Daniele Passeri

Oral, short-term exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles in Sprague-Dawley rat: focus on reproductive and endocrine systems and spleen.

Abstract The study explored possible reproductive and endocrine effects of short-term (5 days) oral exposure to anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (0, 1, 2 mg/kg body weight per day) in rat. Nanoparticles were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy, and their presence in spleen, a target organ for bioaccumulation, was investigated by single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and SEM/energy-dispersive X-ray. Analyses included serum hormone levels (testosterone, 17-β-estradiol and triiodothyronine) and histopathology of thyroid, adrenals, ovary, uterus, testis and spleen. Increased total Ti tissue levels were found in spleen and ovaries. Sex-related histological alterations were observed at both dose levels in thyroid, adrenal medulla, adrenal cortex (females) and ovarian granulosa, without general toxicity. Altered thyroid function was indicated by reduced T3 (males). Testosterone levels increased in high-dose males and decreased in females. In the spleen of treated animals TiO2 aggregates and increased white pulp (high-dose females) were detected, even though Ti tissue levels remained low reflecting the low doses and the short exposure time. Our findings prompt to comprehensively assess endocrine and reproductive effects in the safety evaluation of nanomaterials.

Mechanical characterization of polymeric thin films by atomic force microscopy based techniques

Polymeric thin films have been awakening continuous and growing interest for application in nanotechnology. For such applications, the assessment of their (nano)mechanical properties is a key issue, since they may dramatically vary between the bulk and the thin film state, even for the same polymer. Therefore, techniques are required for the in situ characterization of mechanical properties of thin films that must be nondestructive or only minimally destructive. Also, they must also be able to probe nanometer-thick ultrathin films and layers and capable of imaging the mechanical properties of the sample with nanometer lateral resolution, since, for instance, at these scales blends or copolymers are not uniform, their phases being separated. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been proposed as a tool for the development of a number of techniques that match such requirements. In this review, we describe the state of the art of the main AFM-based methods for qualitative and quantitative single-point measurements and imaging of mechanical properties of polymeric thin films, illustrating their specific merits and limitations.

Local indentation modulus characterization of diamondlike carbon films by atomic force acoustic microscopy two contact resonance frequencies imaging technique

Two contact resonance frequencies atomic force acoustic microscopy imaging technique has been used to evaluate local indentation modulus of a diamondlike carbon film deposited on a molybdenum foil by laser ablation from glassy carbon target. Acoustic images were obtained by measuring both first and second contact resonance frequency at each point of the scanned area, and then numerically evaluating local contact stiffness and reconstructing an indentation modulus bidimensional pattern. The wide difference of the indentation modulus values allows to detect the presence of residual glassy carbon agglomerates in the diamondlike carbon film.

Effect of tip geometry on local indentation modulus measurement via atomic force acoustic microscopy technique

Atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM) is a dynamical AFM-based technique very promising for nondestructive analysis of local elastic properties of materials. AFAM technique represents a powerful investigation tool in order to retrieve quantitative evaluations of the mechanical parameters, even at nanoscale. The quantitative determination of elastic properties by AFAM technique is strongly influenced by a number of experimental parameters that, at present, are not fully under control. One of such issues is that the quantitative evaluation require the knowledge of the tip geometry effectively contacting the surface during the measurements. We present and discuss an experimental approach able to determine, at first, tip geometry from contact stiffness measurements and, on the basis of the achieved information, to measure sample indentation modulus. The reliability and the accuracy of the technique has been successfully tested on samples (Si, GaAs, and InP) with very well known structural and morphological ...

Indentation modulus and hardness of viscoelastic thin films by atomic force microscopy: A case study

We propose a nanoindentation technique based on atomic force microscopy (AFM) that allows one to deduce both indentation modulus and hardness of viscoelastic materials from the force versus penetration depth dependence, obtained by recording the AFM cantilever deflection as a function of the sample vertical displacement when the tip is pressed against (loading phase) and then removed from (unloading phase) the surface of the sample. Reliable quantitative measurements of both indentation modulus and hardness of the investigated sample are obtained by calibrating the technique through a set of different polymeric samples, used as reference materials, whose mechanical properties have been previously determined by standard indentation tests. By analyzing the dependence of the cantilever deflection versus time, the proposed technique allows one to evaluate and correct the effect of viscoelastic properties of the investigated materials, by adapting a post-experiment data processing procedure well-established for standard depth sensing indentation tests. The technique is described in the case of the measurement of indentation modulus and hardness of a thin film of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(4-styrenesulfonate), deposited by chronoamperometry on an indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate.

