Hao Li

Antibacterial activities of zinc oxide nanoparticles against Escherichia coli O157:H7

Aims:  To investigate antibacterial activities of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NP) and their mode of action against an important foodborne pathogen, Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Detection of Melamine in Gluten, Chicken Feed, and Processed Foods Using Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and HPLC

Melamine, a nitrogen-rich chemical, was implicated in pet and human food recalls in 2007, which caused enormous economic losses to the food industry. In this study, melamine concentration in wheat gluten, chicken feed, and processed foods (that is, cake and noodle) was measured by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) in combination with SERS-active substrates. SERS was able to rapidly detect 0.1% melamine in wheat gluten, 0.05% in chicken feed, 0.05% in cakes, and 0.07% in noodle, respectively. A partial least squares (PLS) model was established for the quantification of melamine in foods by SERS: R= 0.90, RMSEP = 0.33. In addition, SERS results were verified by HPLC analysis based on a simplified FDA method. Compared with HPLC, the SERS method is much faster and simpler, requires minimum sample preparation, but still yields satisfactory qualitative and quantitative results. These results demonstrate that it is an applicable approach to use SERS to screen foods, eliminate presumptive negative samples of melamine contamination from the sample population, and then verify presumptive positive samples using HPLC protocols. Combining these 2 methods could provide a more rapid and cost-effective way for monitoring melamine contamination in increasingly large numbers of imported foods and feed products.

Use of a Fractal-like Gold Nanostructure in Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy for Detection of Selected Food Contaminants

The safety of imported seafood products because of the contamination of prohibited substances, including crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG), raised a great deal of concern in the United States. In this study, a fractal-like gold nanostructure was developed through a self-assembly process and the feasibility of using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with this nanostructure for detection of CV, MG, and their mixture (1:1) was explored. SERS was capable of characterizing and differentiating CV, MG, and their mixture on fractal-like gold nanostructures quickly and accurately. The enhancement factor of the gold nanostructures could reach an impressive level of approximately 4 x 10(7), and the lowest detectable concentration for the dye molecules was at approximately 0.2 ppb level. These results indicate that SERS coupled with fractal-like gold nanostructures holds a great potential as a rapid and ultra-sensitive method for detecting trace amounts of prohibited substances in contaminated food samples.

Dentin surface treatment using a non-thermal argon plasma brush for interfacial bonding improvement in composite restoration

The objective of this study was to investigate the treatment effects of non-thermal atmospheric gas plasmas on dentin surfaces used for composite restoration. Extracted unerupted human third molars were prepared by removing the crowns and etching the exposed dentin surfaces with 35% phosphoric acid gel. The dentin surfaces were treated using a non-thermal atmospheric argon plasma brush for various periods of time. The molecular changes of the dentin surfaces were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry/attenuated total reflectance (FTIR/ATR), and an increase in the amount of carbonyl groups was detected on plasma-treated dentin surfaces. Adper Single Bond Plus adhesive and Filtek Z250 dental composite were applied as directed. To evaluate the dentin/composite interfacial bonding, the teeth thus prepared were sectioned into micro-bars and analyzed using tensile testing. Student-Newman-Keuls tests showed that the bonding strength of the composite restoration to peripheral dentin was significantly increased (by 64%) after 30 s of plasma treatment. However, the bonding strength to plasma-treated inner dentin did not show any improvement. It was found that plasma treatment of the peripheral dentin surface for up to 100 s resulted in an increase in the interfacial bonding strength, while prolonged plasma treatment of dentin surfaces (e.g. 5 min) resulted in a decrease in the interfacial bonding strength.

Oral bacterial deactivation using a low-temperature atmospheric argon plasma brush

OBJECTIVE To study the plasma treatment effects on deactivation effectiveness of oral bacteria. METHODS A low temperature atmospheric argon plasma brush were used to study the oral bacterial deactivation effects in terms of plasma conditions, plasma exposure time, and bacterial supporting media. Oral bacteria of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus with an initial bacterial population density between 1.0×10(8) and 5.0×10(8)cfu/ml were seeded on various media and their survivability with plasma exposure was examined. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the morphological changes of the plasma treated bacteria. Optical absorption was used to determine the leakage of intracellular proteins and DNAs of the plasma treated bacteria. RESULTS The experimental data indicated that the argon atmospheric plasma brush was very effective in deactivating oral bacteria. The plasma exposure time for a 99.9999% cell reduction was less than 15s for S. mutans and within 5 min for L. acidophilus. It was found that the plasma deactivation efficiency was also dependent on the bacterial supporting media. With plasma exposure, significant damages to bacterial cell structures were observed with both bacterium species. Leakage of intracellular proteins and DNAs after plasma exposure was observed through monitoring the absorbance peaks at wavelengths of 280 nm and 260 nm, respectively. CONCLUSION The experimental results from this study indicated that low temperature atmospheric plasma treatment was very effective in deactivation of oral bacteria and could be a promising technique in various dental clinical applications such as bacterial disinfection and caries early prevention.

