The geometric locations of ion traversals in mammalian cells constitute important information in the study of heavy ion-induced biological effect. Single ion traversal through a cellular nucleus produces complex and massive DNA damage at a nanometer level, leading to cell inactivation, mutations and transformation. We present a novel approach that uses a fluorescent nuclear track detector (FNTD...

Quite recently, ion-track membranes of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) have attracted a renewed interest for their applications to next-generation electrochemical devices such as fuel cells [1,2]. In order to produce tracketched pores in PVDF films, several kinds of etching solutions were previously employed. In most cases [3], a highly concentrated aqueous KOH solution with a KMnO4 additive w...

One-dimensional nanostructures have been studied intensively because of their interesting properties, which hold great promises for various applications [1]. However, to realize devices based on nanostructures, efficient methods that can translate a multitude of nanoscale components into micro/macroscale dimensions are needed. Controlled assembly is of particular importance for nanostructures u...

STARTRACK experiment (acronym of STructure of hAdRonic TRACK) aims to measure ionisation cluster distributions in nanometric sites placed at different distances from an accelerated charged particle track. STARTRACK uses a 20 nm wall-less detector [1], already used for studying the nanometric track structure of a Cm alpha particle [2], and then it will use a new detector designed for measuring i...

Metal chalcogenide semiconductor nanowires are of particular interest for several reasons. First, II-VI semiconductors present a broad range of band gaps (from 0.15 eV in HgTe to 3.68 eV in ZnS). Second, most of them have direct energy gaps making them particularly important for electro-luminescence devices. Third, these kinds of semiconductors can be electrochemically deposited from aqueous so...

Ion tracks, formed by the interaction of energetic charged particles with matter, have played an important role in the development of modern physics. More recently, MeV-GeV ion track production has been used to modify materials in a controlled manner [1,2], being a potential tool to engineer material properties in the nanometer to micrometer scale. MeV-GeV ions are finding recently wider use in...