NBT-Pluronic F-127 Hydrogels Printed on Flat Textiles as UV Radiation Sensors

This work reports on the surface-modified woven fabrics for use as UV radiation sensors. The cotton and polyamide fabrics were printed with radiochromic hydrogels using a screen-printing method. The hydrogels used as a printing paste were composed of water, poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (Pluronic F-127) as a gel matrix and nitro blue tetrazolium chloride as a radiation-sensitive compound. The development of the hydrogels’ colour occurs after exposure to UV radiation and its intensity increases with increasing absorbed dose.
The features of the NBT-Pluronic F-127 radiochromic hydrogels and the fabrics printed with the hydrogels were examined using UV-Vis and reflectance spectrophotometry as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of NBT concentration and UV radiation type (UVA, UVB, UVC) on dose responses of the hydrogels and printed fabrics were also examined. The results obtained reveal that the fabrics printed with NBT-Pluronic F-127 hydrogels can be potentially useful as UV radiation sensors.

Enhanced Piezoelectric Properties from the Electric Field-Induced Ferroelectric Transition at the MPB of BiGaO3-Substitued Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 – BaTiO3 (NBT-BT)

A ternary solid solution of lead-free Na1/2Bi1/2TiO3 – BaTiO3 and BiGaO3 (NBT-BT-BG) was prepared using conventional, solid state synthesis. Compositions were prepared near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) of (1-x)NBT-xBT, located near x = 0.04-0.09, and then systematically substituted with 2-5 mol% BiGaO3 to investigate the effect of the compositional change on the accompanying properties. Dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties were analyzed and compared for all prepared compositions. The ferroelectric to ergodic relaxor transition temperature (TF-R) and the reversible electric field-induced relaxor to ferroelectric transition were investigated to determine their effects on the strain response.
It was found that the MPB composition of 0.93NBT-0.07BT required the least amount of the tertiary phase, 3 mol% BiGaO3, to reach a disordered, ergodic state while also requiring the largest electric fields to induce a ferroelectric phase compared to similarly substituted NBT-xBT samples. This led to a maximum unipolar strain of 0.53 % (d33* = 866 pm/V) for the 0.93NBT-0.07BT-0.04BG composition. The largest strains for each system occurred in compositions that were in the ergodic region at room temperature. These results demonstrate that the addition of BiGaO3 most effectively destabilizes the long-range dipole order near the MPB composition of NBT-BT, which results in an enhanced electric field-induced strain.

Towards Multifunctional Electronics: Flexible NBT-Based Film with Large Electrocaloric Effect and High Energy Storage Property.

Advances in smart and wearable devices are driving innovations in multifunctional flexible materials at a tremendous pace. Here, drawing support from the unique flexible fluorophlogopite mica platform, we present a promising all-inorganic bendable Mn-modified 0.65(0.94Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-0.06BaTiO3)-0.35SrTiO3 (NBBST) film with dual use in electrocaloric (EC) refrigeration and energy storage via a cost-effective transfer-free process. An appreciable room-temperature EC effect with adiabatic temperature change of 12 K and isothermal entropy of 18 J K-1 kg-1 was realized in the NBBST film, which benefits from the large change in dipolar ordering near depolarization temperature.
And the film exhibits a broad operating temperature span over 25 C due to its relaxor feature. Most importantly, the film can maintain the high EC performance either under bending deformation at 5 mm radius or after undergoing 104 bending-unbending cycles. Meanwhile, the flexible NBBST film possesses good energy storage property with a recoverable energy density of 56 J cm-3 and an efficiency of 66%. This is the first example of a lead-free all-inorganic multifunctional film capacitor towards the flexible EC refrigeration and energy storage devices. This work shows bright prospects in the emerging flexible e-market.

SEAP activity measurement in reporter cell-based assays using BCIP / NBT as substrate.