BisGMA/TEGDMA dental composite containing high aspect-ratio hydroxyapatite nanofibers

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study are to investigate the properties of high aspect-ratio hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanofibers and the reinforcing effect of such fibers on bisphenol A glycidyl methacrylate (BisGMA)/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) dental resins (without silica microparticle filler) and dental composites (with silica microparticle filler) with various mass fractions (loading rates). METHODS HAP nanofibers were synthesized using a wet-chemical method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Biaxial flexural strength (BFS) of the HAP nanofibers reinforced dental resins without any microsized filler and dental composites with silica microparticle filler was tested and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for the statistically analysis of acquired data. The morphology of fracture surface of tested dental composite samples was examined by SEM. RESULTS The HAP nanofibers with aspect-ratios of 600 to 800 can be successfully fabricated with a simple wet-chemical method in aqueous solution. Impregnation of small mass fractions of the HAP nanofibers (5 wt% or 10 wt%) into the BisGMA/TEGDMA dental resins or impregnation of small mass fractions of the HAP nanofibers (2 wt% or 3 wt%) into the dental composites can substantially improve the biaxial flexural strength of the resulting dental resins and composites. A percolation threshold of HAP nanofibers, beyond which more nanofibers will no longer further increase the mechanical properties of dental composites containing HAP nanofibers, was observed for the dental composites with or without silica microparticle filler. Our mechanical testing and fractographic analysis indicated that the relatively good dispersion of HAP nanofibers at low mass fraction is the key reason for the significantly improved biaxial flexural strength, while higher mass fraction of HAP nanofibers tends to lead to bundles that cannot effectively reinforce the dental resins or composites and may even serve as defects and thus degrade the resulting dental resin and composite mechanical properties. SIGNIFICANCE The incorporation of small mass fraction of HAP nanofibers with good dispersion can improve the mechanical property of dental resins and dental composites.

Use of graphene and gold nanorods as substrates for the detection of pesticides by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy.

This study aimed to use gold nanorods and graphene as key materials to fabricate high-performance substrates for the detection of pesticides by surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Three types of pesticides (azinphos-methyl, carbaryl, and phosmet) were selected. Gold nanorods have great potential to be used as a SERS substrate because it is easy to tune the surface plasmon resonance of the nanorods to the laser excitation wavelength of Raman spectroscopy. Graphene is a promising nanoscale material that can be used for supporting metal nanostructures. Three types of novel SERS substrates were fabricated, including graphene-gold film-gold nanorod (G-Au-AuNR) substrate, gold film-gold nanorod (Au-AuNR) substrate, and graphene coupled with gold nanorods (G-AuNR). The results demonstrate that G-Au-AuNR substrates exhibited the strongest Raman signals of the selected pesticides, followed by the Au-AuNR substrates. G-AuNR exhibited the weakest Raman signals, and no characteristic spectral features of the analytes were obtained. A partial least-squares method was used to develop quantitative models for the analysis of spectral data (R = 0.94, 0.87, and 0.86 for azinphos-methyl, carbaryl, and phosmet, respectively). The G-Au-AuNRs substrate was able to detect all three types of pesticides at the parts per million level with limits of detection at around 5, 5, and 9 ppm for azinphos-methyl, carbaryl, and phosmet, respectively. These results indicate that combining gold nanorods and graphene has great potential in the fabrication of sensitive, lightweight, and flexible substrates for SERS applications to improve food safety.

