Emerging areas of Nano and Smart Materials

‘There’s plenty of room at the bottom’ – In 1959, one of the most brilliant physicists the world has ever seen, Richard P. Feynmann, gave us a beautiful introduction to nano-science. Today, after almost seven decades, nano-materials and related technologies are not just a simple extension of regular research and miniaturisation of materials, but have become the prime driver of advancement in science and technology all over the world. Over the past few decades, new societal requirement haveemerged atthe national and international level

Structure-property Characterisation at Nanoscale using In-situ TEM and SEM

In-situ electron microscopy is an emerging technique for real time visualisation of micro-structural changes of a specimen under some applied constraints inside microscope. In this study, in-situ nanoindentation experimentation on a carbon nanocoil inside transmission electron microscope has been reported. The elastic modulus of the carbon nanocoil is found to be 177 GPa. Similar experiments are also carried out on carbon nanotubes, but force response of carbon nanotubes is beyond the limit of sensors presently available. The present study also reports the in-situ dissolution behavior of the secondary phases of a 7xxx series aluminum alloy under high vacuum condition in scanning electron microscope (SEM) in the temperature range of 350 °C to 400 °C. We report for the first time using in-situ SEM technique that dissolution of the MgZn2-base phase present as eutectic and divorced eutectic forms could start at a temperature as low as 300 °C, although the usual homogenisation temperature of such alloys is always > 450 °C. Furthermore, the kinetics of dissolution of such phases, particularly when present in fine eutectic phase mixture, is significantly faster than what is observed under atmospheric pressure. It has been found that modification of surface composition under high vacuum condition plays a key role in the low temperature dissolution processes. It has further been found that the dissolution process does not start with the thinning of the IDC phase as proposed for Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloys, rather it occurs by a combination of ‘spheroidisation’ and thinning process called ‘the thinning, discontinuation, and full dissolution’ (TDFD) mechanism. Results of the in-stu experiments under high vacuum are compared with the ex-situ dissolution experiments under normal atmospheric pressure

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles (MISEV2023): From basic to advanced approaches

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), through their complex cargo, can reflect the state of their cell of origin and change the functions and phenotypes of other cells. These features indicate strong biomarker and therapeutic potential and have generated broad interest, as evidenced by the steady year-on-year increase in the numbers of scientific publications about EVs. Important advances have been made in EV metrology and in understanding and applying EV biology. However, hurdles remain to realising the potential of EVs in domains ranging from basic biology to clinical applications due to challenges in EV nomenclature, separation from non-vesicular extracellular particles, characterisation and functional studies. To address the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly evolving field, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) updates its 'Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles', which was first published in 2014 and then in 2018 as MISEV2014 and MISEV2018, respectively. The goal of the current document, MISEV2023, is to provide researchers with an updated snapshot of available approaches and their advantages and limitations for production, separation and characterisation of EVs from multiple sources, including cell culture, body fluids and solid tissues. In addition to presenting the latest state of the art in basic principles of EV research, this document also covers advanced techniques and approaches that are currently expanding the boundaries of the field. MISEV2023 also includes new sections on EV release and uptake and a brief discussion of in vivo approaches to study EVs. Compiling feedback from ISEV expert task forces and more than 1000 researchers, this document conveys the current state of EV research to facilitate robust scientific discoveries and move the field forward even more rapidly