Soft nanotechnology with soft nanoparticles

The last decade of research in the physical sciences has seen a dramatic increase in the study of nanoscale materials. Today, "nanoscience" has emerged as a multidisciplinary effort, wherein obtaining a fundamental understanding of the optical, electrical, magnetic, and mechanical properties of nanostructures promises to deliver the next generation of functional materials for a wide range of applications. While this range of efforts is extremely broad, much of the work has focused on "hard" materials, such as Buckyballs, carbon nanotubes, metals, semiconductors, and organic or inorganic dielectrics. Meanwhile, the soft materials of current interest typically include conducting or emissive polymers for "plastic electronics" applications. Despite the continued interest in these established areas of nanoscience, new classes of soft nanomaterials are being developed from more traditional polymeric constructs. Specifically, nanostructured hydrogels are emerging as a promising group of materials for multiple biotechnology applications as the need for advanced materials in the post-genomic era grows. This review will present some of the recent advances in the marriage between water-swellable networks and nanoscience.     

Liquid-crystal nanoscience: an emerging avenue of soft self-assembly

Liquid crystals are finding increasing applications in a wide variety of fields including liquid-crystal display technology, materials science, bioscience, etc., apart from acting as prototype self-organizable supramolecular soft materials and tunable solvents. Recently, keeping in pace with topical science, liquid crystals have entered into the fascinating domains of nanoscience and nanotechnology. This tutorial review describes the recent and significant developments in liquid-crystal nanoscience embracing contemporary nanomaterials such as nanoparticles, nanorods, nanotubes, nanoplatelets, etc. The dispersion of zero-, one- and two-dimensional nanomaterials in liquid crystals for the enhancement of properties, liquid-crystalline phase behavior of nanomaterials themselves, self-assembly and alignment of nanomaterials in liquid-crystalline media, and the synthesis of nanomaterials by using liquid crystals as 'templates' or 'precursors' have been highlighted and discussed. It is almost certain that the 'fourth state of matter' will play more prevalent roles in nanoscience and nanotechnology in the near future. Moreover, liquid-crystal nanoscience reflects itself as a beautiful demonstration of the contemporary theme "crossing the borders: science without boundaries".     

纳米科学和碳纳米科学

介绍了纳米材料、纳米科学、碳纳米科学的研究领域及其重要的、潜在的应用价值。     

Chirality at nanoscale for bioscience

In the rapidly expanding fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology, there is considerable interest in chiral nanomaterials, which are endowed with unusually strong circular dichroism. In this review, we summarize the principles of organization underlying chiral nanomaterials and generalize the recent advances in the main strategies used to fabricate these nanoparticles for bioscience applications. The creation of chirality from nanoscale building blocks has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically, and the tunability of chirality using external fields, such as light and magnetic fields, has allowed the optical activity of these materials to be controlled and their properties understood. Therefore, the specific recognition and potential applications of chiral materials in bioscience are discussed. The effects of the chirality of nanostructures on biological systems have been exploited to sense and cut molecules, for therapeutic applications, and so on. In the final part of this review, we examine the future perspectives for chiral nanomaterials in bioscience and the challenges posed by them.

In this review, we summarize the principles of fabrication on chiral nanomaterials and generalize the recent achievements for the bioscience applications.     

Micro‐/Nanostructured Multicomponent Molecular Materials: Design,Assembly, and Functionality

Molecule‐based micro‐/nanomaterials have attracted considerable attention because their properties can vary greatly from the corresponding macro‐sized bulk systems. Recently, the construction of multicomponent molecular solids based on crystal engineering principles has emerged as a promising alternative way to develop micro‐/nanomaterials. Unlike single‐component materials, the resulting multicomponent systems offer the advantages of tunable composition, and adjustable molecular arrangement, and intermolecular interactions within their solid states. The study of these materials also supplies insight into how the crystal structure, molecular components, and micro‐/nanoscale effects can influence the performance of molecular materials. In this review, we describe recent advances and current directions in the assembly and applications of crystalline multicomponent micro‐/nanostructures. Firstly, the design strategies for multicomponent systems based on molecular recognition and crystal engineering principles are introduced. Attention is then focused on the methods of fabrication of low‐dimensional multicomponent micro‐/nanostructures. Their new applications are also outlined. Finally, we briefly discuss perspectives for the further development of these molecular crystalline micro‐/nanomaterials.     

