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Emission spectra from multiply-charged Sn5+–Sn10+ ions are recorded from an electron beam ion trap (EBIT) and from laser-produced plasma (LPP) in the extreme ultraviolet range relevant for nanolithographic applications. Features in the wavelength regime between 12.6 and 20.8 nm are studied. Using the Cowan code, emission line features of the charge-state-resolved Sn ion spectra obtained from the EBIT are identified. Emission features from tin LPP either from a liquid micro-droplet or planar solid target are subsequently identified and assigned to specific charge states using the EBIT data. For the planar solid tin target, the 4d–5p transitions of Sn8+–Sn10+ ions are shown to dominate the long-wavelength part of the measured spectrum and transitions of type 4d–4f + 4p–4d are visible in absorption. For the droplet target case, a clear increase in the charge state distribution with increasing laser intensity is observed. This qualitatively demonstrates the potential of using long-wavelength out-of-band emission features to probe the charge states contributing to the strong unresolved transition array at 13.5 nm relevant for nanolithography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Li–air batteries ideally make use of oxygen from the atmosphere and metallic lithium to reversibly drive the reaction 2Li + O2↑ Li2O2. Conceptually, energy throughput is high and material use is efficient, but practically many material challenges still remain. It is of particular interest to control the electrolyte environment of superoxide (O2*−) to promote or hinder specific reaction mechanisms. By combining density functional theory based molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) and DFT simulations we probe the bond length and the electronic properties of O2*− in three aprotic solvents – in the presence of Li+ or the much larger cation alternative tetrabutylammonium (TBA+). Contact ion pairs, LiO2*, are favoured over solvent-separated ion pairs in all solvents, but particularly in low permittivity dimethoxyethane (DME), which makes O2*− more prone to further reduction. The Li+–O2*− interactions are dampened in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), in relation to those in DME and propylene carbonate (PC), which is reflected by smaller changes in the electronic properties of O2*− in DMSO. The additive TBA+ offers an alternative, more weakly interacting partner to O2*−, which makes it easier to remove the unpaired electron and oxidation more feasible. In DMSO, TBA+ has close to no effect on O2*−, which behaves as if no cation is present. This is contrasted by a much stronger influence of TBA+ on O2*− in DME – comparable to that of Li+ in DMSO. An important future goal is to compare and rank the effects of different additives beyond TBA+. Here, the results of DFT calculations for small-sized cluster models are in qualitative agreement with those of the DFT-MD simulations, which suggests the cluster approach to be a cost-effective alternative to the DFT-MD simulations for a more extensive comparison of additive effects in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author's discuss aspects of the article "Transport and Electrochemical Properties and Spectral Features of Non-Aqueous Electrolytes Containing LiFSI in Linear Carbonate Solvents" in a 2011 issue of the "Journal of the Electrochemical Society." They note that the acronym used to describe density functional theory, DFT, was misleadingly expressed as discrete fourier transform and that the reported minimum energy structure for the ion-pair LiFSI is not the global minimum.

Scaling up the manufacture of cell therapies can be complex and challenging. Maintaining critical quality attributes of the cell product during its final formulation and fill-finish into multiple containers can be especially difficult and laborious. Here, we tested the automated Finia™ Fill and Finish System to efficiently scale up the formulation and fill-finish of a T cell product, and then assessed cell quality and product consistency across different sub-lots filled during this expanded process. We found that this automated system could be effectively scaled to 4 times its singular capacity in a 2-h time interval, with variation in cell number and product volume less than 12% across all containers. Analysis of the different sub-lots of the final product revealed high cell viability and consistent T cell phenotype, with a high proportion of effector memory and central memory T cells and low expression of T cell senescence and exhaustion markers. The functionality of the T cell product was compared by measuring cytokine response after restimulation, with secreted levels of effector cytokines like IFN-γ and TNF-α being similar across the different sub-lots. Collectively, these results show that automation can scale up the formulation and fill-finish of a cell manufacturing process while maintaining the phenotype and functionality of the cell product. Better understanding of how to maintain product uniformity and quality during final manufacturing is important to the further scale-up and development of successful cell therapies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors are paid employees of Charles River Laboratories Inc. or Terumo BCT, as indicated by the author affiliations. The authors report no other conflict of interest beyond these respective employments., (Copyright © 2024 International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Initiation of celiac disease is triggered in the gastrointestinal tract by transglutaminase 2 (TG2) assisted deamidation of gluten peptides. Deamidation is a side-reaction to transamidation and occurs if primary amines are absent. In contrast to deamidation, transamidation does not trigger an immune response. The aim of the study was to identify a suitable food additive that interacts with TG2 binding motives in gluten-derived peptides to prevent deamidation/transamidation. Homology modelling of α2-gliadin and computational screening of compounds for their binding affinity to a common TG2 binding motive (P)QLP were done by using computational approaches followed by experimental testing of TG2 activity. A database containing 1174 potential food grade ligands was screened against the model of α2-gliadin (27 out of 33 aa). Out of the five best ligands, ascorbyl palmitate, was observed to decrease TG2 transamidation of gliadin by 82% ± 2%. To completely silence the transamidation, we added zinc chloride (ZnCl 2 ), and thereby reached a 99% ± 1% inhibition of TG2 activity. In addition, we conducted a pilot experiment in which ascorbyl palmitate was observed to decrease TG2 deamidation of gliadin completely. We propose ascorbyl palmitate in combination with ZnCl 2 with the future perspective to become an additive in celiac-safe foods.

