The coefficient of thermal linear expansion α, Young's modulus E, and bulk modulus K have been determined for the Westerly and Stripa granites to temperatures T of 350°C and pressures P to 55 MPa. Using conventional triaxial aparatus, displacement measurements were made on three samples from each of three orthogonal directions for both rocks. Comparison of the directional values at any P, T, and those from the nine‐sample population indicated that within our precision, both granites are isotropic in E, K, and α. Both E and K for both rocks decreased with T and increased with P in a nonlinear fashion. From 19° to 350°C, E decreased by as much as a factor of 2 and K decreased by 2 to 3 times, depending on P. From 6 to 55 MPa, E increased by factors of 3 to 6 and K increased by 3 to 5, depending on T. Values for α were neither constant nor a monotonic function of P or T. In both granites over the P range investigated, α typically increased from 6 to 12×10−6 °C−1 at 40°C to 10–15×10−6 °C−1 at 325°C. In both rocks over the T range investigated, increasing P from 6 to 55 MPa generally decreased α by 1–5 10−6 °C−1. Most measurements are consistent with microcracks controlling the thermoelastic response by cracks opening with increasing T and closing with increasing P. Changes in crack porosity ϕ due to bulk compressibility and thermal expansion have been calculated for both granites. Because K and α were nonlinear with P and T, ϕ was inferred to be a complex function of both. Assuming that all cracks affect fluid transport, changes in permeability κ with P and T have also been calculated from κ ∝ ϕ3. These changes have been compared as κ/κ0, where κ0 was the initial value at 0.1 MPa, 19°C. For example, κ/κ0 for Westerly granite was inferred to increase by a factor of 3 from 19° to 300°C at 8 MPa. In Stripa granite at 6 MPa, κ/κ0 decreased ∼25% with T at 19°–100°C, then increased approximately twofold by 350°C.

Functional superparamagnetic colloids possessing high saturation magnetization are prepared by emulsification of superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPM NPs) and heterogeneous polymerization. The colloids consist of a core of densely packed NPs encapsulated within a thin polymer shell. The cores are made by emulsifying SPM NPs and toluene into an aqueous surfactant solution, and subsequently condensing the emulsion droplets by removal of the solvent generating clusters of SPM NPs. By tuning the emulsification condition, this approach allows for control over the size of the clusters from approximately 40 to 200 nm. The polymer shells encapsulating the clusters are made by using seeded-emulsion polymerization concepts. Control over the thickness of the shell and the incorporation of functional groups to the colloid is achieved. Characterization by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and magnetometry shows that these colloids have 66 wt % of magnetic material and saturation magnetization of 47 emu/g, confirming that this route generates colloids with a high loading of SPM NPs and high saturation magnetizations.

We examined the F, Cl, Br and I abundance of minimally retrogressed lawsonite blueschists from the Tavsanli Zone in northwest Turkey to evaluate the behaviour of halogens in subduction zones, and to determine the role coexisting high pressure minerals may play in transporting the halogens to the Earth's mantle. The blueschists contain sodic amphibole and lawsonite, with variable amounts of phengite and chlorite, and minor apatite. A positive correlation between Cl, Br and I contents in bulk rocks suggests their overall coherent behaviour in subduction zones, although high ratios of I/Cl and Br/Cl compared to altered oceanic crust indicate that Cl is preferentially lost relative to Br and I before or during blueschist metamorphism. Iodine and F are enriched relative to altered oceanic crust, suggesting incorporation from marine sediments. In situ analyses of minerals in thin sections reveal F preferentially concentrates in apatite (avg. 3.13 wt%), over phengite (482 ppm), lawsonite (avg. 413 ppm) and Na-amphibole (257 ppm). Chlorine also preferentially resides in apatite (138 ppm), followed by equal partitioning between phengite (59 ppm) and Na-amphibole (56 ppm), and lower concentrations in lawsonite (27 ppm). Upon apatite decomposition at a depth of ~200 km, F may redistribute into lawsonite and phengite in slabs, whilst Cl is likely expelled to the overlying mantle wedge. Given the stability of lawsonite and phengite to a depth of 280-300 km in cold subduction zones, they may transport F beyond subarc depths, contributing to the high F in magmas derived from the deep mantle.

Serpentinites are important reservoirs of fluid-mobile elements in subduction zones, contributing to volatiles in arc magmas and their transport into the Earth’s mantle. This paper reports halogen (F, Cl, Br, I) and B abundances of serpentinites from the Dominican Republic, including obducted and subducted abyssal serpentinites and forearc mantle serpentinites. Abyssal serpentinite compositions indicate the incorporation of these elements from seawater and sediments during serpentinization on the seafloor and at slab bending. During their subduction and subsequent lizardite-antigorite transition, F and B are retained in serpentinites, whilst Cl, Br and I are expelled. Forearc mantle serpentinite compositions suggest their hydration by fluids released from subducting altered oceanic crust and abyssal serpentinites, with only minor sediment contribution. This finding is consistent with the minimal subduction of sediments in the Dominican Republic. Forearc mantle serpentinites have F/Cl and B/Cl ratios similar to arc magmas, suggesting the importance of serpentinite dehydration in the generation of arc magmatism in the mantle wedge.

A silica nanoparticle-based DNA biosensor capable of detecting Bacillus anthracis bacteria through the use of unlabelled ss-oligonucleotides has been developed. The biosensor makes use of the optical changes that accompany a nanoparticle-immobilized cationic conjugated polymer (polythiophene) interacting with single-stranded vs. hybridized oligonucleotides, where a fluorescence signal appears only when hybridized DNA is present (i.e. only when the ss-oligonucleotide interacting with the polymer has hybridized with its complement). In order to enhance the sensitivity of the biosensor, two different nanoparticle architectures were developed and used to elucidate how the presence of neighboring fluorophores on the nanoparticle surface affects F€ orster-resonant energy transfer (FRET) between the polythiophene/oligonucleotide complex (FRET donor) and the fluorophores (FRET acceptors). We demonstrate that the silica nanoparticle-based FRET platform lowers the limit of detection at least 10-fold in comparison to the polythiophene itself, and allows the detection of $2 Â 10 À12 moles of ss-oligonucleotide in a 100 mL sample with a standard fluorimeter (i.e. has a limit of detection of $2 nM ssDNA). Such nanoparticle-based biosensor platforms are beneficial because of the robustness and stability inherent to their covalent assembly and they provide a valuable new tool that may allow for the sensitive, label-free detection (the target DNA that produces the fluorescence signal is unlabelled) without the use of polymerase chain reaction.