Defect-assisted photocatalytic activity of glass-embedded gallium oxide nanocrystals.

The use of glassceramics in photocatalysis is an attractive option for the realization of smart optical fibers and self-cleaning windows. Here we present the photocatalytic activity of germanosilicate glasses embedding GaO nanocrystals prepared by batch melting and glass heat treatment. The powdered material is used for UV-assisted degradation of rhodamine in water.

Direct femtosecond laser-induced formation of CdS quantum dots inside silicate glass.

We report the one-step precipitation of CdS quantum dots in the volume of CdS-doped silicate glass under the focused femtosecond laser beam without additional heat treatment of glass. Femtosecond direct laser writing leads to the annular distribution of the precipitated CdS quantum dots in laser-written domain optical properties of which could be tuned by laser beam parameters. Increasing the laser pulse number to 10 significantly enhances luminescence intensity in the domains, while further increasing up to 10 pulses leads to luminescence quenching.

Cellular Mechanisms of Aortic Valve Calcification.

Comparative in vitro study examined the osteogenic potential of interstitial cells of aortic valve obtained from the patients with aortic stenosis and from control recipients of orthotopic heart transplantation with intact aortic valve. The osteogenic inductors augmented mineralization of aortic valve interstitial cells (AVIC) in patients with aortic stenosis in comparison with the control level. Native AVIC culture of aortic stenosis patients demonstrated overexpression of osteopontin gene (OPN) and underexpression of osteoprotegerin gene (OPG) in comparison with control levels.

Augmented excitation cross section of gadolinium ions in nanostructured glasses.

In this Letter, we present detailed absorption and emission data on nanostructured germanosilicate glasses and glass ceramics containing GaO nanophases and doped with Gd ions. The results show that these systems are suitable hosts for the enhancement of the excitation cross section of rare earth ions via energy transfer from the gallium oxide nanophase with a related quantum yield of 21%. The role of matrix composition and nanostructure morphology on the Gd emission is discussed.

Donor-Acceptor Control in Grown-in-Glass Gallium Oxide Nanocrystals by Crystallization-driven Heterovalent Doping.

Incorporation of doping ions in nanocrystals is a strategy for providing nanophases with functions directly related to ion features. At the nanoscale, however, doping can also activate more complex effects mediated by perturbation of the nanophase size and structure. Here, we report a paradigmatic case in which we modify grown-in-glass γ-Ga O nanophases by nickel or titanium doping of the starting glass, so as to control the concentration of oxygen and gallium vacancies responsible for the light emission.