Thin films of (Ta 2O 5) 0.85(TiO 2) 0.15 were deposited on quartz and p-Si substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering at different substrate temperatures (T s) in the range 303 - 873 K. The films deposited at 303 0K were in the amorphous and it transformed to crystalline at substrate temperatures ≥ 573 0K. The crystallite size was increased from 50 nm to 72 nm with the increase of substrate temperature. The surface morphology was significantly influenced with the substrate temperature. After deposition of the (Ta 2O 5) 0.85(TiO 2) 0.15 films on Si, aluminium (Al) electrode was deposited to fabricate metal/oxide/semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with a configuration of Al/(Ta 2O 5) 0.85(TiO 2) 0.15/Si. A low leakage current of 7.7 × 10 -5 A/cm 2 was obtained from the films deposited at 303 K. The leakage current was decreased to 9.3 × 10 -8 A/cm 2 with the increase of substrate temperature owing to structural changes. The conduction mechanism of the Al/(Ta 2O 5) 0.85(TiO 2) 0.15/Si capacitors was analyzed and compared with mechanisms of Poole-Frenkel and Schottky emissions. The optical band gap (E g) was decreased from 4.45 eV to 4.38 eV with the increase in substrate temperature. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

Indium molybdenum oxide (IMO) thin films were radio-frequency (RF) sputtered at room temperature (RT) and studied as a function of base pressure (BP). The crystallinity of the films is decreased with the increase in BP. A maximum mobility (μ) of 49.6 cm 2 V -1 s -1 was obtained from the IMO films deposited at RT without any post-annealing treatment. The electronic behaviour of the deposited films was investigated by temperature-dependent (100-550 K) Hall measurements. Study on the scattering mechanisms based on the experimental data and theoretical models show that the ionized scattering centres are dominating. The films possess wide work function (4.91 eV) and high transmittance (> 70%) over visible and near infrared (NIR) range. The obtained results, especially the high work function and NIR transmittance, are very promising particularly in applications such as optical detectors and solar cells. Copyright © EPLA, 2012.

Cellulosomes are highly elaborate multi-enzyme complexes of Carbohydrate Active enZYmes (CAZYmes) secreted by cellulolytic microorganisms, which very effectively degrade the most abundant polymers on Earth, cellulose and hemicelluloses. Cellulosome assembly requires that a non-catalytic dockerin module found in cellulosomal enzymes binds to one of the various cohesin domains located in a large molecular scaffold called Scaffoldin. A diversity of cohesin -dockerin binding specificities have been described, the combination of which may result in complex plant cell wall degrading systems, maximising the synergy between enzymes in order to improve catalytic efficiency. Structural studies have allowed the spatial flexibility inherent to the cellulosomal system to be determined. Recent progress achieved from the study of the fundamental cohesin and dockerin units involved in cellulosome assembly will be reviewed.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of the most serious infectious diseases in the world and the rate of new cases continues to increase. The development of cheap and simple methodologies capable of identifying TB causing agents belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex (MTBC), at point-of-need, in particular in resource-poor countries where the main TB epidemics are observed, is of paramount relevance for the timely and effective diagnosis and management of patients. TB molecular diagnostics, aimed at reducing the time of laboratory diagnostics from weeks to days, still require specialised technical personnel and labour intensive methods. Recent nanotechnology-based systems have been proposed to circumvent these limitations. Here, we report on a paper-based platform capable of integrating a previously developed Au-nanoprobe based MTBC detection assay - we call it "Gold on Paper". The Au-nanoprobe assay is processed and developed on a wax-printed microplate paper platform, allowing unequivocal identification of MTBC members and can be performed without specialised laboratory equipment. Upon integration of this Au-nanoprobe colorimetric assay onto the 384-microplate, differential colour scrutiny may be captured and analysed with a generic "smartphone" device. This strategy uses the mobile device to digitalise the intensity of the colour associated with each colorimetric assay, perform a Red Green Blue (RGB) analysis and transfer relevant information to an off-site lab, thus allowing for efficient diagnostics. Integration of the GPS location metadata of every test image may add a new dimension of information, allowing for real-time epidemiologic data on MTBC identification. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.