E-Health Systems Quality and Reliability: Models and Standards addresses the reason, principles and functionality of health and health care systems and presents a novel framework for revealing, understanding and implementing appropriate management interventions leading to qualitative improvement. It also provides evidence on the quality and reliability of telemedicine and reviews standards and guidelines for practicing medicine at a distance.

Since the original publication of Noncontact Atomic Force Microscopy in 2002, the noncontact atomic force microscope (NC-AFM) has achieved remarkable progress. This second treatment deals with the following outstanding recent results obtained with atomic resolution since then: force spectroscopy and mapping with atomic resolution; tuning fork; atomic manipulation; magnetic exchange force microscopy; atomic and molecular imaging in liquids; and other new technologies. These results and technologies are now helping evolve NC-AFM toward practical tools for characterization and manipulation of individual atoms/molecules and nanostructures with atomic/subatomic resolution. Therefore, the book exemplifies how NC-AFM has become a crucial tool for the expanding fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Written for: Scientists, practitioners, graduate students

This Springer Laboratory volume is a practical guide for scientists and students dealing with the measurement of mechanical properties of polymers at the nanoscale through AFM force-distance curves. In the first part of the book the reader will find a theoretical introduction about atomic force microscopy, focused on force-distance curves, and mechanical properties of polymers. The discussion of several practical issues concerning the acquisition and the interpretation of force-distance curves will help scientists starting to employ this technique. The second part of the book deals with the practical measurement of mechanical properties of polymers by means of AFM force-distance curves. Several "hands-on" examples are illustrated in a very detailed manner, with particular attention to the sample preparation, data analysis, and typical artefacts. This section gives a complete overview about the qualitative characterization and quantitative determination of the mechanical properties of homogeneous polymer samples, polymer brushes, polymer thin films, confined polymer samples, model blends and microstructured polymer blends through AFM force-distance curves. The book also introduces to new approaches and measurement techniques, like creep compliance and force modulation measurements, pointing out approximations, limitations and issues requiring further confirmation.

In this thesis, Claudia Backes guides the reader through her multidisciplinary research into the non-covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes in water. Although one of the most remarkable materials of the 21st century, carbon nanotubes often have limited application because of their intrinsically low solubility and polydispersity. The author shows that rational surfactant design is a powerful tool for chemists because it can unmask the key to solubilization and allow us to tailor nanotube surface and optical properties in a fully reversible fashion. Aspects of organic, physical and analytical chemistry, as well as colloidal sciences are covered in this outstanding work which brings us one step closer to exploiting this super-material to its full potential.

The thesis presents an original and smart way to manipulate liquid and polymeric materials using a "pyro-fluidic platform" which exploits the pyro-electric effect activated onto a ferroelectric crystal. It describes a great variety of functionalities of the pyro-electrohydrodynamic platform, such as droplet self-assembling and dispensing, for manipulating multiphase liquids at the micro- and nanoscale. The thesis demonstrates the feasibility of non-contact self-assembling of liquids in plane (1D) using a micro engineered crystal, improving the dispensing capability and the smart transfer of material between two different planes (2D) and controlling and fabricating three-dimensional structures (3D). The thesis present the fabrication of highly integrated and automated 'lab-on-a-chip' systems based on microfluidics. The pyro-platform presented herein offers the great advantage of enabling the actuation of liquids in contact with a polar dielectric crystal through an electrode-less configuration. The simplicity and flexibility of the method for fabricating 3D polymer microstructures shows the great potential of the pyro-platform functionalities, exploitable in many fields, from optics to biosensing. In particular, this thesis reports the fabrication of optically active elements, such as nanodroplets, microlenses and microstructures, which have many potential applications in photonics. The capability for manipulating the samples of interest in a touch-less modality is very attractive for biological and chemical assays. Besides controlling cell growth and fate, smart micro-elements could deliver optical stimuli from and to cells monitoring their growth in real time, opening interesting perspectives for the realization of optically active scaffolds made of nanoengineered functional elements, thus paving the way to fascinating Optogenesis Studies.

Joining techniques in engineering are of major importance. Innovations in the field of composites now allows design of nanomaterials with tailored properties. This book adresses techniques for similar and dissimilar joining, characterization of joint structures and damage prediction by simulation. A special focus is laid on welding of lightweight structures, which are of special economic interest for aeronautical and automotive applications.

'Recent Advances in Elastomeric Nanocomposites' reviews the recent progresses in the synthesis, processing as well as applications of elastomeric nanocomposites. Elastomers are a very important class of polymer materials and the generation of their nanocomposites by the incorporation of nano-filler has led to significant enhancement of their properties and, hence, expansion of their application potential. Most of the studies related with these materials are present in the form of research papers. Here, the authors present a comprehensive text covering the whole of the subject. The book is tailored more from the applications point of view, but also provide enough introductory material for research scholars new to this field.

"Polymeric and Nanostructured Macromolecules" presents the recent advances made in the synthesis, characterization, and applications of polymeric macromolecules.

This book provides an excellent overview of the recent breakthroughs in the science of macromolecules, with an emphasis on nanostructured macromolecules and the perspectives that these versatile materials offer to different fields such as optoelectronics and biotechnology.

Advanced undergraduate, graduate students and researchers alike will find the topics concerning physical and chemical properties of advanced macromolecular materials of great interest.

Nanodroplets, the basis of complex and advanced nanostructures such as quantum rings, quantum dots and quantum dot clusters for future electronic and optoelectronic materials and devices, have attracted the interdisciplinary interest of chemists, physicists and engineers. This book combines experimental and theoretical analyses of nanosized droplets which reveal many attractive properties. Coverage includes nanodroplet synthesis, structure, unique behaviors and their nanofabrication, including chapters on focused ion beam, atomic force microscopy, molecular beam epitaxy and the "vapor-liquid- solid" route. Particular emphasis is given to the behavior of metallic nanodroplets, water nanodroplets and nanodroplets in polymer and metamaterial nanocomposites. The contributions of leading scientists and their research groups will provide readers with deeper insight into the chemical and physical mechanisms, properties, and potential applications of various nanodroplets.

This volume discusses the great potential of metal nanoparticle catalysts for complicated molecular synthesis and reviews the current progress of this field. The development of highly active and stable heterogeneous catalysts is a crucial subject in modern science. However, development of heterogeneous catalysts for fine chemical synthesis has lagged far behind those for bulk chemical process. In recent years metal nanoparticle catalysts have been of great interest in this area due to their unique activity, ease of heterogenization, and robustness. Therefore, metal nanoparticle catalysts are an excellent candidate for the above-mentioned active and robust heterogeneous catalysts and this book provides an overview of this area. The present volume summarizes recent progress on nanoparticle catalysis for various organic transformations from simple redox reactions to complex asymmetric C-C bond forming reactions and also presents seminal studies on new technologies. It comprehensively summarizes advances in metal nanoparticle catalysis across several aspects including reaction manners, mechanistic investigations and new synthetic methodologies to encourage the use of metal nanoparticle catalysts for future organic synthesis. This volume will be of interest to students, researchers and professionals focused on the next-generation of fine chemical synthesis.

This book is devoted to nanomicrobiology and the nanosystems of bacteria. The initial chapter discusses some of the controversies in the geochemical and biomedical fields associated with the reports of nanobacteria in the environment. Current knowledge of several internal and surface structures of bacteria is addressed in this book. Included are chapters discussing carboxysomes, S-layers, gliding motility of bacteria, and aggregation of iron to produce nano-magnetite. Information about the activities of outer membrane vesicles produced by Gram-negative bacteria is discussed as a benefit to bacteria that produce it and some potential industrial applications are presented. A broad review of bacterial-mineral interactions is addressed in a chapter of metallic nanoparticles and colloids production by bacterial reduction of soluble redox active elements. The structures of bacterial nanowires are discussed and their application in extra-cellular electron transport is reviewed. Nanomotor activities of bacteria are discussed as pertains to the mechanics of flagellar rotation, production of energy by ATP synthase, DNA packing, and translocation of proteins across membranes by secretion systems. The rapidly evolving field of nanosystem technology is embracing many areas, and it is the hope that this book will stimulate the use of bacterial nanostructures for future developments in nanotechnology.

This text book will bring together a mix of both internationally known and established senior scientists along side up and coming (but already accomplished) junior scientists that have varying expertise in fundamental and applied nanotechnology to biology and medicine.

The commercial availability and decreasing cost of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes in recent years has opened up the field to everybody who wishes to apply these unique properties in their own technologies. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive overview of these applications, and covers the synthesis, characterization and history of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes, their use as metallasilsesquioxane catalysts, their effect upon polymer properties and plastics performance, and their use in superhydrophobic nanocomposites, and electronics, energy, space and biomedical applications. "Applications of Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes" is a valuable reference for those working across a range of disciplines, including chemists, materials scientists, polymer physicists, plastics engineers, surface scientists, and anybody with a commercial or academic interest in plastics, composite materials, space materials, dental materials, tissue engineering, drug delivery, lithography, fuel cells, batteries, lubricants, or liquid crystal, LED, sensor, photovoltaic or biomedical devices.

Magnetic nanocatalysts are becoming an important tool for greener catalytic processes in chemical transformations in view of the ease of their removal from a reaction medium. This book explores assorted magnetic nanocatalysts, their deployment in synthesis, chemical transformation and their recovery and reuse. Various thematic topics embodied include magnetic nanocatalysts for S-S bond formation, N-heterocycle formation, C-heteroatom bond formation, silica-supported catalysts, multicomponent reactions, including their recyclability; another available volume emphasizes the utility of magnetic nanocatalysts in industrial appliances.

The book highlights recent developments in the field of biomedical sensors with a focus on technology and design aspects of novel sensors and sensor systems. Diagnosis plays a central role in healthcare and requires a variety of novel biomedical sensors and sensor systems. This creates an enormous ongoing demand for sensors for both the everyday life as well as for medical care. Technologies concerning the analysis of human activities as well as for the early detection of diseases are moving into the focus of interest and form the basis for supporting human health and quality of life. As such, the book offers a key reference guide about novel medical sensors and systems for students, engineers, sensors designers and technicians.

This book delivers a deep insight into thermal polymer degradation features and put a particular emphasis on blends, composites and nanocomposites. It examines the thermal stability and the mechanism of degrading for every class of polymer substances and studies the effect on reinforcement to all classes. The book further explores the thermal stability when nano particles are added and summarizes the latest studies and application relevant results. This book offers a valuable reference source to graduate and post graduate students, engineering students, research scholars and polymer engineers from industry.

This book represents the first comprehensive overview over amorphous nano-optical and nano-photonic systems. Nanophotonics is a burgeoning branch of optics that enables many applications by steering the mould of light on length scales smaller than the wavelength with devoted nanostructures. Amorphous nanophotonics exploits self-organization mechanisms based on bottom-up approaches to fabricate nanooptical systems. The resulting structures presented in the book are characterized by a deterministic unit cell with tailored geometries; but their spatial arrangement is not controlled. Instead of periodic, the structures appear either amorphous or random. The aim of this book is to discuss all aspects related to observable effects in amorphous nanophotonic material and aspects related to their design, fabrication, characterization and integration into applications. The book has an interdisciplinary nature with contributions from scientists in physics, chemistry and materials sciences and sheds light on the topic from many directions.

This book deals with all aspects of plasmonics, basics, applications and advanced developments. Plasmonics is an emerging field of research dedicated to the resonant interaction of light with metals. The light/matter interaction is strongly enhanced at a nanometer scale which sparks a keen interest of a wide scientific community and offers promising applications in pharmacology, solar energy, nanocircuitry or also light sources. The major breakthroughs of this field of research originate from the recent advances in nanotechnology, imaging and numerical modelling. The book is divided into three main parts: extended surface plasmons polaritons propagating on metallic surfaces, surface plasmons localized on metallic particles, imaging and nanofabrication techniques. The reader will find in the book: Principles and recent advances of plasmonics, a complete description of the physics of surface plasmons, a historical survey with emphasize on the emblematic topic of Wood's anomaly, an overview of modern applications of molecular plasmonics and an extensive description of imaging and fabrications techniques.

This book describes a series of contemporary techniques and their combinations used for CNTs solubilization, from physical to chemical and biological, applying inorganic and organic compounds, as well as some metal complexes. In some cases, successive steps can be applied, for instance the use of low and high-weight surfactants, or mineral acid treatment for creation of -OH and -COOH groups and their further interaction with organic molecules. Each discussed method leads to an improvement of CNT solubility, frequently a considerable one. The formed dispersions can be stable for long periods of time, from several weeks to some months, and they sometimes even remain stable after centrifugation. Several special studies have been carried out in the areas of influence of solvent and light on CNTs dispersibility, combinations and abilities of surfactants, CNT cytotoxicity, etc. Applications of solubilized CNTs are discussed in this book as well.

This book presents a thorough discussion of the physics, biology, chemistry and medicinal science behind a new and important area of materials science and engineering: polymer nanocomposites. The tremendous opportunities of polymer nanocomposites in the biomedical field arise from their multitude of applications and their ability to satisfy the vastly different functional requirements for each of these applications. In the biomedical field, a polymer nanocomposite system must meet certain design and functional criteria, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, mechanical properties, and, in some cases, aesthetic demands. The content of this book builds on what has been learnt in elementary courses about synthesising polymers, different nanoparticles, polymer composites, biomedical requirements, uses of polymer nanocomposites in medicine as well as medical devices and the major mechanisms involved during each application. The impact of hybrid nanofillers and synergistic composite mixtures which are used extensively or show promising outcomes in the biomedical field are also discussed. These novel materials vary from inorganic/ceramic-reinforced nanocomposites for mechanical property improvement to peptide-based nanomaterials, with the chemistry designed to render the entire material biocompatible.

This thesis focuses on the bottom-up design, construction and operation of supramolecular systems capable of behaving as devices and machines on the molecular scale, which is a topic of great interest in nanoscience and a fascinating challenge in nanotechnology. In particular, the systems investigated here include: polyviologen dendrimers capable of behaving as hosts and chargestoring devices; molecular machines based on pseudorotaxanes/rotaxanes and operated by photoinduced proton transfer, or photoisomerization reactions; and a simple unimolecular multiplexer/demultiplexer. The systems have been characterized using a variety of techniques including absorption and emission spectra, laser flash photolysis, NMR spectroscopy, electrochemical experiments, stopped flow measurements. This research addresses a large number of open problems in the nanosciences, dealing with a wide range of the most advanced applications of supramolecular systems.

Dielectric Polymer Nanocomposites provides the first in-depth discussion of nano-dielectrics, an emerging and fast moving topic in electrical insulation. The text begins with an overview of the background, principles and promise of nanodielectrics, followed by a discussion of the processing of nanocomposites and then proceeds with special considerations of clay based processes, mechanical, thermal and electric properties and surface properties as well as erosion resistance. Carbon nanotubes are discussed as a means of creation of non linear conductivity, the text concludes with a industrial applications perspective.

In recent years, micro- and nanotechnologies became key technologies, having a significant effect on the development of new products and production technologies, as well as on novel medical diagnosis and treatment methods. Moreover, due to their enormous potential for new applications, micro- and nanotechnologies, in future, will increasingly affect our every days life, with an impact, comparable to that of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, or the developments in microelectronics in the 20th century.

Although, micro- and nanotechnologies, in general, are regarded as two independent disciplines, there is obviously an intense interaction between these two fascinating technologies. The term "MicroNano Integration," in this context, addresses the enormous potential of synergy effects, provided by the combination and mutual integration of micro- and nanotechnological elements.

In order to discuss the integration aspects of micro- and nanotechnologies, the "International Forum on MicroNano Integration," a conference, held in Potsdam, Germany on December 3-4, 2003 brought together researchers from both communities - from industries as well as from scientific institutions. The contributions to this book reflect the discussions during the conference.

This book focuses on corrosion and microbial corrosion, providing solutions for these problems based on nanotechnology and nanobiotechnology. It introduces the causes, consequences, cost and control of corrosion processes. It gives a particular emphasis on microbial corrosion of steel and other metals in oil, gas and shipping industries. The book presents the materials vulnerable to such kind of corrosion, and the use of nanomaterials to control it.