Sharif Digital Repository

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films have been deposited using RF sputtering technique at different pressures, RF powers, and substrate temperatures. Variations in surface morphology, optical properties, and film resistances were measured and analyzed. It is shown that a very low value of sheet resistance (1.96 ω/sq.) can be achieved with suitable arrangement of the deposition experiments. First, at constant RF power, deposition at different pressure values is done, and the condition for achieving minimum sheet resistance (26.43 ω/sq.) is found. In the next step, different values of RF powers are tried, while keeping the pressure fixed on the previously found minimum point (1-2 Pa). Finally,... 

The efficient structure for optical fiber based surface Plasmon resonance sensor has been investigated. The sensor structure is based on removing the cladding of a multimode optical fiber and replacing it with thin film of gold. The incident light inside the fiber will excite surface plasmons which will be resulted in the absorption in specific wavelengths. The absorption behavior is dependent on the dielectric constants at the vicinity of the metallic thin film. Based on the amount of removed cladding and deposition regions on the core structure of the fiber, different configurations can be considered. Based on the computational analysis, we have studied performance of sensor for three... 

An impedimetric human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA biosensor based on gold nanotubes (AuNTs) in label free detection was materialized. The AuNTs decorated nanoporous polycarbonate (AuNTs-PC) template as biosensor electrode was fabricated by electrodeposition method. The single strand DNA (ss-DNA) probe was covalently immobilized onto the AuNTs-PC electrode. The hybridization of target sequences with the ss-DNA probe was observed by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The biosensor showed high selectivity and could differentiate between the complementary, mismatch and non-complementary DNA sequences. The EIS measurements were matched to Randle's equivalent circuit. The... 

Multi electrode arrays (MEA) have been exploited in different electrophysiological applications. In neurological applications, MEAs are the vital interfaces between neurons and the electronic circuits with dual role; transmitting electric signal to the neurons and converting neural activity to the electric signal. Since the performance of the electrodes has a direct effect on the quality of the recorded neuronal signal, as well as the stimulation, the true choice of electrode material for MEA is crucial. Gold is one of the best candidates for fabrication of MEAs due to its high electrical conductivity, biocompatibility and good chemical stability. However, noble metals such as gold do not... 

Multielectrode array (MEA) structures are the vital parts in the interface between neural structures and external electronic circuits, both in excitation and detection. As a transducer, the performance of electrodes has direct effect on the quality of the recorded neural signal, as well as induced charge density during the stimulation in neural prosthesis. The size and geometry of the electrode structure have distinct effect on the performance of electrodes accordingly. In this paper, the effect of size and geometry of the electrodes has been investigated in their performance and the impedimetric features of the fabricated electrodes with different structures have been studied. Based on the... 

An impedimetric human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA biosensor based on gold nanotubes (AuNTs) in label free detection was materialized. The AuNTs decorated nanoporous polycarbonate (AuNTs-PC) template as biosensor electrode was fabricated by electrodeposition method. The single strand DNA (ss-DNA) probe was covalently immobilized onto the AuNTs-PC electrode. The hybridization of target sequences with the ss-DNA probe was observed by the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The biosensor showed high selectivity and could differentiate between the complementary, mismatch and non-complementary DNA sequences. The EIS measurements were matched to Randle's equivalent circuit. The... 

Iron oxide nanoparticles, γ-Fe2O3NP, were deposited onto the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and CNT/γ-Fe2O3NP hybrid nanomaterials were obtained. Then linear-dendritic ABA type block copolymers consisting of polyethylene glycol as B block and poly(citric acid) as A block, PCA-PEG-PCA, were synthesized and cisplatin (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP) - a platinum-based chemotherapy drug) was conjugated with their carboxyl functional groups and CDDP/PCA-PEG-PCA anticancer prodrugs were prepared. Noncovalent interactions between CDDP/PCA-PEG-PCA anticancer prodrugs and CNT/γ-Fe2O3NP hybrid nanomaterials led to CDDP/PCA-PEG-PCA/CNT/γ-Fe2O3NP drug delivery systems. There are several... 

The force experienced by a neutral dielectric object in the presence of a spatially non-uniform electric field is referred to as dielectrophoresis (DEP). The proper quantification of DEP force in the single-cell level could be of great importance for the design of high-efficiency micro-fluidic systems for the separation of biological cells. In this report we show how optical tweezers can be properly utilized for proper quantification of DEP force experienced by a human RBC. By tuning the temporal frequency of the applied electric field and also performing control experiments and comparing our experimental results with that of theoretically calculated, we show that the measured force is a... 

A triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) electrode sensitive to the adsorption of water molecules has been introduced to create a self-powered humidity sensor. Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and graphene oxide nanoribbon (GONR) possessing oxygenated functional groups, as well as high dielectric constants, have been proposed as appropriate candidates for this purpose. GO papers have been fabricated in three forms, i.e. pure GO paper, uniform composites of GONR and GO, and double-layer structures of GONR on top of GO. Results showed that all of the prepared paper-based TENGs revealed excellent performances by maximum output voltage above 300 V. As active humidity sensors, the maximum voltage... 

Self-sufficient power sources provide a promising application of abundant electronic devices utilized in detection of ambient properties. Recently, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have been widely investigated to broaden the self-powered systems by converting the ambient mechanical agitations into electrical voltage and current. Graphene oxide (GO), not only for sensing applications but also as a brilliant energy-related nanomaterial, provides a wide range of controllable bandgap energies, as well as facile synthesis route. In this study, GO-based self-powered photodetectors have been fabricated by conflating the photosensitivity and triboelectric characteristics of freestanding GO... 

