Qualitative Analysis of Magnetic Moment in BaxTiO3 - Ni xFe3- xO4 Nanocomposite Synthesized by Novel low Temperature Technique

A novel low temperature preparation technique (<500ºC) is employed for synthesizing nanoscale Barium Titanate -Nickel ferrite composites, where the particle size is controllable. Two different ratios of hard and soft site composites (BTO-NFO 80:20, BTO-NFO 70:30) are synthesized and characterized to study their unique structural, morphological and magnetic properties. The structural refinement studies using XRD data showed 43 % of hard phase (anorthic structure) and 57% of soft phase (Cubic Structure) for BTO-NFO 80:20 and similarly 76% of hard phase and 24% of soft phase in the BTO-NFO 70:30 composite respectively. The SEM and EDAX are used to identify smaller particles of 10 nm using histogram and their sample purity. The VSM analysis at room temperature shows superparamagnetic behavior within the soft ferro magnet with maximum retentivity 2.39 emu/g and saturation magnetization, 10.71 emu/g stating that the composites can be used for various biological applications like drug delivery, hyperthermia, MRI, etc. The ratio Mr/Ms is much less than 0.5, which states that multidomain grains or single domains are formed and the particle interaction is by magneto-static interaction confirming its superparamagnetic nature.

Room-Temperature Preparation of Ta Ions-Containing Ionic Liquid and its Vapor Deposition toward Ta-Oxide Film Coating

Ta ions-containing solutions, which are brown in color with no precipitation, were successfully prepared through an electroelution process with ionic liquid (IL). An as-delivered Ta metal plate covered with a passivation oxide film could be easily eluted even at room temperature by simply applying an anodic potential of, e.g. +2.2 V vs. Ag in [Bmim][PF6] IL. According to the quantity of electric charge required for oxidation of Ta, most Ta ions in the IL were suggested to be in an oxidation state of +5, which was also confirmed by x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). Ta ions in IL were found to thermally evaporate together with IL molecules by heating in a vacuum, forming a deposit of the Ta ions-containing IL on a substrate. The Ta concentrations in the deposits were reduced uniquely by about one order of magnitude from those in the original bulk source through the evaporation process under the present conditions. Furthermore, a possibility of the formation of thin film-like Ta oxide from such a Ta ions-containing IL deposit and its bulk droplet prepared on substrates by annealing in air at 1000oC will be discussed.

Assessing Plasma Levels of α-Synuclein and Neurofilament Light Chain by Different Blood Preparation Methods

The potential biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease are α-synuclein and neurofilament light chain (NFL). However, inconsistent preanalytical preparation of plasma could lead to variations in levels of these biomarkers. Different types of potassium salts of EDTA and different centrifugation temperatures during plasma preparation may affect the results of α-synuclein and NFL measurements. In this study, we prepared plasma from eight patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and seven healthy controls (HCs) by using di- and tri-potassium (K2- and K3-) EDTA tubes and recruited a separated cohort with 42 PD patients and 40 HCs for plasma samples prepared from whole blood by centrifugation at room temperature and 4°C, respectively, in K2-EDTA tubes. The plasma levels of α-synuclein and NFL in K2- and K3-EDTA were similar. However, the levels of α-synuclein in the plasma prepared at 4°C (101.57 ± 43.43 fg/ml) were significantly lower compared with those at room temperature (181.23 ± 196.31 fg/ml, P &lt; 0.001). Room temperature preparation demonstrated elevated plasma levels of α-synuclein in PD patients (256.6 ± 50.2 fg/ml) compared with the HCs (102.1 ± 0.66 fg/ml, P &lt; 0.001), whereas this increase in PD was not present by preparation at 4°C. Both plasma preparations at room temperature and 4°C demonstrated consistent results of NFL, which are increased in PD patients compared with HCs. Our findings confirmed that K2- and K3-EDTA tubes were interchangeable for analyzing plasma levels of α-synuclein and NFL. Centrifugation at 4°C during plasma preparation generates considerable reduction and variation of α-synuclein level that might hinder the detection of α-synuclein level changes in PD.