Chelating template-induced encapsulation of NiO cluster in mesoporous silica via anionic surfactant-templated route

In this study, we develop a novel one-step method for synthesis of nickel oxide/silicon dioxide (NiO/SiO(2)) mesoporous composites by using N-hexadecyl ethylenediamine triacetate (HED3A) as structure-directing agent. Besides playing a role in directing the mesophase formation, the anionic surfactant also functions as a chelating agent that binds nickel ions. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analyses were undertaken to determine the chelating ability between HED3A and nickel ions. By adjusting the molar ratio of Ni(2+)/HED3A in the template solution, a series of mesoporous composites with various NiO contents were obtained after calcination. These composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and nitrogen adsorption/desorption. The results showed that the generated NiO nanoparticles were aggregated into clusters with the size less than 20 nm, and the composites retained mesoporous characteristics even with high NiO contents. HRTEM images also revealed the migration and aggregation for NiO nanoparticles during the sintering process. Moreover, the energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDX) results showed a close linear relationship between Ni/Si in the composites and Ni(2+)/HED3A in the templates. This chelating surfactant-assistant encapsulation route has the potential to synthesize diversiform metal oxide/silica mesoporous composites with designated compositions.     

A facile route to hollow nanospheres of mesoporous silica with tunable size

Hollow mesoporous silica nanospheres (HMSNs) with tunable sizes of both sphere diameter (around 100 nm) and shell thickness have been successfully fabricated.     

Transition-metal ligands bound onto the micelle-templated silica surface

This paper reviews recent works on the design of immobilized transition-metal ligands on solid supports. After an overview of some results concerning ligand anchorage on polymeric supports and encapsulation of transition-metal complexes inside layered or zeolitic minerals, the grafting of ligands onto the silicic wall surface of micelle-templated silicas (MTS) is reported. MTS silicas featuring a regular mesoporous system of pore-monodispersed size and exhibiting larger pores than zeolites, provide a new opportunity to allow anchorage of organic moieties through the silanation procedure. Mn(III) Salpr and tSalpr complexes bound onto the MTS surface are active in epoxidation reaction using PhIO as oxygen donor. Anchorage of (1R,2S)-ephedrine has been also investigated with the aim to obtain benefit from the MTS structure effect. These new supported chiral catalysts are active in alkylation of benzaldehyde with diethylzinc although less enantioselective than the corresponding homogeneous catalyst. The effect of dispersion of active sites and of surface passivation has been investigated and discussed in terms of the nature of the support surface.     

Thioether moiety functionalization of mesoporous silica films for the encapsulation of highly dispersed gold nanoparticles

Highly dispersed gold nanoparticles within mesoporous thin films (MTFs) have been synthesized through a newly developed controllable strategy, in which (1,4)-bis(triethoxysilyl)propane tetrasufide (BPTS) organosiloxane coupling agent was co-assembled with tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) to form organic groups functionalized mesoporous composite films followed with oxidization, ion-exchange with Au(en)₂Cl₃ (en: 1,2-ethanediamine) compound and calcination under hydrogen/nitrogen mixing atmosphere. Small-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization indicated that up to 10 mol% of BPTS could be incorporated into mesoporous hybrid films, and that would not breakup the structural integrity and long-range periodicity. The loaded gold nanoparticles were uniformly distributed due to the molecular level homogenous mixing of the BPTS precursor with TEOS, and its concentration could be controlled via the original ratio of BPTS to TEOS. The nanoparticles had a narrow size distribution with diameters in the size range of 3-7 nm through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation and underwent a slight size increase with the higher gold load level. An overall increase in the absorption intensity, a red shift of absorption peak, together with a comparatively narrower bandwidth could be observed at higher gold concentration within composite films from UV-vis spectra. Wide-angle XRD, TEM, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-vis spectra characterizations all agreed on the fact that the gold loading level could be controlled by the amount of BPTS in the starting sol for preparing MTFs.     

Rapid and efficient enzyme encapsulation in a dendrimer silica nanocomposite

We report the entrapment of horseradish peroxidase and quantitative encapsulation of glucose oxidase within silica nanoparticles by utilizing an amine-terminated dendritic template. Our improved strategy employs a water-soluble biomimetic template which is able to catalyze the condensation of Si(OH)(4) to silica nanoparticles while trapping an enzyme inside the mesoporous material. Kinetic analysis shows enzyme functionality to be mostly unchanged. Also, the role of pI and ionic strength within the encapsulation environment was found to strongly influence encapsulation. These results suggest that the electrostatic manipulation of a strong supramolecular silica-precipitating complex of enzyme and dendrimer has the potential of adding a vast array of chemical and biological activity to hybrid materials. [image: see text] Enzyme immobilization within a silica nanocomposite.     

