Commercialization of graphene based applications inevitably requires cost effective mass production. From the early days of research on graphene, direct liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) of graphite has been considered as the most promising strategy to produce high-quality mono or few-layer graphene sheets in solvent dispersion forms. Substantial success has been achieved thus far in the LPE of gr...

Pulmonary surfactant has two distinct functions within the lung: reduction of surface tension at the air-liquid interface and participation in innate host defense. Both functions are dependent on surfactant-associated proteins. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is primarily responsible for respiratory dysfunction and death in cystic fibrosis patients and is also a leading pathogen in nosocomial pneumonia....

A number of recent experiments have showed that surfactants can modify the growth mode of an epitaxial film, suppressing islanding and promoting layer-by-layer growth. Here I introduce a set of coupled equations to describe the nonequilibrium roughening of an interface covered with a thin surfactant layer. The surfactant may drive the system into a novel phase, in which the surface roughness is...

We have investigated effects of guest colloidal particles on the mesoscopic structures of a surfactant/water system by means of small angle neutron and x-ray scattering techniques. The addition of a small amount of colloidal particles between lamellar slits reduces the undulational fluctuations of lamellae and brings about a lamellar to micelle transition. On the other hand, on addition of coll...

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is known to be associated with pulmonary cytokine production resulting in infiltration of neutrophils and pulmonary injury. The study presented here is focused on the changes in cell death regulating proteins during lung injury and studied the relationship between the LPS challenged ARDS and the subsequent role of su...

Although nanoparticles (NPs) are known to increase foam stability, stabilisation is not observed in all surfactant/NP combinations. The present study evaluates the stability of CO2 foams containing mixtures with attractive or repulsive electrostatic interactions at low pH imposed by presence a high-salinity brine. Three ionic surfactants and two oxide NPs (SiO2 Al2O3) were used combinations sim...

BACKGROUND Gene transfer using non-viral vectors offers a non-immunogenic and safe method of gene delivery. Cellular uptake and intracellular trafficking of the nanoparticles can impact on the transfection efficiency of these vectors. Therefore, understanding the physicochemical properties that may influence the cellular uptake and the intracellular trafficking can aid the design of more effici...

Both surfactant protein (SP) D and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) influence pulmonary surfactant homeostasis, with the deficiency of either protein causing marked accumulation of surfactant phospholipids in lung tissues and in the alveoli. To assess whether the effects of each gene were mediated by distinct or shared mechanisms, surfactant homeostasis and lung morphol...

A micell-mediated phase separation method for preconcentration of ultra-trace quantities of mercury as a prior step to its determination by UV-Vis spectrophotometry has been developed. The method is based on Hg(II)-dithizone complex formation in alkaline aqueous solution, and extraction of this Hg(II)-dithizone secondary complex into the surfactant-rich phase of the non-ionic surfactant oct...

Tumor drug resistance significantly limits the success of chemotherapy in the clinic. Tumor cells utilize multiple mechanisms to prevent the accumulation of anticancer drugs at their intracellular site of action. In this study, we investigated the anticancer efficacy of doxorubicin in combination with photodynamic therapy using methylene blue in a drug-resistant mouse tumor model. Surfactant-po...