An active brace for controlled transdermal drug delivery for adjustable physical therapy.

This study presents an active brace which is a cost efficient precision-controlled advanced therapy medicinal product for time and rate controlled transdermal drug delivery (TDD) through the use of drug containing nanoparticles and electronics. The active brace is designed to adjust the pressure at the contact area where the medication is applied. The drug is contained in the nanoparticles produced and takes effect when the nanoparticles burst under pressure.

Tailoring silica nanotribology for CMP slurry optimization: Ca(2+) cation competition in C(12)TAB mediated lubrication.

Self-assembled surfactant structures at the solid/liquid interface have been shown to act as nanoparticulate dispersants and are capable of providing a highly effective, self-healing boundary lubrication layer in aqueous environments. However, in some cases in particular, chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) applications the lubrication imparted by self-assembled surfactant dispersants can be too strong, resulting in undesirably low levels of wear or friction disabling material removal. In the present investigation, the influence of calcium cation (Ca(2+)) addition on dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide (C(12)TAB) mediated lubrication of silica surfaces is examined via normal and lateral atomic force microscopy (AFM/LFM), benchtop polishing experiments and surface adsorption characterization methods.

Role of interaction forces in controlling the stability and polishing performance of CMP slurries.

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is an essential step in metal and dielectric planarization in multilayer microelectronic device fabrication. In the CMP process it is necessary to minimize the extent of surface defect formation while maintaining good planarity and optimal material removal rates. These requirements are met through the control of chemical and mechanical interactions during the polishing process by engineering the slurry chemistry, particulate properties, and stability.