Sol-gel synthesis of nano-scale, end-member albite feldspar (NaAlSiO).

Feldspars are the most abundant minerals in the Earth's crust, and are also important constituents of many lunar rocks and some stony meteorites. Albite (NaAlSiO) makes up the sodium corner of the feldspar ternary diagram (KAlSiO - NaAlSiO - CaAlSiO) and connects the alkali-feldspar and plagioclase binary joins. Synthesis of albite, however, has long been a problem, even at high temperatures and even at high pressures when dry.

Sorption, solubility and cytotoxicity of novel antibacterial nanofilled dental adhesive resins.

Dental adhesives hydrolyze in the mouth. This study investigated the water sorption (SOR), solubility (SOL) and cytotoxicity (CYTO) of experimental adhesives containing nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (N_TiO). Specimens (n = 15/group [SOR, SOL]; n = 10/group [CYTO]) of unaltered Clearfil SE Protect (CSP), OptiBond Solo Plus (OSP), Adper Scotchbond (ASB) and experimental adhesives (OSP + 25% or 30% of N_TiO) were fabricated, desiccated (37 °C) and tested for SOR and SOL according to ISO Specification 4049 (2009).

Advanced characterization of surface-modified nanoparticles and nanofilled antibacterial dental adhesive resins.

Nanotechnology can improve the performance of dental polymers. The objective of this study was to modify the surfaces of nanoparticles with silanes and proteins, characterize nanoparticles' agglomeration levels and interfaces between nanoparticles and the polymeric matrix. Undoped (n-TiO), nitrogen-doped (N_TiO) and nitrogen-fluorine co-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticles (NF_TiO) were synthesized and subjected to surface modification procedures in preparation for Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS) and Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) characterizations.

Optimization of a real-time high-throughput assay for assessment of Streptococcus mutans metabolism and screening of antibacterial dental adhesives.

Objective: The present work shows the optimization of a high-throughput bioluminescence assay to assess the metabolism of intact Streptococcus mutans biofilms and its utility as a screening method for nanofilled antibacterial dental materials.

Methods: The assay was optimized by monitoring changes in bioluminescence mediated by variation of the experimental parameters investigated (growth media and sucrose concentration, inoculum:D-Luciferin ratio, dilution factor, inoculum volume, luminescence wavelength, replicate and luciferase metabolic activity). Confocal microscopy was then used to demonstrate the impact of biofilm growth conditions on the 3-D distribution of extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) within Streptococcus mutans biofilms and its implications as confounding factors in high-throughput studies (HTS).

Ionic Conductance through Graphene: Assessing Its Applicability as a Proton Selective Membrane.

Inspired by recent reports on possible proton conductance through graphene, we have investigated the behavior of pristine graphene and defect engineered graphene membranes for ionic conductance and selectivity with the goal of evaluating a possibility of its application as a proton selective membrane. The averaged conductance for pristine chemical vapor deposited (CVD) graphene at pH1 is ∼4 mS/cm but varies strongly due to contributions from the unavoidable defects in our CVD graphene. From the variations in the conductance with electrolyte strength and pH, we can conclude that pristine graphene is fairly selective and the conductance is mainly due to protons.