We investigate Li + coordination in mixed electrolytes based on ionic liquids (ILs) and organic solvents and its relation with the macroscopic properties such as phase behaviour and ionic conductivity. Using Raman spectroscopy we determine the solvation shell around Li + in mixtures formed by the IL N-butyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, the organic solvents ethylene carbonate and dimethyl carbonate (EC : DMC 1 : 1), and the salt LiTFSI. We find that the organic solvent molecules preferentially solvate Li + as long as there are enough of them. Our results are consistent with a model where Li(EC) 3 (DMC) 1 and Li(EC) 2 (DMC) 2 are the main complexes formed by the organic solvent molecules and where TFSI - mainly participates in Li(TFSI) 2 - clusters. As the amount of organic solvent is increased, the number of TFSI - around Li + rapidly decreases showing a higher affinity of the organic solvents to solvate Li + . The changes in the local configurations are also reflected in the ionic conductivity and the phase behaviour. The formation of larger clusters leads to a decrease in the conductivity, whereas the presence of several different clusters at intermediate compositions effectively hinders crystallization at low temperatures. The result is an enhanced low-temperature ionic conductivity in comparison with the pure IL or organic solvent electrolytes.

Confocal Raman spectra of a lithium-sulfur battery electrolyte are recorded operando in a depth-of-discharge resolved manner for an electrochemical cell with a realistic electrolyte/sulfur loading ratio. The evolution of various possible polysulfides is unambiguously identified by combining Raman spectroscopy data with DFT simulations., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Herein, we developed a high-performance lithium ion conducting hybrid solid electrolyte, consisted of LiTFSI salt, Py14 TFSI ionic liquid, and TiO2 nanoparticles. The hybrid solid electrolyte prepared by a facile method had high room temperature ionic conductivity, excellent thermal stability and low interface resistance with good contact. In addition, the lithium transference number was highly increased by the scavenger effect of TiO2 nanoparticles. With the hybrid solid electrolyte, the pouch-type solid-state battery exhibited high initial discharge capacity of 150 mA h g(-1) at room temperature, and even at 1 C, the reversible capacity was as high as 106 mA h g(-1) ., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

We investigate the ionic conductivities, phase behaviors, conformational states, and interactions of three ionic liquids based on imidazolium cations and phosphonate anions with varying alkyl chain lengths. All three ionic liquids show high conductivities, with 1,3-dimethylimidazolium methyl-phosphonate [DiMIm(MeO)(H)PO2] being the most conductive (7.3 × 10(-3) S cm(-1) at 298 K). The high ionic conductivities are a result of the low glass-transition temperatures, Tg, which do not change significantly upon changing the cation and/or anion size. However, there is a slight dependence of the temperature behavior of the conductivity on the size of the ions, as seen from the fragility parameter (D) obtained from fits to the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann equation. The molecular-level structure and interactions of the phosphonate anions were examined by Raman spectroscopy and first-principles calculations. The calculations identify two stable conformations for the methyl- and ethyl-phosphonate anions by rotation of the methyl and ethyl groups, respectively. The broad Raman signatures of the anions suggest the coexistence of two anion conformers in the ionic liquids and non-negligible cation-anion interactions, with a dependence on the position and shape of the bands of the cation species and the alkyl group of the anion.