Phani Kiran Vabbina

Sonochemistry: Science and Engineering.

Sonochemistry offers a simple route to nanomaterial synthesis with the application of ultrasound. The tiny acoustic bubbles, produced by the propagating sound wave, enclose an incredible facility where matter interact among at energy as high as 13 eV to spark extraordinary chemical reactions. Within each period - formation, growth and collapse of bubbles, lies a coherent phase of material formation. This effective yet highly localized method has facilitated synthesis of various chemical and biological compounds featuring unique morphology and intrinsic property. The benign processing lends to synthesis without any discrimination towards a certain group of material, or the substrates where they are grown. As a result, new and improved applications have evolved to reach out various field of science and technology and helped engineer new and better devices. Along with the facile processing and notes on the essence of sonochemistry, in this comprehensive review, we discuss the individual and mutual effect of important input parameters on the nanomaterial synthesis process as a start to help understand the underlying mechanism. Secondly, an objective discussion of the diversely synthesized nanomaterial follows to divulge the easiness imparted by sonochemistry, which finally blends into the discussion of their applications and outreach.

Electrochemical cortisol immunosensors based on sonochemically synthesized zinc oxide 1D nanorods and 2D nanoflakes.

We report on label free, highly sensitive and selective electrochemical immunosensors based on one-dimensional 1D ZnO nanorods (ZnO-NRs) and two-dimensional 2D ZnO nanoflakes (ZnO-NFs) which were synthesized on Au-coated substrates using simple one step sonochemical approach. Selective detection of cortisol using cyclic voltammetry (CV) is achieved by immobilizing anti-cortisol antibody (Anti-C(ab)) on the ZnO nanostructures (NSs). 1D ZnO-NRs and 2D ZnO-NFs provide unique sensing advantages over bulk materials. While 1D-NSs boast a high surface area to volume ratio, 2D-NSs with large area in polarized (0001) plane and high surface charge density could promote higher Anti-C(ab) loading and thus better sensing performance. Beside large surface area, ZnO-NSs also exhibit higher chemical stability, high catalytic activity, and biocompatibility. TEM studies showed that both ZnO-NSs are single crystalline oriented in (0001) plane. The measured sensing parameters are in the physiological range with a sensitivity of 11.86 µA/M exhibited by ZnO-NRs and 7.74 µA/M by ZnO-NFs with the lowest detection limit of 1 pM which is 100 times better than conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbant immunoassay (ELISA). ZnO-NSs based cortisol immunosensors were tested on human saliva samples and the performance were validated with conventional (ELISA) method which exhibits a remarkable correlation. The developed sensors can be integrated with microfluidic system and miniaturized potentiostat for point-of-care cortisol detection and such developed protocol can be used in personalized health monitoring/diagnostic.

Electrochemical monitoring-on-chip (E-MoC) of HIV-infection in presence of cocaine and therapeutics

Electrochemical monitoring-on-chip (E-MoC)-based approach for rapid assessment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infection in the presence of cocaine (Coc) and specific drugs namely i.e., tenofovir (Tef), rimcazole (RA) is demonstrated here, for the first time, using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). An in-vitro primary human astrocytes (HA) model was developed using a cultureware chip (CC, used for E-MoC) for HIV-infection, Coc exposure and treatment with anti-HIV drug i.e., Tef, and Coc antagonist i.e., RA. The charge transfer resistance (Rct) value of each CC well varies with respect to infection and treatment demonstrated highly responsive sensitivity of developed chip. The results of E-MoC, a proof-of-the concept, suggested that HIV-infection progression due to Coc ingestion and therapeutic effects of highly specific drugs are measurable on the basis of cell electrophysiology. Though, this work needs various molecular biology-based optimizations to promote this technology as an analytical tool for the rapid assessment of HIV-infection in a patient to manage HIV diseases for timely diagnosis. The presented study is based on using CNS cells and efforts are being made to perform this method using peripheral cells such as monocytes derived dendritic cells.

Tunable Room Temperature THz Sources Based on Nonlinear Mixing in a Hybrid Optical and THz Micro-Ring Resonator

We propose and systematically investigate a novel tunable, compact room temperature terahertz (THz) source based on difference frequency generation in a hybrid optical and THz micro-ring resonator. We describe detailed design steps of the source capable of generating THz wave in 0.5–10 THz with a tunability resolution of 0.05 THz by using high second order optical susceptibility (χ(2)) in crystals and polymers. In order to enhance THz generation compared to bulk nonlinear material, we employ a nonlinear optical micro-ring resonator with high-Q resonant modes for infrared input waves. Another ring oscillator with the same outer radius underneath the nonlinear ring with an insulation of SiO2 layer supports the generated THz with resonant modes and out-couples them into a THz waveguide. The phase matching condition is satisfied by engineering both the optical and THz resonators with appropriate effective indices. We analytically estimate THz output power of the device by using practical values of susceptibility in available crystals and polymers. The proposed source can enable tunable, compact THz emitters, on-chip integrated spectrometers, inspire a broader use of THz sources and motivate many important potential THz applications in different fields.

Hot electron generation by aluminum oligomers in plasmonic ultraviolet photodetectors.

We report on an integrated plasmonic ultraviolet (UV) photodetector composed of aluminum Fano-resonant heptamer nanoantennas deposited on a Gallium Nitride (GaN) active layer which is grown on a sapphire substrate to generate significant photocurrent via formation of hot electrons by nanoclusters upon the decay of nonequilibrium plasmons. Using the plasmon hybridization theory and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, it is shown that the generation of hot carriers by metallic clusters illuminated by UV beam leads to a large photocurrent. The induced Fano resonance (FR) minimum across the UV spectrum allows for noticeable enhancement in the absorption of optical power yielding a plasmonic UV photodetector with a high responsivity. It is also shown that varying the thickness of the oxide layer (Al2O3) around the nanodisks (tox) in a heptamer assembly adjusted the generated photocurrent and responsivity. The proposed plasmonic structure opens new horizons for designing and fabricating efficient opto-electronics devices with high gain and responsivity.