Conducting polymer nanostructures and their application in biosensors

Nowadays, functionalized conducting polymer nanomaterials have been received great attention in nanoscience and nanotechnology because of their large surface area. This article reviews various methods for synthesis of conducting polymer nanostructures and their applications in sensing materials, focusing on hard-template, soft-template and other methods and the formation mechanism of conducting polymer nanostructures by these methods. Conducting polymer nanostructures, such as nanotubes, nanowires, and nanoparticles, as sensing platforms for various applications are also summarized.     

Quantifying the dissolution of nanomaterials at the nano-bio interface

With the rapid development of nanoscience and nanotechnology, more engineered nanomaterials(NMs) are being released into the environment. Such releases might lead to unwanted exposure. The dissolution of NMs at nano-bio interfaces is one of the most noteworthy causes of the toxicity of dissolvable NMs. A growing number of studies are focusing assessing NMs dissolution during exposure tests. This mini review considers recent developments in the quantitative tools for the assessment of NMs dissolution, and highlights the critical points in the evaluation of the toxicity of dissolvable NMs.     

无机纳米材料的光化学合成

无机纳米材料的合成是纳米科学发展的前提和基础之一。区别于传统的高温湿化学合成法,光化学方法在无机纳米材料的合成中表现出许多优点,并在近年来受到了广泛关注。本文分三个部分综述了近年来光化学方法在无机纳米材料合成中的应用,具体包括贵金属纳米材料的光化学合成与负载,半导体纳米材料的光化学合成以及表面等离子体共振诱导的各向异性金属纳米晶合成。最后,在总结光化学方法在无机纳米材料合成中体现出的优势及目前研究仍存在不足的基础上,我们对其未来可能的发展方向进行了展望。     

基于金属纳米簇的荧光传感平台的最新研究进展

荧光纳米生物传感平台由于具有灵敏度高、选择性好、操作简单、成本低、实时监测等特点,吸引了广泛的关注.近年来,随着纳米技术的飞速发展,具有纳米结构的材料(纳米材料)在生物传感领域显示出独特的优势.与传统材料相比,纳米材料显示出独特的物化性质,如光学、电学、机械、催化和磁性等.金属(如Au、Ag、Cu及其合金)纳米簇(MN...     

Synthesis of organic one-dimensional nanomaterials by solid-phase reaction

The synthesis of anthracene (AN) nanowires and perylene (PY) nanorods on the basis of solid-phase organic reactions under controlled conditions is discussed, and the structures are confirmed by SEM, TEM, and XRD. The dimension-dependent emission properties of the AN nanowires and PY nanorods is observed. This approach is expected to form a new general route for the controlled morphosynthesis of organic molecular materials in restricted dimensions, with controlled size and shape, the solid-state physical properties of which are of great interest. It should have outstanding potential in providing customized 1D nanomaterials for a broad range of applications for molecule devices and nanoscience and is expected to be applicable other functionalized nanomaterials (i.e., organic, inorganic, and polymer).     

基于功能性纳米材料的新型电化学界面的构筑以及相关应用(英文)

由于独特的光、电、磁以及催化性质,功能性纳米材料的研究已经渗透到各个学科并在不同领域展示出潜在的应用前景,尤其是利用纳米材料构建功能性电极界面、研究其电化学行为并发展新颖的电化学纳米器件引起了了人们的广泛关注. 本篇综述中,主要介绍作者研究小组在以功能性纳米材料构建新颖的电化学界面的最新进展,集中关注其在电化学传感器、燃料电池以及光谱电化学中的应用. 这些纳米材料的应用极大地增强了电子转移、提高了电化学传感器的灵敏度以及燃料电池的催化效率. 作者也通过合成一些光谱匹配的荧光以及电致变色纳米材料构建新颖的荧光光谱电化学器件,同时在材料的合成组装、多重刺激响应体系以及多功能化进行探索. 最后,作者对这类基于纳米材料的电化学器件的发展和应用予以展望.     

