Mechanisms Underlying the Effect of Tea Extracts on Digestion of Wheat Starch.

The effect of extracts from four types of tea made from (green, white, black, and oolong) on amylolysis of gelatinized starch and the underlying mechanisms were studied. Of the four extracts, black tea extract (BTE) gave the strongest inhibition of starch digestion and on α-amylase activity. Fluorescence quenching and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) showed compounds in BTE bound to α-amylase more strongly than those in the green, white, and oolong tea extracts.

Nanobowls-assisted broadband absorber for unbiased Si-based infrared photodetection.

Hot electrons from the nonradiative decay of surface plasmons have drawn extensive attention due to the outstanding performance in realizing below-bandgap photodetection. However, the widely employed metallic nanostructures are normally complex and delicate with a great challenge in large-area fabrication, and there is a great limitation to achieve substantial photoresponse at relatively long wavelengths (e.g.

Understanding the varying mechanisms between the conformal interlayer and overlayer in the silicon/hematite dual-absorber photoanode for solar water splitting.

Dual-absorber photoelectrodes have been proved to have great potential in the photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting application due to their broadband absorption and suitable energy-band position, while the surface/interface issues are still not clearly resolved and understood. Here, during the preparation of a silicon/hematite dual-absorber photoanode achieved via synthesizing a Sn-doped hematite film on the silicon nanowire (SiNW) substrate, we separately introduced the conformal overlayer and interlayer of an AlO thin film by atomic layer deposition. With the thickness-optimized interlayer (overlayer) of the AlO thin film, the photocurrent density at 1.

In vitro digestibility of starches with different crystalline polymorphs at low α-amylase activity to substrate ratio.

In this study, potato, lotus seed and wheat starch samples with different degree of gelatinization (DG) were prepared and their in vitro digestibility at low α-amylase activity evaluated by measuring the release of reducing sugar. The hydrolysis rate (k) and the final equilibrium concentration (C) of the three starches increased with increasing DG. Kinetic analyses showed that the Michaelis-Menten constant (K) and the catalytic efficiency (k/K) increased with increasing DG, indicative of the increasing affinity and catalytic efficiency of α-amylase with all three starch samples.

Tunable infrared hot-electron photodetection by exciting gap-mode plasmons with wafer-scale gold nanohole arrays.

Due to the strongly concentrated electromagnetic field and the ability to detect the below-bandgap photon energies, surface-plasmon-based photodetections have attracted considerable attention. However, the manipulation of plasmonic resonance is complicated with a high cost in fabrication; moreover, the performance of hot-electron photodetectors is generally unsatisfactorily low. Here, we demonstrated that a tunable absorption can be realized by using the nanohole patterned metal-spacer-metal (MSM) structure, which can be wafer-scale fabricated by the nanosphere lithography technology.

Underlayer engineering into the Sn-doped hematite photoanode for facilitating carrier extraction.

A semiconductor underlayer(s) has been extensively used to improve the performance of photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells. Unfortunately, in many cases, the incorporation of underlayers leads to degraded system performances. A comprehensive study on the functions and manipulations of underlayers is therefore of high significance for achieving high-performance PEC cells.

Tin and Oxygen-Vacancy Co-doping into Hematite Photoanode for Improved Photoelectrochemical Performances.

Hematite (α-FeO) material is regarded as a promising candidate for solar-driven water splitting because of the low cost, chemical stability, and appropriate bandgap; however, the corresponding system performances are limited by the poor electrical conductivity, short diffusion length of minority carrier, and sluggish oxygen evolution reaction. Here, we introduce the in situ Sn doping into the nanoworm-like α-FeO film with ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. We show that the current density at 1.

Self-improvement of solar water oxidation for the continuously-irradiated hematite photoanode.

Improving bulk- or surface-properties has been found as an effective route to regulate and enhance the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performances of some metal-oxide photoelectrodes. However, both bulk and surface self-improvement resulting from the photocharging (PC) effect is rarely reported and as a result the underlying mechanism of the PC effect is not fully understood. Here, we demonstrate that the hematite photoanode integrated with Sn doping and a TiO2 underlayer shows a substantial increase in the photocurrent density (i.

Gap-mode excitation, manipulation, and refractive-index sensing application by gold nanocube arrays.

The challenges in fabricating two-dimensional metallic nanostructures over large areas, which normally involve expensive and time-consuming nanofabrication techniques, have severely limited the exploration of the related applications based on plasmon-induced effects. Here, we cost-efficiently prepared large-area Au nanocube arrays (NCAs) using only the electrostatic forces between colloidal Au nanocubes and polyelectrolyte layers. This method provides a flexible way for obtaining controlled Au NCAs with various fill fractions and single-cube sizes.

Regulating the Silicon/Hematite Microwire Photoanode by the Conformal AlO Intermediate Layer for Water Splitting.

Dual-absorber photoelectrodes have been proved to possess greater potential than the single-absorber systems in the applications of photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells (e.g., solar-driven water splitting); however, the mismatching of the energy bands and substantial carrier recombinations at the two absorber interfaces are normally subsistent.

Tunable light absorbance by exciting the plasmonic gap mode for refractive index sensing.

The tunable and narrowband optical response from the surface plasmon resonances usually requires periodic metal nanostructures; however, it is usually expensive and challenging to construct such macroscale and defect-free devices. Herein, we make it possible to obtain a characteristic and sharp absorbance via exciting the plasmonic gap mode, which can be obtained in a large-area sample prepared with relatively low cost. The resonant wavelength can be tuned via changing the bottom-facet area of the top structured metal or the spacer thickness.

[Preparation and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to rabies virus CVS-11 strain].

Objective: To get the high specific and sensitive mononclonal antibodies against RV.

Methods: The myeloma cell line SP2/0 fused with the spleen cell of 6 - 8 weeks old BALB/c mice immunized with the CVS-11 virus antigen. The hybridized fusing cells were chosen by indirect ELISA detection and the positive hybridizing cells were amplified through mouse abdomen injection and the mouse McAbs ascites was purified by Protein A Sepharose 4 Fast Flow (Pharmacia Company).