Improved Dental Implant Drill Durability and Performance Using Heat and Wear Resistant Protective Coatings.

The dental implant drilling procedure is an essential step for implant surgery, and frictional heat in bone during drilling is a key factor affecting the success of an implant. The aim of this study was to increase the dental implant drill lifetime and performance by using heat- and wear-resistant protective coatings to decrease the alveolar bone temperature caused by the dental implant drilling procedure. Commercially obtained stainless steel drills were coated with titanium aluminum nitride, diamond-like carbon, titanium boron nitride, and boron nitride coatings via magnetron-sputter deposition.

Patterned carbon nanotubes as a new three-dimensional scaffold for mesenchymal stem cells.

We investigated the cellular adhesive features of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) on non-coated and collagen coated patterned and vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) structures mimicking the natural extra cellular matrix (ECM). Patterning was achieved using the elasto-capillary induced by water treatment on the CNT arrays. After confirmation with specific markers both at transcript and protein levels, MSCs from different passages were seeded on either collagen coated or non-coated patterned CNTs.

Simultaneous growth of self-patterned carbon nanotube forests with dual height scales.

In this study, we report on a unique, one-step fabrication technique enabling the simultaneous synthesis of vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (VA-MWCNTs) with dual height scales through alcohol catalyzed chemical vapor deposition (ACCVD). Regions of VA-MWCNTs with different heights were well separated from each other leading to a self-patterning on the surface. We devised a unique layer-by-layer process for application of catalyst and inhibitor precursors on oxidized Si (100) surfaces before the ACCVD step to achieve a hierarchical arrangement.

Dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in an aqueous medium by water-dispersible conjugated polymer nanoparticles.

Vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) synthesized by the alcohol catalytic CVD (ACCVD) technique are dispersed in water with the aid of water-dispersible conjugated polymer nanoparticles (CPNs). The interactions between CPNs and CNTs are studied with spectroscopy (UV-Vis, fluorescence and Raman) and electron microscopy techniques are used to confirm attachment of CPNs to the CNT sidewalls.

Analysis of defects on BN nano-structures using high-resolution electron microscopy and density-functional calculations.

Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) nucleation takes place on hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) layers growing perpendicular to the substrate surface during thin film synthesis. Studies focused on the nucleation of the cubic phase suggest the possibility that transient phases and/or defects on these h-BN structures have a role in sp3-bonded cubic phase nucleation. In this study, we have investigated the nature, energetics, and structure of several possible defects on BN basal planes, including point defects, 4-, and 5-fold BN rings, that may possibly match the experimentally observed transient phase fine structure.