Even today, breast cancer remains a global public problem, with a high mortality rate among women. Nanoparticle (NP) based systems are developed to enhance drug delivery, reducing the toxic effect of medicine molecules. By using iron oxide nanoparticles for cancer treatment, several advantages were highlighted: the ability to target specific locations derived from their magnetic properties and reduced side effects. The aim of this study was to examine on breast cancer cell line the anticancer potential of γ-Fe₂O₃ NPs loaded with doxorubicin (DOX) and stabilized with carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMCNa). The γ-Fe₂O₃ NPs were synthesized by laser pyrolysis technique and their nanometric size and crystallinity were confirmed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The loading efficiency was estimated by using absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The DOX conjugated//CMCNa coated γ-Fe₂O₃ NPs proved through the biological studies to have a good anticancer effect through the inhibition of tumoral cell proliferation, disruption of the cellular membrane, induction of cell death and reduced effects on normal breast cells. Our data showed that DOX cytotoxicity increases significantly when conjugated with ɣ-Fe₂O₃ and ɣ-Fe₂O₃_CMCNa, a 50% reduction of cancer cell viability was obtained with a concentration around 0.1 µg/mL.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles under two different conditions, namely high and low gas flow rates, using laser pyrolysis and to examine the influence of laser power. The attained nanoparticles have been characterised regarding their stability and hydrodynamic dimensions by dispersive light scattering analysis (DLS), structure–X-ray diffraction (XRD), elemental composition–energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and morpho-structural characterisation achieved by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). For a better understanding of the laser power influence, the residence time was also calculated.

Beryllium-deuterium co-deposited layers were obtained using DC magnetron sputtering technique by varying the Ar/D₂ gas mixture composition (10/1; 5/1; 2/1 and 1:1) at a constant deposition rate of 0.06 nm/s, 343 K substrate temperature and 2 Pa gas pressure. The surface morphology of the layers was analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy and the layer crystalline structure was analyzed by X-ray diffraction. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry was employed to determine the chemical composition of the layers. D trapping states and inventory quantification were performed using thermal desorption spectroscopy. The morphology of the layers is not influenced by the Ar/D₂ gas mixture composition but by the substrate type and roughness. The increase of the D₂ content during the deposition leads to the deposition of Be-D amorphous layers and also reduces the layer thickness by decreasing the sputtering yield due to the poisoning of the Be target. The D retention in the layers is dominated by the D trapping in low activation binding states and the increase of D₂ flow during deposition leads to a significant build-up of deuterium in these states. Increase of deuterium flow during deposition consequently leads to an increase of D retention in the beryllium layers up to 300%. The resulted Be-D layers release the majority of their D (above 99.99%) at temperatures lower than 700 K.

Autonomous smart natural ventilation systems (SVS) attached to the glass façade of living quarters and office buildings can help reducing the carbon footprint of city buildings in the future, especially during warm seasons and can represent an alternative to the conventional mechanical ventilation systems. The work performed in this manuscript focuses on the investigation of bacteria trapping and killing efficiency of stainless steel grids coated with a mixed layer of Cu-Ag. These grids are to be employed as decontamination filters for a smart natural ventilation prototype that we are currently building in our laboratory. The tested grids were coated with a mixed Cu-Ag layer using thermionic vacuum arc plasma processing technology. The fixed deposition geometry allowed the variation of Cu and Ag atomic concentration in coated layers as a function of substrate position in relation to plasma sources. The test conducted with air contaminated with a pathogen strain of staphylococcus aureus indicated that the filtering efficiency is influenced by two parameters: the pore size dimension and the coating layer composition. The results show that the highest filtering efficiency of 100% was obtained for fine pore (0.5 × 0.5 mm) grids coated with a mixed metallic layer composed of 65 at% Cu and 35 at% Ag. The second test performed only on reference grids and Cu-Ag (65–35 at%) under working conditions, confirm a similar filtering efficiency for the relevant microbiological markers. This particular sample was investigated from morphological, structural, and compositional point of view. The results show that the layer has a high surface roughness with good wear resistance and adhesion to the substrate. The depth profiles presented a uniform composition of Cu and Ag in the layer with small variations caused by changes in deposition rates during the coating process. Identification of the two metallic phases of the Cu and Ag in the layers evidences their crystalline nature. The calculated grain size of the nanocrystalline was in the range 14–21 nm.

Formation of Be-W mixed layers in thermonuclear fusion reactors can potentially alter the retention of hydrogen isotopes and affect the retention and release properties of these isotopes. This paper reports on the retention and release characteristics of D from reference Be, W layers as well as three Be-W mixed layers with well-defined atomic concentrations (2:1, 1:1, 1:2). The layers resulted from the sputtering of Be and W materials in Ar:D (1:1) mixture at 2 Pa using DC magnetron sputtering. The mixed layers’ deposition parameters were varied to adjust accordingly the deposition rate for each material in order to obtain the desired concentrations. Scanning electron microscope images showed that morphology is independent of composition for samples deposited on silicon substrates. In contrast, layers deposited on tungsten revealed a textured surface and morphological changes with W concentration variation. X-ray diffraction patterns of mixed layers evidenced the presence of a polycrystalline tungsten phase. Additionally, the degree of crystallinity is highly influenced by the plasma parameters and enhanced amorphization is evidenced by a decrease of crystalline size by a factor of 10 for mixed layers compared to the W reference layer. The release behavior of D from the layers is affected by the trapping contribution of both Be and W. Compared with implanted layers, presented in literature studies, the co-deposited layers show a high D occupancy of low energy trapping states, the majority of the D retained in the samples being released at temperatures below 623 K. High energy trapping becomes more pronounced for layers with a high Be concentration. The oxygen contamination observed for Be layers points to a mitigation of D retention in low energy trapping states and shifts the desorption chart towards a higher temperature due to enhanced retention in BeO associated traps. The D retention presents a linear decrease of W concentration in the sample.

In this work, thin films of lamellar clays were deposited by laser techniques (matrix assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) and pulsed laser deposition (PLD)). The focus of this paper is the optimization of deposition parameters for the production of highly oriented crystalline films. The films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Contact angle measurements were employed to identify the wetting properties of the deposited thin films. Hydrophobic to superhydrophilic films can be prepared by using different deposition techniques and deposition parameters. MAPLE led to superhydrophilic films with contact angles in the range 4°–8°, depending on the microstructure and surface roughness at micro and nano scale. The 1064 nm PLD had a high deposition rate and produced a textured film while at λ = 193 nm an extremely thin and amorphous layer was depicted. Oriented kaolinite films were obtained by MAPLE even at 5 wt.% kaolinite in the target.