Laser Ablation-Generated Crystalline Selenium Nanoparticles Prevent Damage of DNA and Proteins Induced by Reactive Oxygen Species and Protect Mice against Injuries Caused by Radiation-Induced Oxidative Stress

With the help of laser ablation, a technology for obtaining nanosized crystalline selenium particles (SeNPs) has been created. The SeNPs do not exhibit significant toxic properties, in contrast to molecular selenium compounds. The administration of SeNPs can significantly increase the viabilities of SH-SY5Y and PCMF cells after radiation exposure. The introduction of such nanoparticles into the animal body protects proteins and DNA from radiation-induced damage. The number of chromosomal breaks and oxidized proteins decreases in irradiated mice treated with SeNPs. Using hematological tests, it was found that a decrease in radiation-induced leukopenia and thrombocytopenia is observed when selenium nanoparticles are injected into mice before exposure to ionizing radiation. The administration of SeNPs to animals 5 h before radiation exposure in sublethal and lethal doses significantly increases their survival rate. The modification dose factor for animal survival was 1.2. It has been shown that the introduction of selenium nanoparticles significantly normalizes gene expression in the cells of the red bone marrow of mice after exposure to ionizing radiation. Thus, it has been demonstrated that SeNPs are a new gene-protective and radioprotective agent that can significantly reduce the harmful effects of ionizing radiation.

Development and application of photoconversion fluoropolymer films for greenhouses located at high or polar latitudes

To convert and store energy in the process of photosynthesis, plants primarily use quanta of the red and blue parts of the spectrum. At high latitudes, the average daily intensity of red and blue parts of the spectrum is not very high; for many crops cultivated under greenhouse conditions, it reaches the sufficient level only on clear summer days. The problem of insufficient illumination in greenhouses is usually solved with artificial light sources. This article describes a technology for the manufacture of photoconversion fluoropolymer films for greenhouses. The fluoropolymer films described in the paper make use of original gold nanoparticles and nanoparticles with fluorescence in the blue or red region of the spectrum. In the polymer film, nanoparticles aggregate in the form of "beads", which enhances the field of the optical wave. The film photoconverts UV and violet light into blue and red light. Gold nanoparticles also partially convert energy in the green region of the spectrum (not used by plants) into heat, which is also important for agriculture at high latitudes. In addition, impregnation of gold nanoparticles into fluoropolymer significantly increases the lifetime of the film. The films described in the paper can significantly increase the productivity of greenhouses located at high latitudes. Plants cultivated under the films have more chlorophyll and a higher intensity of photosynthesis - although their system of distance stress signals is, to a certain degree, suppressed.

Near-surface structure of Nafion in deuterated water

The swelling of a polymer ion-exchange membrane Nafion in water with various heavy isotope contents (D₂O) was studied by photoluminescent UV spectroscopy. The photoluminescence arises because of the presence of sulfonic groups attached to the ends of the perfluorovinyl ether groups that form the tetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) backbone of Nafion. The width of the colloidal region, which is formed near the membrane surface as a result of the outgrowth of Nafion microfibers toward the bulk liquid, varies non-monotonically with D₂O content, displaying a narrow maximum in the low concentration region. A significant insight into the unexpected isotopic effects revealed in swelling Nafion in deuterated water is provided. Mainly, the polymer swelling is very sensitive to small changes (on the order of several tens of parts per million) in the content of deuterium, which, for instance, can help in understanding the isotopic effects in living tissues.

Droplet-like heterogeneity of aqueous tetrahydrofuran solutions at the submicrometer scale

A droplet formation in aqueous solutions of tetrahydrofuran (THF) has been experimentally detected at the submicrometer scale using two independent laser diagnostic techniques (dynamic light scattering and laser phase microscopy) and described in terms of THF-water intermolecular hydrogen bonding. It is shown that the nanodroplets have a mean size of 300 nm, their refractive index is higher than that of the ambient liquid, and they are highly enriched with THF molecules. The maximum of light scattering intensity falls within the THF concentration range 2-8 mol. %, which corresponds to the volume number density of the nanodroplets ∼10¹⁰-10¹¹ cm^-3. A theoretical explanation of forming the nanodroplets with a high content of THF, which is based on a model of dichotomous noise being applied to the so-termed "twinkling" hydrogen bonds and involves spinodal decomposition in the unstable region enclosed within the dichotomous binodal, is proposed. The parameters of hydrogen bonds in the molecular system "water-THF" were found, and the phase diagram of the solution with allowance for cross-linking hydrogen bonds was constructed.

