Structural Anisotropy of Fractal Aggregates and Its Exhibition in Electrooptical Effects

The first experimental examination of orientational turbidimetric effect [differential orientational spectrum of optical density D() in suspensions of fractal clusters was presented. Experiments were performed for aqueous suspensions of powdered Aerosil OX-50 aggregates ordered by the alternating electric field oriented along or across the unpolarized light beam. Experimental differential spectra D() are essentially different from the known spectra for bacterial and yeast suspensions. In particular, the points of zero effect lie in the red (but not in the blue) region of spectrum, and the |D()| dependence is a decreasing function in the range 300–800 nm. To explain these results, a theory was developed based on the three-dimensional lattice model of cluster-cluster aggregation and the optical model of interacting dipoles. This theory confirms main conclusions obtained previously in the Rayleigh–Debye–Hans approximation (Khlebtsov, N.G. and Mel'nikov, A.G., Kolloidn. Zh., 1998, vol. 60, no. 6, p. 843) and agrees with experimental D() spectra. It was shown experimentally and theoretically that the structural anisotropy of aggregates exhibited scale invariance, and the differential spectra for the aggregates with various numbers of particles are described by a single universal curve D(kR _g), where k= 2/ and R _gis the mean radius of gyration of aggregates.     

Study of polyol synthesis reaction parameters controlling high yield of silver nanocubes

The influence of the parameters and conditions of sodium sulfide-induced reaction of polyol synthesis of silver nanoparticles on the yield of cube-shaped particles and the optical properties of colloids is studied. The protocol proposed by Skrabalak et al. for the synthesis of nanocubes in small volumes (Nature Protocols, 2007, vol. 2, p. 2182) is taken as an initial variant for optimization. The effects of the reagent concentrations, degree of ethylene glycol oxygenation, the presence of impurities, reaction time, and temperature are studied. Suspensions containing nanoparticles with different shapes and sizes, including polydisperse particles of irregular shapes, silver nanocubes with a yield of 0 to 97%, nanoprisms, and nanorods, can be produced by varying the synthesis parameters. The key parameters controlling the yield of nanocubes are the degree of ethylene glycol oxygenation and the presence of trace amounts of ions of other metals (not silver). It is established that variations in the reaction time make it possible to vary the sizes of nanocubes in the range of 30–60 nm. Suspensions with high contents of cube-shaped particles are shown to exhibit three maxima in the plasmon extinction resonance spectrum at wavelengths of 350, 390, and, depending on the particle size, 435–470 nm.     

A Multilayer Model for Gold Nanoparticle Bioconjugates: Application to Study of Gelatin and Human IgG Adsorption Using Extinction and Light Scattering Spectra and the Dynamic Light Scattering Method

A new model of colloidal gold (CG) bioconjugates is proposed. The model consists of a gold core and a primary polymer shell formed during conjugate synthesis. Additionally, the conjugate includes a secondary shell formed during its interaction with target molecules. Each of the inhomogeneous shells is modeled by the arbitrary number of discrete layers. Using Mie theory for multilayered spheres, we calculated the extinction and static light scattering (SLS, at 90°) spectra, as well as differential spectra A(), I() describing the effects of primary and secondary shells. Our calculations are performed for the conjugates with gold particle diameters d = 10–160 nm and two 5-nm shells. The primary shell consists of two 2.5-nm layers with the refractive indices of 1.50 and 1.45; the secondary shell, of two 2- and 3-nm layers with the refractive indices of 1.45 and 1.40. The differential spectra are related to the adsorption of target molecules and possess a characteristic resonance that is shifted to the red region of spectra compared to the usual localized plasmon resonances of gold particles. The maximal values of differential resonances A _max and I _max are observed for gold particles with diameters about 40–60 nm (extinction spectra) or 70–90 nm (the SLS spectra). The adsorption of human gamma-globulin (hIgG) and gelatin onto 15- and 34-nm gold particles was studied using the SLS and extinction spectra in combination with the dynamic light scattering measurements. It is shown that the thickness of adsorbed layer is equal to 5–6 nm for hIgG and to 15–18 nm for gelatin. The experimental extinction and SLS spectra for CG + hIgG conjugates are well explained by a simple model with the gold core and homogeneous polymer coating. For the CG + gelatin conjugates, we used the new model with inhomogeneous polymer coating, which is modeled by 10 discrete layers with the total thickness of 16–18 nm and exponential spatial profile of shell refractive index.     

