Indium-tin oxide (ITO) is commonly used as the transparent electrode in organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. ITO's transparent properties come at the expense of less than ideal electrode characteristics arising from insulating over-oxidized surface species. OPVs fabricated on the native ITO surface tend to exhibit poor performance with a high degree of variability from device to device. Aggressive acid etching of the ITO surface removes the majority of the insulating surface species leading to improvements in OPV efficiency with greater reproducibility and increased device to device consistency.Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) are planar electroluminescent light sources that naturally couple a portion of their emission into internally reflected modes within the device substrate. Although this coupling property is well known, few attempts have been made to integrate OLEDs as light sources for internal reflection elements. Furthermore, OPVs share the optical coupling properties of OLEDs and therefore can be used as integrated internal reflection detectors. Integrating both an OLED light source and an OPV detector onto the same substrate results in an internal reflection sensing platform that requires no free-space optics, has low power consumption requirements, and can be easily fabricated on substrates occupying an area less than one square inch. In this work we establish a functional prototype design, characterize the fundamental coupling properties, and demonstrate several surface sensing responses of this fully integrated optical sensing platform.The net solar power production from OPVs arises from the interactions between multiple currents through the device. The photocurrent is the only power producing current in the device and understanding the voltage dependent nature of this current is essential in OPV research. Analysis methods of conventional, inorganic photovoltaics do not adequately describe the photocurrent behavior commonly observed in OPVs. OPV analysis is therefore somewhat limited by the methods commonly employed. To improve upon the convention methods we develop a simplified method of OPV photocurrent analysis based on electrochemical methods that accurately describes the voltage dependence of the photocurrent and leads to greater insight into the key parameters involved in solar power production from OPVs.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) conjugated to nuclear localization sequences (NLS) and labeled with Auger electron-emitters have great potential for targeted radiotherapy of cancer. This approach may be especially appropriate for the 25-30% of patients with breast cancer whose tumors display overexpression of HER2. Trastuzumab (Herceptin) is a humanized anti-HER2 mAb approved for immunotherapy of HER2-amplified breast cancer. The goal of this research was to radiolabel trastuzumab with [111]In, and to modify it with peptides harboring the NLS (CGYGPKKKRKVGG) of the simian virus 40 large-T antigen for targeted radiotherapy of breast cancer. It was hypothesized that the NLS-peptides would mediate the translocation of covalently linked [111]In-trastuzumab molecules into the nuclei of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells where subcellular-range Auger electrons are most damaging to DNA and lethal to cells. Trastuzumab was derivatized with sulfosuccinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl)-cyclohexane-1-carboxylate for reaction with NLS-peptides and labeled with [111]In using diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid. The dissociation constant for binding of [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab to HER2-overexpressing SK-BR-3 human breast cancer cells was reduced < 3-fold compared to [111]In-trastuzumab, demonstrating relatively preserved receptor-binding affinity. The NLS-peptides did not affect the biodistribution of [111]In-trastuzumab, but promoted its nuclear uptake in HER2-overexpressing MDA-MB-361 xenografts. The cytotoxicity of [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab on breast cancer cells correlated with their HER2 expression. Moreover, [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab was 2-fold and 5-fold more potent at killing MDA-MB-361 and SK-BR-3 cells compared to [111]In-trastuzumab, and nearly 3-fold and 6-fold more effective than unlabeled trastuzumab, respectively. Methotrexate is a known radiosensitizer that can amplify the lethal effects of ionizing radiation on tumor cells. Non-cytotoxic, but radiosensitizing doses of methotrexate were therefore combined with [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab; this enhanced the sensitivity of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells to [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab. The blood t1/2 of [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab in non-tumor bearing BALB/c mice was 23-34 h when administered intravenously or intraperitoneally. The maximum tolerated dose was 9.2-18.5 MBq; doses >18.5 MBq caused decreased leukocyte and platelet counts. [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab exhibited strong anti-tumor effects against HER2-overexpressing MDA-MB-361 xenografts, reducing their growth rate 2-fold and 3-fold compared to mice administered [111]In-trastuzumab or unlabeled trastuzumab, respectively. These promising results suggest that [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab may be a useful Auger electron radioimmunotherapeutic agent for HER2-positive breast cancer in humans.

In the present study, dilute alloys in the Mg-rich corner of the Mg-Ce-In ternary system in the composition range 0 to 3% In and 0 to 1.5% Ce were synthesized. Cooling curve analysis was used to determine the liquidus points in order to construct the liquidus surface of the ternary phase diagram in the Mg corner. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS), and x-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to examine phases present at the compositions studied. A thermal arrest presumed to represent a eutectic transformation was discovered at 580°C. Two new intermetallic compounds, designated tau and theta, were found. Trace silicon present in the alloys was found to concentrate in one of the intermetallic compounds. / To further investigate these compounds, an induction furnace was used to synthesize alloys containing the concentrations of Ce and In seen in electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA) examinations of these compounds. The alloys were examined using the cooling curve technique and XRD, and proved to contain the compounds already observed with some variation in dissolved indium content. In addition, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to confirm the liquidus and solidus values determined using cooling curve analysis. / A diffusion couple with terminal compositions of pure Ce and a Mg-In alloy was prepared in order to determine the equilibrium phases present in the system between these two compositions at 390°C. EPMA was used to identify the zones obtained, and confirmed the presence of several Mg-Ce compounds with 1 at% dissolved indium, as well as a ternary compound corresponding to the theta compound found in the dilute alloys. / Finally, literature values and experimental data were used to calculate a preliminary ternary phase diagram using FACTSage, in collaboration with the CTRC at Ecole Polytechnique, in order to affirm the validity of the experimentally determined values as well as to project the diagram beyond the studied composition range.