The authors describe an impedimetric method for the quantitation of the DNA of the human papilloma virus (HPV) type 16. A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified with gold nanosheets and is shown to be superior to a common gold disk electrode. A single-stranded 25mer oligonucleotide (ssDNA) acting as the probe DNA was immobilized via its thiolated 5′ end on both electrodes. After hybridization with target (analyte) DNA, electrochemical impedance spectra were acquired in the presence of hexacyanoferrate as a redox marker. The sensor can distinguish between complementary, non-complementary and single base pair mismatches of HPV ssDNA. At a 1 mM hexacyanoferrate concentration, the biosensors... 

Catecholamine neurotransmitters, generally including dopamine (DA), epinephrine (EP) and norepinephrine (NE) are known as substantial indicators of various neurological diseases. Simultaneous detection of these compounds and their metabolites is highly recommended in early clinical diagnosis. To this aim, in the present contribution, a high performance colorimetric sensor array has been proposed for the detection and discrimination of catecholamines based on their reducing ability to deposit silver on the surface of gold nanorods (AuNRs). The amassed silver nanoshell led to a blue shift in the longitudinal localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak of AuNRs, creating a unique pattern... 

Catecholamine neurotransmitters, specifically, dopamine (DA), epinephrine (EP), and norepinephrine (NE), are known as substantial indicators of various neurological diseases. Developing rapid detection methods capable of simultaneously screening their concentrations is highly desired for early clinical diagnosis of such diseases. To this aim, we have designed an optical sensor array using three fluorescent dyes with distinct emission bands and have monitored variations in their emission profiles upon the addition of DA, EP, and NE in the presence of gold ions. Because of the different reducing power of catecholamines, differently sized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with different levels of... 

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) offer an emerging market of self-sufficient power sources, converting the mechanical energy of the environment to electricity. Recently reported high power densities for the TENGs provide new applications opportunities, such as self-powered sensors. Here in this research, a flexible graphene oxide (GO) paper was fabricated through a straightforward method and utilized as the electrode of TENGs. Outstanding power density as high as 1.3 W.m−2, an open-circuit voltage up to 870 V, and a current density of 1.4 µA.cm−2 has been extracted in vertical contact-separation mode. The all-flexible TENG has been employed as a self-powered humidity sensor to... 

A novel electrode structure is introduced for micro-electrical impedance tomography. The composite electrode structure is made up of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and carbon nanotube (CNT) which are deposited on the surface. The nanostructure-based composition of electrodes improved the effective surface area, increased the double-layer capacitance of electrodes, and enhanced the electron transfer on the electrode–analyte interface. The proposed electrodes exhibit lower frequency-dependent electrical properties in impedance measurement. © 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature  

The optical polarization properties of virus-infected cells have been measured, analyzed, and compared with the uninfected cells. In this regard, Vero and HeLa cells have been used as the host for Herpes simplex viruses (HSV). By using polarization microscopy imaging technique, the Mueller matrix images of infected and uninfected cells have been recorded. Through image processing and further analysis, the polarization properties of host cells are compared with their infected ones. For quantitative analysis, the multispectral Mueller matrix transformation (MMT) parameters (A and b) are calculated to identify the microstructural differentiations between uninfected and infected cells by HSV.... 

Neurological disorders and nerve injuries, such as spinal cord injury, stroke, and multiple sclerosis can result in the loss of muscle function. Electrical stimulation of the neuronal cells is the currently available clinical treatment in this regard. As an effective energy harvester, the triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) can be used for self-powered neural/muscle stimulations because the output of the TENG provides stimulation pulses for nerves. In the present study, using a computational modelling approach, the effect of surface micropatterns on the electric field distribution, induced voltage and capacitance of the TENG structures have been investigated. By incorporating the effect of... 

Triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG)-based devices have been considered as a feasible strategy for developing the next generation of self-powered wearable biomedical and healthcare systems. To this end, their antibacterial properties play a key role for gauging their potential for practical applications. Herein, a polypyrrole-graphene oxide (PPy-GO) composite TENG with superior electrical outputs and bactericidal activity is developed by a facile electrodeposition route. The final performance of the TENG can be fine-tuned by controlling electrochemical polymerization conditions as well as the amount of GO nanosheets in the composite layer. Experimental results reveal that the addition of GO to... 

Considering electronic skin applications, a pressure sensor based on periodic structure of graphene oxide-reduced graphene oxide (GO-rGO) has been designed and fabricated based on a low cost direct laser writing technique by utilizing the laser diode of DVD drive's pickup head. The optimization of sensor structure has been performed using computational modelling through Finite Element Method (FEM) in the COMSOL environment. The optimized structure is fabricated based on the deposition of thin layer of GO on the surface of Kapton and the pattering is performed by laser irradiation. The fabricated sensor structure has been characterized structurally and functionally. The results show that the... 

Light scattering design in dye and quantum dot sensitized solar cells is one of the main concerns in enhancing their light harvesting efficiency, and also in improving their power conversion efficiency. Herein, we present a theoretical analysis to calculate the dependence of the light scattering efficiency in dye solar cells that have employed scattering agents with various sizes and morphologies incorporated in nanostructured photoanodes with different designs. Various isotropic and anisotropic nanostructures, including filled and hollow spheres, spherical voids, nanowires and hollow fibres in a size range of 100 nm to 900 nm, have been considered as scattering centres. The scattering...