Are diamond nanoparticles cytotoxic?

Finely divided carbon particles, including charcoal, lampblack, and diamond particles, have been used for ornamental and official tattoos since ancient times. With the recent development in nanoscience and nanotechnology, carbon-based nanomaterials (e.g., fullerenes, nanotubes, nanodiamonds) attract a great deal of interest. Owing to their low chemical reactivity and unique physical properties, nanodiamonds could be useful in a variety of biological applications such as carriers for drugs, genes, or proteins; novel imaging techniques; coatings for implantable materials; and biosensors and biomedical nanorobots. Therefore, it is essential to ascertain the possible hazards of nanodiamonds to humans and other biological systems. We have, for the first time, assessed the cytotoxicity of nanodiamonds ranging in size from 2 to 10 nm. Assays of cell viability such as mitochondrial function (MTT) and luminescent ATP production showed that nanodiamonds were not toxic to a variety of cell types. Furthermore, nanodiamonds did not produce significant reactive oxygen species. Cells can grow on nanodiamond-coated substrates without morphological changes compared to controls. These results suggest that nanodiamonds could be ideal for many biological applications in a diverse range of cell types.     

Accelerating the multifunctionalization of therapeutic nanoparticles by using a multicomponent reaction

Simpler and faster! Multifunctionalized nanoparticles are crucial for nanobiomedical applications, but their syntheses are tedious and time-consuming. A multicomponent reaction on nanostructures is an excellent way to prepare such nanomaterials. The gold nanosystem illustrated in the scheme was built and shown to enhance cancer cell targeting and killing by combining the effects of a therapeutic drug with X-ray radiation.     

How to handle nanomaterials? The re-entry of individuals into the philosophy of chemistry

In this paper we will argue that the categories of physical individuals and chemical stuff are not sufficient to face the chemical ontology if nanomaterials are taken into account. From a perspective that considers ontological questions and wonders which the items involved in science are, we will argue that the domain of nanoscience must be considered as populated by entities that are neither individuals, as those of physics, nor stuff, as those items of macro-chemistry. This discussion, in virtue of the analysis of the nature of nanomaterials, leads to propose a proper ontological category for nanoparticles: nanoindividuals. Nanomaterials are sorts of individuals, but they are different from physical individuals and from chemical stuff. We will also claim to contribute to the growing field of the philosophy of chemistry, especially regarding discussions that manifest not only epistemological but also ontological issues. In this scenario, the field on nanoscience is particularly challenging.     

Oriented Gold Nanorod Arrays: Self‐Assembly and Optoelectronic Applications

Self‐assembly of anisotropic plasmonic nanomaterials into ordered superstructures has become popular in nanoscience because of their unique anisotropic optical and electronic properties. Gold nanorods (GNRs) are a well‐defined functional building block for fabrication of these superstructures. They possess important anisotropic plasmonic characteristics that result from strong local electric field and are responsive to visible and near‐IR light. There are recent examples of assembling the GNRs into ordered arrays or superstructures through processes such as solvent evaporation and interfacial assembly. In this Minireview, recent progress in the development of the self‐assembled GNR arrays is described, with focus on the formation of oriented GNR arrays on substrates. Key driving forces are discussed, and different strategies and self‐assembly processes of forming oriented GNR arrays are presented. The applications of the oriented GNR arrays in optoelectronic devices are also overviewed, especially surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS).     

Applications of Non-precious Transition Metal Oxide Nanoparticles in Electrochemistry

Non-precious transition metal oxide nanomaterials offer numerous opportunities for various cost-effective electrochemical applications. This review article features the design and advancement of such nanomaterials with unique features applied for the fabrication of electrochemical devices. Also, it discusses various new syntheses of transition metal oxide nanoparticles (TMO NPs) via multiple chemicophysical and biological procedures. Further, the novel appliances of the TMO NPs with varying sizes and morphologies are appraised. The advantages and challenges of a number of investigations on the TMO NPs towards electrochemical applications are addressed with their standpoint of cost-effectiveness, applicability, and the efficiency of the introduced nanostructures for the industrial applications.     

Nanoscience,nanotechnology and spectrometry

Nanoscience has outgrown its infancy, and nanotechnology has found important applications in our daily life — with many more to come. Although the central concepts of the nano world, namely the changes of particular physical properties on the length scale of individual atoms and molecules, have been known and developed for quite some time already, experimental advances since the 1980s and recognition of the potential of nanomaterials led to a genuine breakthrough of the inherently multidisciplinary nanoscience field. Analytical nanoscience and nanotechnology and especially the use of micro and nano electro mechanical systems, of the quantum dots and of mass spectrometry, currently provide one of the most promising avenues for developments in analytical science, derived from their two main fields of action, namely (a) the analysis of nano-structured materials and (b) their use as new tools for analysis. An overview is given of recent developments and trends in the field, highlighting the importance and point out future directions, while also touching drawbacks, such as emerging concerns about health and environmental issues.     

Designing Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Sources for Surface Engineering of Nanomaterials

Atmospheric-pressure plasma processing techniques emerge as efficient and convenient tools to engineer a variety of nanomaterials for advanced applications in nanoscience and nanotechnology. This work presents different methods, including using a quasi-sinusoidal high-voltage generator, a radio-frequency power supply, and a uni-polar pulse generator, to generate atmospheric-pressure plasmas in the jet or dielectric barrier discharge configurations. The applicability of the atmospheric-pressure plasma is exemplified by the surface modification of nanoparticles for polymeric nanocomposites. Dielectric measurements reveal that representative nanocomposites with plasma modified nanoparticles exhibit notably higher dielectric breakdown strength and a significantly extended lifetime.     

Bio-convective Darcy-Forchheimer oscillating thermal flow of Eyring-Powell nanofluid subject to exponential heat source/sink and modified Cattaneo–Christov model applications

Nanofluid thermal applications considerably enhanced the heat and mass transfer patterns, which plays novel role in many bio-technological, renewable energy and engineering applications. Many prime applications off nanomaterials have been inspected in solar energy and thermal engineering issues to benefit human society. Furthermore, motile microorganisms, that have applications in petroleum sciences, enzymes biotechnology, biofuels, pharmaceutical, and other fields, greatly improve the stability of nanofluids. The current study examines the Darcy-Forchhiemer accelerating flow of Eyring-Powell nanofluid over an oscillating surface which contains the thermal radiations and gyrotactic microorganisms. The extension in the heat and mass transfer expression is suggested by following the relations of Cattaneo–Christov theory. Furthermore, the non-uniform heat source/sink phenomenon is also being focused to improve the thermal aspect of model. The flow problem model is consisting of non-linear PDEs that are solved by using the homotopy analysis scheme. After highlighting the convergence zone, physical characteristics for parameters are listed.     

Impact of graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNMs) on the structural and functional conformations of hepcidin peptide

Graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNMs) are widely used in various industrial and biomedical applications. GBNMs of different compositions, size and shapes are being introduced without thorough toxicity evaluation due to the unavailability of regulatory guidelines. Computational toxicity prediction methods are used by regulatory bodies to quickly assess health hazards caused by newer materials. Due to increasing demand of GBNMs in various size and functional groups in industrial and consumer based applications, rapid and reliable computational toxicity assessment methods are urgently needed. In the present work, we investigate the impact of graphene and graphene oxide nanomaterials on the structural conformations of small hepcidin peptide and compare the materials for their structural and conformational changes. Our molecular dynamics simulation studies revealed conformational changes in hepcidin due to its interaction with GBMNs, which results in a loss of its functional properties. Our results indicate that hepcidin peptide undergo severe structural deformations when superimposed on the graphene sheet in comparison to graphene oxide sheet. These observations suggest that graphene is more toxic than a graphene oxide nanosheet of similar area. Overall, this study indicates that computational methods based on structural deformation, using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, can be used for the early evaluation of toxicity potential of novel nanomaterials.