No description available.

The conduction band of InAs lies lower in energy than the GaSb valence band. In order to preserve continuity of the Fermi level across the interface, charge transfer takes place resulting in a confined quasi two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the InAs and a confined quasi two dimensional hole gas (2DHG) in the GaSb. This study is an investigation into the vertical transport in an n-InAs/p-GaSb single heterojunction (SHET). Application of a forward bias (InAs negative with respect to GaSb) increases the 2DEG and 2DHG concentrations and, therefore, their confinement energies. Eventually a critical bias is reached where the electron confinement energy moves above the hole confinement energy (the theoretical voltage induced semimetal/semiconductor transition V_c). Any subsequent increase in voltage is expected to result in a current decrease, and a region of negative differential resistance (NDR) should occur. The SHET can be grown with two distinct interface types, 'InSb-like' and 'GaAs-like'. This in turn affects the vertical transport characteristics of each type. Experimental IV traces at various pressures are compared with the corresponding results from sophisticated self-consistent band profile calculations taking into account band mixing effects for the first time through a k.p theory framework. Experimental IV traces of the SHETs under a magnetic field parallel to the interface are also compared with results from calculations that take into account the coupling of the growth and in-plane electron and heavy hole motions. Both sets of analysis support earlier conclusions that NDR occurs after V_c for both interfaces, and that each interface supports a different conduction mechanism. Evidence of multiple phonon processes occurring in both sample types is observed for the first time and is proposed to reconcile the above experimental observations with theory. This data is found to offer explanations for a number of other observations. Field perpendicular to the interface leads to the observation of features beyond the NDR region in both sample types. In samples with an 'InSb-like' interface, applying additional hydrostatic pressure leads to very strong features beyond the main NDR. Through a complex self-consistent decoupled model taking into account electrons and heavy holes, all these features are proposed to be due to a filling of an integer number of Landau levels. The band profile is predicted to alter dramatically at this point. The same model explains the observation of weaker features at 1 bar at high fields (~ 40T). A variation of NDR position is found with a rotation of an-plane field.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) conjugated to nuclear localization sequences (NLS) and labeled with Auger electron-emitters have great potential for targeted radiotherapy of cancer. This approach may be especially appropriate for the 25-30% of patients with breast cancer whose tumors display overexpression of HER2. Trastuzumab (Herceptin) is a humanized anti-HER2 mAb approved for immunotherapy of HER2-amplified breast cancer. The goal of this research was to radiolabel trastuzumab with [111]In, and to modify it with peptides harboring the NLS (CGYGPKKKRKVGG) of the simian virus 40 large-T antigen for targeted radiotherapy of breast cancer. It was hypothesized that the NLS-peptides would mediate the translocation of covalently linked [111]In-trastuzumab molecules into the nuclei of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells where subcellular-range Auger electrons are most damaging to DNA and lethal to cells. Trastuzumab was derivatized with sulfosuccinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl)-cyclohexane-1-carboxylate for reaction with NLS-peptides and labeled with [111]In using diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid. The dissociation constant for binding of [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab to HER2-overexpressing SK-BR-3 human breast cancer cells was reduced < 3-fold compared to [111]In-trastuzumab, demonstrating relatively preserved receptor-binding affinity. The NLS-peptides did not affect the biodistribution of [111]In-trastuzumab, but promoted its nuclear uptake in HER2-overexpressing MDA-MB-361 xenografts. The cytotoxicity of [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab on breast cancer cells correlated with their HER2 expression. Moreover, [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab was 2-fold and 5-fold more potent at killing MDA-MB-361 and SK-BR-3 cells compared to [111]In-trastuzumab, and nearly 3-fold and 6-fold more effective than unlabeled trastuzumab, respectively. Methotrexate is a known radiosensitizer that can amplify the lethal effects of ionizing radiation on tumor cells. Non-cytotoxic, but radiosensitizing doses of methotrexate were therefore combined with [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab; this enhanced the sensitivity of HER2-overexpressing breast cancer cells to [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab. The blood t1/2 of [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab in non-tumor bearing BALB/c mice was 23-34 h when administered intravenously or intraperitoneally. The maximum tolerated dose was 9.2-18.5 MBq; doses >18.5 MBq caused decreased leukocyte and platelet counts. [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab exhibited strong anti-tumor effects against HER2-overexpressing MDA-MB-361 xenografts, reducing their growth rate 2-fold and 3-fold compared to mice administered [111]In-trastuzumab or unlabeled trastuzumab, respectively. These promising results suggest that [111]In-NLS-trastuzumab may be a useful Auger electron radioimmunotherapeutic agent for HER2-positive breast cancer in humans.

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. 70-73)

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-133). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2005. / Supervisor: Daniel Cassidy. Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-211).

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- McMaster University, 2000. / [Lámbdha] and [micron] in title are Greek letters. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-114). Also available via World Wide Web.