 14.16 C/cm2, an impedance of 24.8 ± 0.4 kΩ, and phase angle of −35.9 ± 0.6° at 1 kHz with a 1.9 kµm2 recording site area.

2013 ◽  
Vol 1530 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bendavid ◽  
L. Wieczorek ◽  
R. Chai ◽  
J. S. Cooper ◽  
B. Raguse

ABSTRACTA large area nanogap electrode fabrication method combinig conventional lithography patterning with the of focused ion beam (FIB) is presented. Lithography and a lift-off process were used to pattern 50 nm thick platinum pads having an area of 300 μm × 300 μm. A range of 30-300 nm wide nanogaps (length from 300 μm to 10 mm ) were then etched using an FIB of Ga+ at an acceleration voltage of 30 kV at various beam currents. An investigation of Ga+ beam current ranging between 1-50 pA was undertaken to optimise the process for the current fabrication method. In this study, we used Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the damage depth in various materials by the Ga+. Calculation of the recoil cascades of the substrate atoms are also presented. The nanogap electrodes fabricated in this study were found to have empty gap resistances exceeding several hundred MΩ. A comparison of the gap length versus electrical resistance on glass substrates is presented. The results thus outline some important issues in low-conductance measurements. The proposed nanogap fabrication method can be extended to various sensor applications, such as chemical sensing, that employ the nanogap platform. This method may be used as a prototype technique for large-scale fabrication due to its simple, fast and reliable features.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric M. Lynch ◽  
Justin M. Kollman

Many enzymes assemble into defined oligomers, providing a mechanism for cooperatively regulating enzyme activity. Recent studies in tissues, cells, and in vitro have described a mode of regulation in which enzyme activity is modulated by polymerization into large-scale filaments1–5. Enzyme polymerization is often driven by binding to substrates, products, or allosteric regulators, and tunes enzyme activity by locking the enzyme in high or low activity states1–5. Here, we describe a unique, ultrasensitive form of polymerization-based regulation employed by human CTP synthase 2 (CTPS2). High-resolution cryoEM structures of active and inhibited CTPS2 filaments reveal the molecular basis of this regulation. Rather than selectively stabilizing a single conformational state, CTPS2 filaments dynamically switch between active and inactive filament forms in response to changes in substrate and product levels. Linking the conformational state of many CTPS2 subunits in a filament results in highly cooperative regulation, greatly exceeding the limits of cooperativity for the CTPS2 tetramer alone. The structures also reveal a link between conformational state and control of ammonia channeling between the enzyme’s two active sites. This filament-based mechanism of enhanced cooperativity demonstrates how the widespread phenomenon of enzyme polymerization can be adapted to achieve different regulatory outcomes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 289 (44) ◽  
pp. 30221-30228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shoshana D. Brown ◽  
Patricia C. Babbitt

Understanding how enzymes have evolved offers clues about their structure-function relationships and mechanisms. Here, we describe evolution of functionally diverse enzyme superfamilies, each representing a large set of sequences that evolved from a common ancestor and that retain conserved features of their structures and active sites. Using several examples, we describe the different structural strategies nature has used to evolve new reaction and substrate specificities in each unique superfamily. The results provide insight about enzyme evolution that is not easily obtained from studies of one or only a few enzymes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohcin Akri ◽  
Shu Zhao ◽  
Xiaoyu Li ◽  
Ketao Zang ◽  
Adam F. Lee ◽  
...  

AbstractDry reforming of methane (DRM) is an attractive route to utilize CO2 as a chemical feedstock with which to convert CH4 into valuable syngas and simultaneously mitigate both greenhouse gases. Ni-based DRM catalysts are promising due to their high activity and low cost, but suffer from poor stability due to coke formation which has hindered their commercialization. Herein, we report that atomically dispersed Ni single atoms, stabilized by interaction with Ce-doped hydroxyapatite, are highly active and coke-resistant catalytic sites for DRM. Experimental and computational studies reveal that isolated Ni atoms are intrinsically coke-resistant due to their unique ability to only activate the first C-H bond in CH4, thus avoiding methane deep decomposition into carbon. This discovery offers new opportunities to develop large-scale DRM processes using earth abundant catalysts.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huihui Zeng ◽  
Baolin Xing ◽  
Lunjian Chen ◽  
Guiyun Yi ◽  
Guangxu Huang ◽  
...  

A novel approach is developed to synthesize a nitrogen-doped porous Co3O4/anthracite-derived graphene (Co3O4/AG) nanocomposite through a combined self-assembly and heat treatment process using resource-rich anthracite as a carbonaceous precursor. The nanocomposite contains uniformly distributed Co3O4 nanoparticles with a size smaller than 8 nm on the surface of porous graphene, and exhibits a specific surface area (120 m2·g−1), well-developed mesopores distributed at 3~10 nm, and a high level of nitrogen doping (5.4 at. %). These unique microstructure features of the nanocomposite can offer extra active sites and efficient pathways during the electrochemical reaction, which are conducive to improvement of the electrochemical performance for the anode material. The Co3O4/AG electrode possesses a high reversible capacity of 845 mAh·g−1 and an excellent rate capacity of 587 mAh·g−1. Furthermore, a good cyclic stability of 510 mAh·g−1 after 100 cycles at 500 mA·g−1 is maintained. Therefore, this work could provide an economical and effective route for the large-scale application of a Co3O4/AG nanocomposite as an excellent anode material in lithium-ion batteries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Panlong Zhai ◽  
Yanxue Zhang ◽  
Yunzhen Wu ◽  
Junfeng Gao ◽  
Bo Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Rational design of the catalysts is impressive for sustainable energy conversion. However, there is a grand challenge to engineer active sites at the interface. Herein, hierarchical transition bimetal oxides/sulfides heterostructure arrays interacting two-dimensional MoOx/MoS2 nanosheets attached to one-dimensional NiOx/Ni3S2 nanorods were fabricated by oxidation/hydrogenation-induced surface reconfiguration strategy. The NiMoOx/NiMoS heterostructure array exhibits the overpotentials of 38 mV for hydrogen evolution and 186 mV for oxygen evolution at 10 mA cm−2, even surviving at a large current density of 500 mA cm−2 with long-term stability. Due to optimized adsorption energies and accelerated water splitting kinetics by theory calculations, the assembled two-electrode cell delivers the industrially relevant current densities of 500 and 1000 mA cm−2 at record low cell voltages of 1.60 and 1.66 V with excellent durability. This research provides a promising avenue to enhance the electrocatalytic performance of the catalysts by engineering interfacial active sites toward large-scale water splitting.


2011 ◽  
Vol 83 (6) ◽  
pp. 2397-2402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Gross ◽  
Alison J. Downard

2007 ◽  
Vol 334-335 ◽  
pp. 1261-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quan Yuan ◽  
Xiao Dong Guo ◽  
Qi Xin Zheng ◽  
Ming Zhao ◽  
Zheng Qi Pan ◽  
...  

Natural bone is a typical example of an “organic matrix-mediated” biomineralization process which constituted of hydroxyapatite(HA) nanocrystals orderly grown in intimate contact with collagen fibers. Bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) is the most powerful osteogenic factor. But it is extremely difficult to be manufactured in large scale. In previous study, we have designed a novel oligopeptide (P24) derived from BMP2 knuckle epitope and it contained abundant Asp(aspartic acid) and phosphorylated Ser(serine) which may be helpful for self-assambly biomineralization and osteogenesis. Previous In vivo experiments have shown that this novel oligopeptide had excellent osteoinductive and ectopic bone formation property which was similar to that of BMP2. In this study, PLGA-(PEG-ASP)n scaffolds were modified with P24 and a new biomimetic bone tissue engineering scaffold material with enhanced bioactivity was synthesized by a biologically inspired mineralization approach. Peptide P24 was introduced into PLGA-(PEG-ASP)n scaffolds using cross-linkers. Then the P24 modified scaffolds and the simple PLGA-(PEG-ASP)n scaffolds were incubated in modified simulated body fluid (mSBF) for 10 days. Growth of HA nanocrystals on the materials was confirmed by observation SEM and measurements EDS and XRD. SEM analysis demonstrated the well growth of bonelike HA nanocrystals on P24 modified PLGA-(PEG-ASP)n scaffolds than that of the control scaffolds. The main component of mineral of the P24 modified scaffolds was hydroxyapatite containing low crystalline nanocrystals, and the Ca/P ratio was nearly 1.60, similar to that of natural bone, while that of the control scaffolds was 1.52. The introduction of peptide P24 into PLGA- (PEG- ASP)n copolymer provides abundant active sites to mediate the nucleation and self- ssembling of HA nanocrystals in mSBF. the resulted peptide P24 modified- HA/PLGA- (PEG- ASP)n composite shows some features of natural bone both in main composition and and hierarchical microstructure. This biomimetic treatment provides a simple method for surface functionalization and subsequent biomineralization on biodegradable polymer scaffolds for tissue engineering.


2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 257-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias S. Frei ◽  
Cecilia Mondelli ◽  
Javier Pérez-Ramírez

CO2 valorization into chemicals and fuels is a key area in current academic and industrial research, with thermocatalytic hydrogenation to methanol comprising one of the most advanced routes. Life-cycle analysis coupled to the framework of planetary boundaries has recently confirmed the sustainability of this process in absolute terms, emphasizing the need for cheaper CO2 and renewable H2 and for a catalytic system embracing high activity, selectivity, and durability to meet economic requirements. Herein, our research efforts aimed to gather atomic-level understanding of electronic and geometric properties of active sites in breakthrough In2O3-based catalytic systems guiding their development are reviewed. In-depth mechanistic elucidations identified limited hydrogen activation ability as well as water-driven sintering as limitations of pure In2O3. The former aspect was successfully addressed by adding through coprecipitation a minimal amount of palladium, forming tiny clusters strongly anchored to the oxide lattice leading to an unprecedented sustained methanol productivity. The use of monoclinic zirconia as a carrier, enabling high In2O3 dispersion in two-dimensional nanostructures, inducing the formation of additional active sites on In2O3, and contributing to CO2 activation, offered an efficient way to further boost activity and tackle In2O3 sintering. Overall, our findings set solid grounds to rationally design a supported and promoted In2O3 catalyst holding bright prospects for use at a large scale.


2003 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. 119-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
LIPING WEI ◽  
RUSS B. ALTMAN

The increase in known three-dimensional protein structures enables us to build statistical profiles of important functional sites in protein molecules. These profiles can then be used to recognize sites in large-scale automated annotations of new protein structures. We report an improved FEATURE system which recognizes functional sites in protein structures. FEATURE defines multi-level physico-chemical properties and recognizes sites based on the spatial distribution of these properties in the sites' microenvironments. It uses a Bayesian scoring function to compare a query region with the statistical profile built from known examples of sites and control nonsites. We have previously shown that FEATURE can accurately recognize calcium-binding sites and have reported interesting results scanning for calcium-binding sites in the entire Protein Data Bank. Here we report the ability of the improved FEATURE to characterize and recognize geometrically complex and asymmetric sites such as ATP-binding sites and disulfide bond-forming sites. FEATURE does not rely on conserved residues or conserved residue geometry of the sites. We also demonstrate that, in the absence of a statistical profile of the sites, FEATURE can use an artificially constructed profile based on a priori knowledge to recognize the sites in new structures, using redoxin active sites as an example.


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