Ultrafast enzyme immobilization over large-pore nanoscale mesoporous silica particles

By finely tuning the TEOS/P123 molar ratio of the octane/water/P123/TEOS quadruple emulsion system and by controlling the synthesis conditions, an ultrafine emulsion system was isolated, under the confinement of which, nanoscale silica particles with ordered large mesopores (approximately 13 nm) have been successfully constructed; the obtained mesoporous silica particles have an unusual ultrafast enzyme adsorption speed and the amount of enzyme that can be immobilized is larger than that of conventional mesoporous silica, which has potential applications in the fast separation of biomolecules.     

A new dual immunoassay for tumor markers based on chemiluminescence signal amplification by magnetic mesoporous silica and enzyme modified gold nanoparticles

A sensitive dual immunoassay was proposed for the determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and α-fetoprotein (AFP) based on signal amplification. Monoclonal antibodies immobilized on magnetic mesoporous silica particles (Fe(3)O(4)/SiO(2)) were prepared as the primary probe. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labeled antibodies co-coated with HRP on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were used as the secondary probe to achieve signal amplification. HRP tags were retained in the flow cells after a sandwich immunoassay. By controlling two switches on the two channels, chemiluminescent substrates were injected orderly man way, and then signals for CEA and AFP were sequentially detected by HRP-luminol-H(2)O(2). Due to the increased amount of HRP on AuNPs and the increased amount of monoclonal antibodies on Fe(3)O(4)/SiO(2), the signals were largely amplified. Under the optimal conditions, CEA and AFP could be detected in the linear ranges of 1.0 - 80 and 1.0 - 75 ng mL(-1) with detection limits of 0.25 and 0.5 ng mL(-1), respectively.     

A pure aqueous route to mesoporous silica thin films via dip-coating of prefabricated hybrid micelles

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Mesoporous thin films were prepared by dip-coating with a purely aqueous method, as a substitute for the alcohol-based evaporation-induced self-assembly...     

A glucose-responsive controlled release of insulin system based on enzyme multilayers-coated mesoporous silica particles

A novel glucose-responsive controlled release of insulin system is constructed through coating enzyme multilayers on mesoporous silica particles (MSPs). The MSPs serve as the drug reservoir, and the enzyme multilayers cross-linked with glutaraldehyde act as a valve to control the release of insulin in response to the external glucose level.     

Alteration of enzyme activity and enantioselectivity by biomimetic encapsulation in silica particles

Direct encapsulation of esterase or lipase fused with the silica-precipitating R5 peptide from Cylindrotheca fusiformis in silica particles afforded high yields of active entrapped protein. The hydrolytic activity of both enzymes against p-nitrophenyl butyrate was similarly affected by encapsulation and the enantioselectivity of the esterase was both improved and inverted.     

Syntheses of ordered mesoporous silica by new hybrid template

Ordered mesoporous silica with macroscopic shape has been prepared with a hybrid template of gel and poly(ethylene oxide)₁₀₆–poly(propylene oxide)₇₀–poly(ethylene oxide)₁₀₆ (pluronic F127) surfactant, where both water-soluble agar gel and pluronic F127 significantly affect the mesoporous structure and morphology of silica. The thermal analysis revealed the noticeable interaction between agar and F127, which contributes to the formation of homogenous hybrid template. In the hybrid template, agar gel contributed to the maintenance of morphology structure, while F127 was responsible for the formation of ordered porous structure in silica solids.     

Enzyme-functionalized mesoporous silica for bioanalytical applications

The unique properties of mesoporous silica materials (MPs) have attracted substantial interest for use as enzyme-immobilization matrices. These features include high surface area, chemical, thermal, and mechanical stability, highly uniform pore distribution and tunable pore size, high adsorption capacity, and an ordered porous network for free diffusion of substrates and reaction products. Research demonstrated that enzymes encapsulated or entrapped in MPs retain their biocatalytic activity and are more stable than enzymes in solution. This review discusses recent advances in the study and use of mesoporous silica for enzyme immobilization and application in biosensor technology. Different types of MPs, their morphological and structural characteristics, and strategies used for their functionalization with enzymes are discussed. Finally, prospective and potential benefits of these materials for bioanalytical applications and biosensor technology are also presented. Figure Enzyme-functionalized mesoporous silica fibers and their integration in a biosensor design. The immobilization process takes place essentially in the silica micropores.     

