Open Calls for Papers
EPJD Topical Issue : Exploring Dissociative Electron Attachment Processes
- Details
- Published on 28 November 2024
Guest Editors: João Ameixa, Juraj Fedor, Ilko Bald, Nigel Mason and Sylwia Ptasinska
The complexity in nano-systems’ responses to electron attachment presents both a challenge and a necessity for advancing current and future applications. From elucidating the radiation response of biological systems to catalytic activity at interfaces, from plasmonic chemistry to fabricating functional metallic nanostructures through focused electron beam-induced deposition methods, the dynamics of DEA processes play a critical role.
The Fourth Dissociative Electron Attachment (DEA) Club Meeting, organized by the University of Potsdam and the international “DEA Club” committee, is an international conference focusing on dissociative electron attachment (DEA) processes and electron-molecule collisions. It is dedicated to understanding the intricate dynamics of electron-molecule interactions, particularly emphasizing low-energy electrons below 20 eV, and their role across diverse scientific domains including nanotechnology, medicine, biotechnology, and materials science.
The discussions and insights emerging from the 4th DEA Club Meeting align closely with the aims and scope of the European Physical Journal D (EPJD), which covers Atomic, Molecular, Optical and Plasma Physics. The conference's focus on understanding electron-molecule interactions is highly relevant to EPJD's readers interested in the fundamental processes governing atomic and molecular dynamics.
The Topical Collection will explore numerous examples of complex nanoscale systems exhibiting unique DEA features, ranging from isolated gas-phase molecules to atomic and molecular clusters, biomolecules, and nanomaterials, each possessing distinct nature, properties, and functionalities.
EPJD Topical Issue : Physics of Cancer: Molecular Processes underlying Radiation Therapy
- Details
- Published on 23 October 2024
Guest Editors: Thomas Schlathölter, Ilko Bald and Filipe Ferreira da Silva
Further advancement of radiation therapy requires a detailed understanding of underlying molecular processes on the nanometer length scale and at ultrashort timescales. It is now an established fact that direct and indirect damage can affect various components of living cells, such as nucleus, mitochondria or membranes, but also components of the extracellular matrix, such as collagen. On nanometer length scales and below, the radiation action can be boiled down to direct molecular excitation and ionization of either water or of the various relevant biomolecules. In addition, radiation damage can also be induced by the action of secondary species, in particular by electrons and radicals.
A growing interdisciplinary community on the borderline of physics, chemistry and biology is investigating interactions of photons, electrons and ions with water and with biomolecular systems, either in the condensed phase or in the gas-phase. These studies not only aim at delivering ionization and fragmentation cross sections for various interaction systems, that are key input for accurate modeling of radiation damage on the molecular level. State of the art experimental and theoretical approaches also allow to study the relevance of genuine quantum processes such as intermolecular Coulombic decay or ultrafast hydrogen transport for biological radiation damage. Furthermore, intense research currently focuses on the principles of action of established and novel radiosensitizers, such as high-Z nanoparticles, which are often far from understood. Furthermore, it is a long-standing issue to transfer knowledge gained from experiments in idealized environments (such as gas phase) to a biologically more relevant condensed phase. Finally, new treatment modalities such as FLASH radiation therapy require detailed mechanistic investigations.
The aim of this topical collection is to compile cutting-edge experimental and theoretical research on molecular mechanisms underpinning radiotherapy, with an emphasis on molecular physics. This topical collection will thus be timely and clearly within the scope of EPJD.