Second order nonlinear optical properties of zinc oxide films deposited by low temperature dual ion beam sputtering

We investigated second order optical nonlinearity of zinc oxide thin films, grown on glass substrates by the dual ion beam sputtering technique under different deposition conditions. Linear optical characterization of the films was carried out by spectrophotometric optical transmittance and reflectance measurements, giving the complex refractive index dispersion. Resistivity of the films was determined using the four-point probe sheet resistance method. Second harmonic generation measurements were performed by means of the Maker fringes technique where the fundamental beam was originated by nanosecond laser at λ=1064nm. We found a relatively high nonlinear optical response, and evidence of a dependence of the nonlinear coefficient on the deposition parameters for each sample. Moreover, the crystalline properties of the films were investigated by x-ray diffraction measurements and correlation with second order nonlinearity were analyzed. Finally, we investigated the influence of the oxygen flow rate during...

Quantitative measurement of indentation hardness and modulus of compliant materials by atomic force microscopy

An atomic force microscopy (AFM) based technique is proposed for the characterization of both indentation modulus and hardness of compliant materials. A standard AFM tip is used as an indenter to record force versus indentation curves analogous to those obtained in standard indentation tests. In order to overcome the lack of information about the apex geometry, the proposed technique requires calibration using a set of reference samples whose mechanical properties have been previously characterized by means of an independent technique, such as standard indentation. Due to the selected reference samples, the technique has been demonstrated to allow reliable measurements of indentation modulus and hardness in the range of 0.3-4.0 GPa and 15-250 MPa, respectively.

On the tip calibration for accurate modulus measurement by contact resonance atomic force microscopy.

Accurate quantitative elastic modulus measurements using contact resonance atomic force microscopy require the calibration of geometrical and mechanical properties of the tip as well as the choice of a suitable model for describing the cantilever-tip-sample system. In this work, we demonstrate with both simulations and experiments that the choice of the model influences the results of the calibration. Neglecting lateral force results in the underestimation of the tip indentation modulus and in the overestimation of the tip-sample contact radius. We propose a new approach to the calibration and data analysis, where lateral forces and cantilever inclination are neglected (which simplifies the calculations) and the tip parameters are assumed as fictitious.

Quantitative evaluation of bacteria adherent and in biofilm on single-wall carbon nanotube-coated surfaces.

Biofilm is a common bacterial lifestyle, and it plays a crucial role in human health, causing biofilm-mediated infections. Recently, to counteract biofilm development, new nano-structured biomaterials have been proposed. However, data about the antibacterial properties of nano-structured surfaces are fragmentary and controversial, and, in particular, the susceptibility of nano-structured materials to colonization and biofilm formation by bacterial pathogens has not been yet thoroughly considered. Here, the ability of the pathogenic Streptococcus mutans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to adhere and form biofilm on surfaces coated with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) was analyzed. Our results showed that the surfaces of SWCNTs-coated glass beads (SWCNTs-GBs) were colonized at the same extent of uncoated GBs both by S. mutans and P. aeruginosa. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that single wall SWCNTs-coated surfaces are not suitable to counteract bacterial adhesion and biofilm development.

Acoustic scanning probe microscopy

From the contents: Overview of acoustic techniques.- Contact dynamics modelling.- Cantilever dynamics: theoretical modeling.- Finite elements modelling.- AFAM calibration.- Enhanced sensitivity.- UAFM.- Holography calibration.- UFM.- Friction/lateral techniques.- Harmonix.- Scanning microdeformation microscopy (SMM).- Tip wear.- Comparison with other techniques.- Applications polymer.- Thin films.