2-（1,3-Diphenylpropen-1,3-diolato）-1,3,2-（5-formylbenzo）dioxaborol： A ＇Whole-molecule Disorder＇ Crystal Structure

The boron atom in C22H15BO5 is O,O’-chelated by the anions in a tetrahedral geometry, with the planar five-and six-membered chelate rings being orthogonal to each other. The molecule lies on a two-fold rotation axis. The molecule is disordered with respect to another molecule in a 93:7 ratio; the treatment of the ‘whole-molecule disorder’ by employing a large number of restraints is described. Crystal data: C22H15BO5, monoclinic C2/c, a = 17.1804(5), b = 12.9409(4), c = 9.8842(3) , β = 124.832(2)o, V = 1803.82(9) 3 at –173 K.     

Interaction of albumin and γ-globulin molecules with gold nanoparticles in water solutions

The molecular mobility of scattering particles in water solutions of albumin and γ-globulin proteins with gold nanoparticles was investigated by the dynamic light scattering method. The dependences of translation diffusion coefficients of particles at various concentrations of the solution components have been obtained. It was revealed that in a wide range of concentrations of the solution components there is no interaction of gold nanoparticles with albumin, whereas gold nanoparticles form complexes with γ-globulin molecules.     

Optical assessment of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dunaliella salina</Emphasis> microalgae viability upon toxicological testing

A method has been developed for monitoring the dynamics of the number and viability of Dunaliella salina microalgae taking into account the spectral contribution from aggregates of metal particles tested as a toxic agent in a microplate assay system. The method is based on the in vivo determination of the chlorophyll content from the intensity of an absorption peak at 680 nm corrected for the nonselective extinction as calculated using the values of nearest local minima at 640 and 740 nm.     

Biodistribution and toxicity of engineered gold nanoparticles: a review of in vitro and in vivo studies

Recent advances in wet chemical synthesis and biomolecular functionalization of gold nanoparticles have led to a dramatic expansion of their potential biomedical applications, including biosensorics, bioimaging, photothermal therapy, and targeted drug delivery. As the range of gold nanoparticle types and their applications continues to increase, human safety concerns are gaining attention, which makes it necessary to better understand the potential toxicity hazards of these novel materials. Whereas about 80 reports on the in vivo biodistribution and in vitro cell toxicity of gold nanoparticles are available in the literature, there is lack of correlation between both fields and there is no clear understanding of intrinsic nanoparticle effects. At present, the major obstacle is the significant discrepancy in experimental conditions under which biodistribution and toxicity effects have been evaluated. This critical review presents a detailed analysis of data on the in vitro and in vivo biodistribution and toxicity of most popular gold nanoparticles, including atomic clusters and colloidal particles of diameters from 1 to 200 nm, gold nanoshells, nanorods, and nanowires. Emphasis is placed on the systematization of data over particle types and parameters, particle surface functionalization, animal and cell models, organs examined, doses applied, the type of particle administration and the time of examination, assays for evaluating gold particle toxicity, and methods for determining the gold concentration in organs and distribution of particles over cells. On the basis of a critical analysis of data, we arrive at some general conclusions on key nanoparticle parameters, methods of particle surface modification, and doses administered that determine the type and kinetics of biodistribution and toxicity at cellular and organismal levels (197 references).     

Nonlinear Filtering in Rieznnnnifln Manifolds

A general formulation of the nonlinear filtering problem inRiemanman manifolds is given by use of the strong solutionsof the stochastic differential equations for the state and observationprocesses in the orthonormal frame bundles of the state andobservation process manifolds, respectively. A general Bayesformula for the conditional expectation of smooth functionsof the state process is given. This is used to give a directderivation of the Zakai equation for the general problem underconsideration. An example is presented.     

On the extinction multipole plasmons in gold nanorods

On the basis of the T-matrix formalism and numerical simulations, we derive an explicit rule for partial multipole contributions to the plasmon resonances of gold nanorods at a fixed or random orientation. The parity of a given spectral resonance number n coincides with the parity of their multipole contributions l, where l is equal to or greater than n, and the total resonance magnitude is determined by the lowest multipole contribution. We also investigate the dependence of multipole plasmons on the size, shape, and orientation of nanorods with respect to the polarized incident light. It is shown that the multipole resonance wavelengths as a function of the aspect ratio divided by the resonance number collapse onto one linear scaling curve. This scaling is explained by using the plasmon standing wave concept introduced by Schider et al. [Plasmon dispersion relation of Au and Ag nanowires. Phys Rev B 2003;68:155427].