Fabricating ZnO@C composites based on shell-derived cellulose for high performance lithium-ion battery anodes.

In this study, shell-derived cellulose was successfully produced, and the hydrothermal method was employed to generate ZnO@C (ZOC) composites, which were then subjected to calcination in N gas at a temperature of 600 °C for varying durations. X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analyses demonstrated that the annealing duration had a substantial impact on the quantities of C and ZnO in the ZOC composites. The scanning electron microscope images indicated the presence of ZnO nanoparticles on the surface of the C phase and revealed a similar morphology among the ZOC composites.

The role of a tantalum interlayer in enhancing the properties of FeO thin films.

High spin polarization and low resistivity of FeO at room temperature have been an appealing topic in spintronics with various promising applications. High-quality FeO thin films are a must to achieve the goals. In this report, FeO films on different substrates (SiO/Si(100), MgO(100), and MgO/Ta/SiO/Si(100)) were fabricated at room temperature with radio-frequency (RF) sputtering and annealed at 450 °C for 2 h.

Transduction Efficiency of Zika Virus E Protein Pseudotyped HIV-1 and Its Oncolytic Activity Tested in Primary Glioblastoma Cell Cultures.

The development of new tools against glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive and common cancer originating in the brain, remains of utmost importance. Lentiviral vectors (LVs) are among the tools of future concepts, and pseudotyping offers the possibility of tailoring LVs to efficiently transduce and inactivate GBM tumor cells. Zika virus (ZIKV) has a specificity for GBM cells, leaving healthy brain cells unharmed, which makes it a prime candidate for the development of LVs with a ZIKV coat.

Generation of Viral Particles with Brain Cell-Specific Tropism by Pseudotyping HIV-1 with the Zika Virus E Protein.

Flaviviruses are a family of RNA viruses that includes many known pathogens, such as Zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus (WNV), dengue virus (DENV), and yellow fever virus (YFV). A pseudotype is an artificial virus particle created in vitro by incorporating the flavivirus envelope proteins into the structure of, for example, a retrovirus such as human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1). They can be a useful tool in virology for understanding the biology of flaviviruses, evaluating immune responses, developing antiviral strategies but can also be used as vectors for gene transfer experiments.

Development of Zika Virus E Variants for Pseudotyping Retroviral Vectors Targeting Glioblastoma Cells.

A fundamental idea for targeting glioblastoma cells is to exploit the neurotropic properties of Zika virus (ZIKV) through its two outer envelope proteins, prM and E. This study aimed to develop envelope glycoproteins for pseudotyping retroviral vectors that can be used for efficient tumor cell infection. Firstly, the retroviral vector pNLAM was packaged using wild-type ZIKV E to generate an E-HIV pseudotype.

Metal-insulator-metal strip spectroscopic infrared photothermal absorber based on uniaxially oriented plasmonic lanthanum hexaboride films.

We report the fabrication of a mid-infrared device using LaB - AlO - LaB trilayers, with an array of LaB strips as the top layer. Uniaxially oriented lanthanum hexaboride (LaB) films self-organized in a (100) orientation were adopted together with a lithographic process using laser direct writing followed by reactive ion etching. The fabricated infrared absorbers based on our electromagnetic design exhibited excellent resonant absorption and flexible tunability by changing the periodicity and width of the top LaB strips.

Nanoantenna Structure with Mid-Infrared Plasmonic Niobium-Doped Titanium Oxide.

Among conductive oxide materials, niobium doped titanium dioxide has recently emerged as a stimulating and promising contestant for numerous applications. With carrier concentration tunability, high thermal stability, mechanical and environmental robustness, this is a material-of-choice for infrared plasmonics, which can substitute indium tin oxide (ITO). In this report, to illustrate great advantages of this material, we describe successful fabrication and characterization of niobium doped titanium oxide nanoantenna arrays aiming at surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy.