Browsing by Author "Puskar, L"

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    Cultural heritage project at Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)
    (Springer Nature, 2022-01-25) Salvemini, F; White, R; Levchenko, VA; Smith, AM; Pastuovic, Z; Stopic, A; Luzin, V; Tobin, MJ; Puskar, L; Howard, DL; Davis, J; Avdeev, M; Gatenby, S; Kim, MJ; Grazzi, F; Sheedy, K; Olsen, SR; Raymond, CA; Lord, C; Richards, C; Bevitt, JJ; Popelka-Filcoff, RS; Lenehan, CE; Ives, S; Dredge, P; Yip, A; Brookhouse, MT; Austin, AG
    The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) is the home of Australia’s most significant landmark and national infrastructure for research. ANSTO operates one of the world’s most modern nuclear research reactors, OPAL; a comprehensive suite of neutron beam instruments; the Australian Synchrotron; the Electron Microscope Facility; and the Center for Accelerator Science. Over the years, the suite of nuclear methods available across ANSTO’s campuses has been increasingly applied to study a wide range of heritage materials. Since 2015 the strategic research project on cultural heritage was initiated in order to promote access to ANSTO’s capabilities and expertise, unique in the region, by cultural institution and researchers. This chapter offers a compendium of ANSTO nuclear capabilities most frequently applied to cultural heritage research. A series of innovative, interdisciplinary, and multi-technique studies conducted in close collaboration with Australian museums, institutions, and universities is also showcased. It includes research on dating Aboriginal Australian rock art and fingerprinting the sources of ochre pigments; rediscovering the technological knowledge in the making of early coinage and ancient weapons; virtually unwrapping the content of votive mummies from ancient Egypt; and investigating and restoring the original layer of a painting that can be explored by the museum audience in a novel type of exhibition based on an immersive, interactive, and virtual environment. © 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
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    Deuterated polymers for probing phase separation using infrared microspectroscopy
    (ACS Publications, 2013-12-23) Russell, RA; Darwish, TA; Puskar, L; Martin, DE; Holden, PJ; Foster, LJR
    Infrared (IR) microspectroscopy has the capacity to determine the extent of phase separation in polymer blends. However, a major limitation in the use of this technique has been its reliance on overlapping peaks in the IR spectra to differentiate between polymers of similar chemical compositions in blends. The objective of this study was to evaluate the suitability of deuteration of one mixture component to separate infrared (IR) absorption bands and provide image contrast in phase separated materials. Deuteration of poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) (PHO) was achieved via microbial biosynthesis using deuterated substrates, and the characteristic C–D stretching vibrations provided distinct signals completely separated from the C–H signals of protonated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). Phase separation was observed in 50:50 (% w/w) blends as domains up to 100 μm through the film cross sections, consistent with earlier reports of phase separation observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of freeze-fractured protonated polymer blends. The presence of deuterated phases throughout the film suggests there is some miscibility at smaller length scales, which increased with increasing PHB content. These investigations indicate that biodeuteration combined with IR microspectroscopy represents a useful tool for mapping the phase behavior of polymer blends.
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    Micrometer-Scale 2D Mapping of the Composition and Homogeneity of Polymer Inclusion Membranes
    (CSIRO Publishing, 2011) St John, AM; Best, SP; Wang, YD; Tobin, MJ; Puskar, L; Siegele, R; Cattrall, RW; Kolev, SD
    A new method for determining variations in composition at the micrometer level of polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) using synchrotron-based Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) microspectrometry is described and used to investigate the relationship between PIM composition and the reproducibility of formation of optically clear, 'homogeneous' polymer membranes. Membranes based on Aliquat 336 and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid and PVC, and Aliquat 336 and cellulose triacetate give highly reproducible PIMs with excellent optical properties which are chemically homogeneous on the micrometer scale. The close relationship between the spatial distribution of the extractant in the PIM and the extracted species was demonstrated by proton-induced X-ray emission microspectrometry (mu-PIXE) examination of chemically homogeneous membranes loaded with uranium. There is a high correlation between the homogeneity of the distributions of extracted uranium, polymer, and extractant, both on the surface of the PIM and over its cross-section. This approach provides a quantitative basis for the evaluation and optimization of PIMs and similar composite materials. © 2011, CSIRO Publishing
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    Research in art and archaeology: capabilities and investigations at the Australian Synchrotron
    (Taylor & Francis, 2019-11-26) Brand, HEA; Howard, DL; Huntley, J; Kappen, P; Masimenko, A; Paterson, DJ; Puskar, L; Tobin, MJ
    In the Australian Synchrotron's short history, we have made some important advances in instruments and capabilities that can be employed to study art and archaeology. In this article, we describe the capabilities at the Australian Synchrotron that are well-suited to investigating art, archaeology, and cultural heritage. We also present some case studies that demonstrate the breadth and impact of science that has been performed by researchers using these capabilities. Synchrotron radiation has many advantages that make it ideally suited to investigating art, archaeology and cultural heritage. The broad spectrum of radiation that can be employed and, in particular, the penetrating nature of the radiation at hard X-ray energies give the ability to conduct 3D reconstruction with tomography. In many cases, the techniques can be non-destructive and performed in situ. The intense infrared radiation allows infrared microscopy at diffraction-limited resolution and the recently developed attenuated total internal reflection mode can probe the surface of very delicate samples. In the following, we describe the relevant beamlines, their capabilities, and then illustrate with some key examples of research, from paleobotany to the investigation of paintings. © 2019 Informa UK Limited
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    Synchrotron infrared micro-spectroscopy of single cells at the Australian Synchrotron
    (Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Society, 2016-02-04) Bambery, KR; Tobin, MJ; Puskar, L; Martin, D; Vongsvivut, JP
    Infrared Microspectroscopy is increasingly revealing valuable bio-chemical information of biological and biomedical systems beyond the tissue level at the single cell level. At the Australian Synchrotron Infrared Microscopy beamline, FTIR spectroscopy provides sensitive molecular fingerprinting for tissues and cells without the need for sample pre-treatment with stains or external markers. Due to the brightness of a synchrotron source, good signal to noise at high spatial resolution (diffraction limited) can routinely be performed at the single cell level. In the study of live microbiological systems the principal restriction on the application of infrared microspectroscopy is the strong absorbance by water in the region of 1650 cm-1, overlaying the Amide I absorption band of proteins. The combination of a highly focused synchrotron beam with liquid cells constructed with microfabricated spacers of 6 to 8 microns in thickness have enabled complete mid-IR spectra to be obtained of single live cells under aqueous media within short scan times. Some applications include analysis of spectral changes in normal single living cells, diagnosing different disease states, discrimination of cell types and monitoring the effects of drug treatment at the single cell level. Details of these studies conducted at the infrared microscopy beamline at the Australian Synchrotron are presented.