A facile synthesis of bimodal mesoporous silica and its replication for bimodal mesoporous carbon

Bimodal mesoporous silica material composed of 30-40 nm sized nanoparticles with 3.5 nm sized three-dimensionally interconnected mesopores was synthesized under neutral conditions using sodium silicate as a silica source. Using the bimodal mesoporous silica as a template, bimodal mesoporous carbon having 4 nm sized framework mesopores and approximately 30 nm sized textural pores was synthesized.     

A novel green template for the synthesis of mesoporous silica

Mesoporous pure silicas and functionalized silica with a narrow pore size distribution centered at 3.8 nm were prepared by a novel template, amphiphilic dendritic polyglycerol. The resulting silica materials were characterized by electron microscopy; nitrogen adsorption; (1)H, (13)C, and (29)Si solid-state cross-polarization magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that the template could be completely removed from the pure and functionalized silica in an environmentally friendly way by means of a simple water extraction procedure. Furthermore, it was shown that these materials could be easily functionalized, for example, by employing aminopropyl groups. Thus, a new environmentally friendly pathway to this fascinating class of silica material has been opened.     

A two-step route to synthesis of small-pored and thick-walled SBA-16-type mesoporous silica under mildly acidic conditions

Highly ordered SBA-16-type mesoporous silica materials were synthesized by using poly(ethylene oxide-b-propylene oxide-b-ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer (EO(132)-PO(50)-EO(132), Pluronic F108) as template through a two-step pathway under mildly acidic conditions (pH 2.15-4.50). The highly ordered cage-like mesoporosity of the prepared SBA-16-type mesoporous silica materials having Im3m cubic mesostructure was proved by the well-defined X-ray diffraction patterns combined with transmission electron microscopy. Scanning electron microscopy shows a variation from the spherical agglomerations to the randomly shaped ones with an increase of pH value. The nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis reveals that the prepared SBA-16-type mesoporous silica materials have a uniform small-sized pore diameter (3.37-4.24 nm) and very thick pore wall (8.84-10.2 nm). These features may make the SBA-16-type mesoporous silica materials synthesized in this study favor the incorporation of catalytically active heteroatoms in silica frameworks, and the functionalization of organic groups for applications in catalysis, sensor and separation. The two-step synthetic method under the mildly acidic conditions can also be extended to the production in the industrial scale as an environmentally friendly way.     

A new palladium nanoparticle catalyst on mesoporous silica prepared from a molecular cluster precursor

A promising approach to the controlled synthesis of supported nanoparticles involves the use of molecular carbonyl clusters as precursors. Molecular metal clusters consist of a defined number of structurally ordered atoms, and active monodisperse metal particles are formed after dispersing the molecules and removing the ligands. An octanuclear palladium cluster precursor with easily displaceable ligands was used to generate palladium nanoparticles on mesoporous MCM-41. The molecular cluster precursor, [Pd8(CO)8(PMe3)7], was directly adsorbed from solution onto MCM-41, followed by gentle thermolysis which yielded small metal nanoparticles. Compared to MCM-41-based catalysts prepared from palladium salts by conventional methods, this cluster-derived palladium catalyst has shown an efficient activity for liquid-phase hydrogenation of alkenes.     

Rational design of ordered mesoporous carbon with controlled bimodal porosity via dual silica templating route

Combining both nano-replication and nano-imprinting techniques using dual silica templates provides a simple way to synthesize ordered mesoporous carbons with bimodal pore size distributions ( approximately 1.5 nm and approximately 3.5 nm).     

Luminophore-immobilized mesoporous silica for selective Hg sensing

Novel mesoporous silica-immobilized rhodamine (MSIR) and silica particle-immobilized rhodamine (SPIR) anchored by a tren (N(CH₂CH₂NH₂)₃) were synthesized. The binding and adsorption abilities of both MSIR and SPIR for metal cations were investigated with fluorophotometry and ion chromatography, respectively. Both MSIR and SPIR show selectivity for Hg²⁺ ion over other metal cations because the Hg²⁺ ion selectively induces a ring opening of the rhodamine fluorophores. The sensitivity of the MSIR for Hg²⁺ ion is greater than that of the SPIR and the MSIR adsorbs 70% of Hg²⁺ ion while the SPIR does only 40%. The MSIR can be also easily recovered by treatment of a solution of TBA⁺OH⁻. For the application of Hg²⁺ detection in the environmental field, the MSIR-coated glass plate is also developed and exhibits an excellent function in visual and fluorescence changes with Hg²⁺ ion.     

Enzyme encapsulation in nanoporous silica spheres

Encapsulating enzymes in mesoporous silica spheres via immobilization, followed by assembling an organic/inorganic nanocomposite shell on the particle surface leads to high loadings, high enzymatic activity and stability, and protection from proteolysis.