Effect of a non-thermal, atmospheric-pressure, plasma brush on conversion of model self-etch adhesive formulations compared to conventional photo-polymerization

OBJECTIVE To determine the effectiveness and efficiency of non-thermal, atmospheric plasmas for inducing polymerization of model dental self-etch adhesives. METHODS The monomer mixtures used were bis-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] phosphate (2MP) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), with mass ratios of 70/30, 50/50 and 30/70. Water was added to the above formulations: 10-30wt%. These monomer/water mixtures were treated steadily for 40s under a non-thermal atmospheric plasma brush working at temperatures from 32 to 35°C. For comparison, photo-initiators were added to the above formulations for photo-polymerization studies, which were light-cured for 40s. The degree of conversion (DC) of both the plasma- and light-cured samples was measured using FTIR spectroscopy with an attenuated total reflectance attachment. RESULTS The non-thermal plasma brush was effective in inducing polymerization of the model self-etch adhesives. The presence of water did not negatively affect the DC of plasma-cured samples. Indeed, DC values slightly increased, with increasing water content in adhesives: from 58.3% to 68.7% when the water content increased from 10% to 30% in the adhesives with a 50/50 (2MP/HEMA) mass ratio. Conversion values of the plasma-cured groups were higher than those of light-cured samples with the same mass ratio and water content. Spectral differences between the plasma- and light-cured groups indicate subtle structural distinctions in the resultant polymer networks. SIGNIFICANCE This research if the first to demonstrate that the non-thermal plasma brush induces polymerization of model adhesives under clinical settings by direct/indirect energy transfer. This device shows promise for polymerization of dental composite restorations having enhanced properties and performance.

Toxicity of silicon carbide nanowires to sediment-dwelling invertebrates in water or sediment exposures.

Silicon carbide nanowires (SiCNW) are insoluble in water. When released into an aquatic environment, SiCNW would likely accumulate in sediment. The objective of this study was to assess the toxicity of SiCNW to four freshwater sediment-dwelling organisms: amphipods (Hyalella azteca), midges (Chironomus dilutus), oligochaetes (Lumbriculus variegatus), and mussels (Lampsilis siliquoidea). Amphipods were exposed to either sonicated or nonsonicated SiCNW in water (1.0 g/L) for 48 h. Midges, mussels, and oligochaetes were exposed only to sonicated SiCNW in water for 96 h. In addition, amphipods were exposed to sonicated SiCNW in whole sediment for 10 d (44% SiCNW on dry wt basis). Mean 48-h survival of amphipods exposed to nonsonicated SiCNW in water was not significantly different from the control, whereas mean survival of amphipods exposed to sonicated SiCNW in two 48-h exposures (0 or 15% survival) was significantly different from the control (90 or 98% survival). In contrast, no effect of sonicated SiCNW was observed on survival of midges, mussels, or oligochaetes. Survival of amphipods was not significantly reduced in 10-d exposures to sonicated SiCNW either mixed in the sediment or layered on the sediment surface. However, significant reduction in amphipod biomass was observed with the SiCNW either mixed in sediment or layered on the sediment surface, and the reduction was more pronounced for SiCNW layered on the sediment. These results indicated that, under the experimental conditions, nonsonicated SiCNW in water were not acutely toxic to amphipods, sonicated SiCNW in water were acutely toxic to the amphipods, but not to other organisms tested, and sonicated SiCNW in sediment affected the growth but not the survival of amphipods.

BisGMA/TEGDMA dental nanocomposites containing glyoxylic acid-modified high-aspect ratio hydroxyapatite nanofibers with enhanced dispersion

The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence of the glyoxylic acid (GA) modification of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanofibers on their dispersion in bisphenol A glycidyl methacrylate (BisGMA)/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) dental composites and also to investigate the mechanical properties, water absorption and water solubility of the resulting dental resins and composites. Scanning/transmission electron microscopy images showed that microsized HAP nanofiber bundles could be effectively broken down into individual HAP nanofibers with an average length of ∼15 µm after the surface modification process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and thermal gravimetric analysis characterization confirmed that GA was chemically grafted on the HAP nanofiber surface, hypothetically by reacting with the amine group on the HAP nanofiber surface. The enhanced dispersion of HAP nanofibers in the dental matrix led to increased biaxial flexural strength (BFS) compared with the corresponding dental resins and composites filled with untreated HAP nanofibers. In addition, impregnation of small mass fractions of the GA-modified HAP nanofibers into the BisGMA/TEGDMA dental resins (5 wt%, 10 wt%) or composites (2 wt%, 3 wt%) could also substantially improve the BFS in comparison with the controls (pure resins or dental composites filled with silica particles alone). Larger mass fractions could not increase the mechanical property further or even degraded the BFS values. Water behavior testing results indicated that the addition of the GA-modified HAP nanofibers resulted in higher water absorption and water solubility values, which are not preferred for clinical application. In summary, well-dispersed HAP nanofibers and their dental composites with enhanced mechanical properties have been successfully fabricated, but the water absorption and water solubility of such dental composites need to be further improved.