Nanobubble clusters of dissolved gas in aqueous solutions of electrolyte. II. Theoretical interpretation

A quantitative model of ion-stabilized gas bubbles is suggested. Charging the bubbles by the ions, which are capable of adsorption, and the screening by a cloud of counter-ions, which are less absorptable, is modeled. It is shown that, subject to the charge of bubble, two regimes of such screening can be realized. For low-charged bubbles, the screening is described in the framework of the known linearized Debye-Huckel approach, when the sign of the counter-ion cloud is preserved everywhere in the liquid, whereas at large charge this sign is changed at some distance from the bubble surface. This effect provides the mechanism for the emergence of two types of compound particles having the opposite polarity, which leads to the aggregation of such compound particles into fractal clusters. Based on experimental data, arguments in favor of the existence of the clusters composed of the ion-stabilized bubbles in aqueous electrolyte solutions are advanced. This paper provides theoretical grounds for the experimental results presented in the previous paper (part I) published in this journal.

Nanobubble clusters of dissolved gas in aqueous solutions of electrolyte. I. Experimental proof

Results of experiments with dynamic light scattering, phase microscopy, and polarimetric scatterometry allow us to claim that long-living gas nanobubbles and the clusters composed of such nanobubbles are generated spontaneously in an aqueous solution of salt, saturated with dissolved gas (say, atmospheric air). The characteristic sizes of both nanobubbles and their clusters are found by solving the inverse problem of optical wave scattering in ionic solutions. These experimental results develop our earlier study reported by Bunkin et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 130, 134308 (2009)] and can be treated as evidence for the special role of ions in the generation and stabilization of gas nanobubbles.

[Coefficient of refraction of water and aqueous solutions in the optical frequency range in the vicinity of naphione]

Within the present experimental working it has been shown that in the vicinity of naphione (ion-exchange membrane) the water refraction coefficient grows approximately by a factor of 1.1 in comparison with its value in a liquid. The refractive coefficient changes at the wavelength of about 50 microns. The effect of the refractive coefficient is measured by the pH value and the temperature of the liquid. In the experimental study of the "glycerin/water" mixture at different concentrations it has been found that the refractive coefficient may increase because naphione surface attracts the dipole of water clusters. This effect occurs due to the swelling of naphione in water and its surface takes a charge.

Role of dissolved gas in optical breakdown of water: differences between effects due to helium and other gases

It is shown that water contains defects in the form of heterogeneous optical breakdown centers. Long-living complexes composed of gas and liquid molecules may serve as nuclei for such centers. A new technique for removing dissolved gas from water is developed. It is based on a "helium washing" routine. The structure of helium-washed water is very different from that of water containing dissolved atmospheric gas. It is able to withstand higher optical intensities and temperatures of superheating compared with the nonprocessed ones. The characteristics of plasma spark and values of the breakdown thresholds for processed and nonprocessed samples are given.

Nanoscale structure of dissolved air bubbles in water as studied by measuring the elements of the scattering matrix

Results of experiments with laser modulation interference microscopy and the Mueller-matrix scatterometry show that macroscopic scatterers of light waves are present in doubly distilled water free of external solid impurities. The experimental data can be interpreted using a computational model of micron-scale clusters composed of polydisperse air bubbles having effective radii of 70-90 nm. The fractal dimension of such clusters was evaluated as 2.4-2.8 and their concentration appeared to be approximately 10(6) cm(-3).

Mechanism of low-threshold hypersonic cavitation stimulated by broadband laser pump

A low threshold acoustic cavitation regime was observed for the excitation of hypersonic waves due to a stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) mechanism, when the optical pump lies within the uv frequency range. Cavitation occurs if the optical pump bandwidth Delta(+)>>Omega(0), where Omega(0) is the Stokes frequency shift (the hypersonic frequency). In the opposite case (Delta(+)<<Omega(0)), cavitation does not occur despite the fact that the hypersonic wave intensity is much higher. The effect is associated with the stimulation of a broad frequency spectrum of hypersonic pressure in a field provided by the broadband optical pump. In contrast, for a monochromatic optical pump, the hypersonic wave is of single-frequency character. Induction of cavitation at the low intensities of acoustic pressure is attributed to nanobubbles of fixed size that occur in the liquid. The resonant frequency of the nanobubbles coincides with the frequency of some spectral component of hypersound present in the broadband SBS process. That conclusion is reinforced by the further observation that at the same intensity of broadband pumping the cavitation vanishes after degassing the liquid. In parallel experiments on four-photon polarization Rayleigh wing spectroscopy, it was also demonstrated that spectral lines exist in ordinary (not degassed) water, which can be ascribed to resonances of radial vibrations of nanobubbles. Those lines are absent in the degassed water spectrum.