A label-free electrochemical immunosensor for beta-amyloid detection

A label-free detection of beta-amyloid (βA) protein using an electrochemical immunosensor fabricated via immobilizing specific anti-beta-amyloid antibodies (An-βA-Abs) onto an interdigitated electrode of gold (IDE-Au) modified using a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of dithiobis(succinimidyl propionate) [DTSP] is presented here. The βA has been investigated as a potential biomarker for monitoring Alzheimers disease (AD), permanent irreversible and progressive brain damage. Thus βA detection at the pM level is of high significance for AD diagnostics. The IDE-Au modification and covalent immobilization of An-βA-Abs onto electrodes were characterized by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) as a function of electrical response variation in each step involved in sensor fabrication. The EIS studies confirmed that the developed βA immunosensor is selective and exhibits a detection limit of 10 pM, its detection range varies from 10 pM to 100 nM, and it has a high sensitivity of 11 kΩ M−1 with a regression coefficient of 0.99. Thus, the developed sensitive and selective immunosensor with the features of the IDE-Au can be integrated with a miniaturized potentiostat (M-P) to develop a sensing system to detect βA for point-of-care (POC) applications for the assessment and management of AD. The bio-informatics gathered from such a system could be useful to make timely therapeutic decisions.

Multifunctional nanodevices for energy harvesting in unconventional spectral ranges

New energy harvesting technologies have drawn interest in recent years for both military and commercial applications. We present complete analysis of a novel device technology based on nanowire antennas and very high speed rectifiers (collectively called nanorectenna) to convert infrared and THz electromagnetic radiation into DC power. A nanowire antenna can receive electromagnetic waves and an integrated rectifier can convert them into electrical energy. The induced voltage and current distributions of nanowire antennas for different geometric parameters at various frequencies are investigated and analyzed. Also, nanowire antenna arrays with different geometries and distributions are examined. Moreover, novel nanoantennas are proposed for broadband operation and power conversion. All numerical computations are conducted using Ansoft HFSS. An incident plane wave was used to excite each device and simulations were carried out for frequencies between 0 and 200 THz. A voltage is induced in each device and it is measured in the thin oxide layer. Finally, optimum geometries of nanowires are proposed in order to maximize the amount of infrared power that is harvested.

Synthesis of crystalline ZnO nanostructures on arbitrary substrates at ambient conditions

In this paper, we report on a new method of synthesis for ZnO nanowires on arbitrary substrates and nanowalls on aluminum coated substrates at ambient conditions. Our method is based on sonochemical reaction of Zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(O2CCH3)2-2H2O) Zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO3)2-6H2O) and hexamethylenetetramine (HMT, (CH2).6N4) in aqueous solutions. Repetitive growth cycles resulted in synthesis of ZnO nanowires and nanowalls with controlled dimensions and large aspect ratios. Extensive analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and UV-Visible spectroscopy revealed the crystalline ZnO composition of the synthesized nanostructures. The proposed method is a rapid, inexpensive, low-temperature, catalyst-free, CMOS compatible and environmentally benign alternative to existing growth techniques.

Zinc oxide nanostructures for electrochemical cortisol biosensing

In this paper, we report on fabrication of a label free, highly sensitive and selective electrochemical cortisol immunosensors using one dimensional (1D) ZnO nanorods (ZnO-NRs) and two dimensional nanoflakes (ZnO-NFs) as immobilizing matrix. The synthesized ZnO nanostructures (NSs) were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), selective area diffraction (SAED) and photoluminescence spectra (PL) which showed that both ZnO-NRs and ZnO-NFs are single crystalline and oriented in [0001] direction. Anti-cortisol antibody (Anti-Cab) are used as primary capture antibodies to detect cortisol using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The charge transfer resistance increases linearly with increase in cortisol concentration and exhibits a sensitivity of 3.078 KΩ. M-1 for ZnO-NRs and 540 Ω. M -1 for ZnO-NFs. The developed ZnO-NSs based immunosensor is capable of detecting cortisol at 1 pM. The observed sensing parameters are in physiological range. The developed sensors can be integrated with microfluidic system and miniaturized potentiostat to detect cortisol at point-of-care.

Sonochemical Synthesis of a Zinc Oxide Core–Shell Nanorod Radial p–n Homojunction Ultraviolet Photodetector

We report for the first time on the growth of a homogeneous radial p-n junction in the ZnO core-shell configuration with a p-doped ZnO nanoshell structure grown around a high-quality unintentionally n-doped ZnO nanorod using sonochemistry. The simultaneous decomposition of phosphorous (P), zinc (Zn), and oxygen (O) from their respective precursors during sonication allows for the successful incorporation of P atoms into the ZnO lattice. The as-formed p-n junction shows a rectifying current-voltage characteristic that is consistent with a p-n junction with a threshold voltage of 1.3 V and an ideality factor of 33. The concentration of doping was estimated to be NA = 6.7 × 1017 cm-3 on the p side from the capacitance-voltage measurements. The fabricated radial p-n junction demonstrated a record optical responsivity of 9.64 A/W and a noise equivalent power of 0.573 pW/√Hz under ultraviolet illumination, which is the highest for ZnO p-n junction devices.