SEAP (secreted embryonic alkaline phosphatase) has been suggested as versatile reporter protein inter alia for cell ligand interaction. Generic photometric assay formats for this enzyme are currently lacking. Using the interaction of recombinant hCD40 ligand with HEK-Blue sensor cells expressing the CD40 receptor as example, we show that such an assay can be developed based on BCIP/NBT (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate/nitroblue tetrazolium chloride) as substrate. Supplementation of the reaction buffer with a micelle-forming detergent (TWEEN 20) stabilizes the water-insoluble reactions products thereby allowing reproducible photometric quantification of the colloidal dispersion.
After optimizing the assay in terms of incubation time, cell number and environmental conditions, a cellular response to stimulation was already visible for 0.25 ng mL-1 of rhCD40L. Moreover, the sensitivity of the assay was significantly better than reported previously for alternative assays used in combination with the commercially available reporter cells. The use of BCIP/NBT as substrate therefore provides a robust and sensitive method to monitor SEAP activity in solution, which could conceivably be extended to other cell-based and biological assays using SEAP as reporter protein.

NBT

K2191050-3 Biochain 300 ul 164.4 EUR

NBT CL

21530062-1 Bio-WORLD 500 mg 37.12 EUR

NBT CL

21530062-2 Bio-WORLD 1 g 76.26 EUR

BCIP/NBT

CH015 ABM 100 ml 157.2 EUR

NBT-II

ABC-TC0726 AcceGen 1 vial Ask for price

BCIP/NBT kit

10003 Biotium 1SET 222 EUR

BCIP/NBT 50X

21530107-1 Bio-WORLD 10 mL 154.66 EUR

BCIP/NBT 50X

21530107-2 Bio-WORLD 25 mL 264.47 EUR

BCIP/NBT KIT

10003-1 Biotium KT 161 EUR

BCIP/NBT Blue

21530052-1 Bio-WORLD 200 mL 98.4 EUR

BCIP/NBT Blue

21530052-2 Bio-WORLD 1 L 248.5 EUR

BCIP/NBT Purple

21530053-1 Bio-WORLD 200 mL 144.77 EUR

BCIP/NBT Purple

21530053-2 Bio-WORLD 1 L 249.82 EUR

BCIP/NBT Solution

ACN050 ScyTek Laboratories 50 ml 94.8 EUR

BCIP/NBT Solution

ACN125 ScyTek Laboratories 125 ml 140.4 EUR

BCIP/NBT Solution

ACN500 ScyTek Laboratories 500 ml 312 EUR

BCIP/NBT Solution

ACN999 ScyTek Laboratories 1000 ml 472.8 EUR

BCIP/NBT Substrate

42-BC07 Fitzgerald 100 ml 154.8 EUR

BCIP/NBT Substrate

F064-100 Cygnus Technologies 100 ml 308.4 EUR

BCIP/NBT Substrate

F064-1000 Cygnus Technologies 1000 ml 973.2 EUR

BCIP red/NBT kit

10005 Biotium 1SET 262.8 EUR

BCIP RED/NBT KIT

10005-1 Biotium KT 206 EUR

4-NBT, a specific inhibitor of Babesia microti thioredoxin reductase, affects parasite biochemistry and proteomic properties.

  • Babesia microti is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that is transmitted by ticks and parasites and propagates in mammalian erythrocytes. Thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) plays a crucial role in B. microti survival by maintaining cellular redox homeostasis. In the present study, 4-nitro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (4-NBT) was selected as a specific B. microti TrxR inhibitor by comparing rat and parasite TrxR inhibition levels. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were evaluated using flow cytometry, and in B. microti treated with 4-NBT, ROS levels increased with increasing inhibitor concentration.
  • Furthermore, the inhibitor treatment increased lipid peroxidation and protein carbonyl levels, thus indicating a state of oxidative stress. While B. microti treated with 4-NBT appeared to lose the ability to multiply in mice, the fastigium of parasitemia between the treated and control groups was comparable. Furthermore, a TUNEL assay showed that 4-NBT induces apoptosis in B. microti. Proteomic analysis of B. microti treated with 4-NBT detected 960 proteins. Label-free quantitative proteomic analysis identified 118 proteins that were significantly up-regulated and 37 that were significantly down-regulated in the treatment group relative to the control. Of the differential proteins, proteasome and ribosomal subunit expression was up-regulated, thus suggesting that redundant proteins may be damaged by oxidation and waiting for degradation, while proteins for subsistence are waiting for de novo synthesis.
  • Moreover, the findings obtained herein suggest that the DNA and lipids were also damaged and awaiting synthesis or repair. In conclusion, TrxR dysfunction in B. microti results in the breakdown of redox homeostasis and promotes apoptosis.

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