Gold Nanoparticles Stabilized by Single Tripodal Ligands

In order to coat the entire surface of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by a single ligand, tripodal macromolecules comprising benzylic thioethers coordinating to the AuNP surface are synthesized and their abilities to stabilize AuNPs are investigated. Out of the five studied ligands 1 – 5 , the tetraphenylmethane‐based oligomers 4 and 5 display excellent AuNP coating features. Both ligand structures are able to control the dimensions of the AuNPs by stabilizing particles of narrow size distributions during their syntheses (1.05 ± 0.28 nm for Au‐4 , and 1.15 ± 0.34 nm for Au‐5 ). Closer inspection of these AuNPs by transmission electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analyses suggests that single ligands 4 and 5 are able to stabilize entire AuNPs. These particles Au‐4 and Au‐5 are obtained in good yields and display promising thermal stabilities (110 °C for Au‐4 , and 95 °C for Au‐5 ), making them interesting nanoscale inorganic–organic building blocks for further functionalization/processing by wet chemistry.     

Ageing of Alkylthiol‐Stabilized Gold Nanoparticles

The ageing of spherical gold nanoparticles having 6‐nm‐diameter cores and a ligand shell of dodecanethiol is investigated under different storage conditions. Losses caused by agglomeration and changes in optical particle properties are quantified. Changes in colloidal stability are probed by analytical centrifugation in a polar solvent mixture. Chemical changes are detected by elementary analysis of particles and solvent. Fractionation occurs under all storage conditions. Ageing is not uniform but broadens the property distributions of the particles. Small‐number statistics in the ligand shell density and the morphological heterogeneity of particles are possible explanations. Washing steps exacerbate ageing, a process that could not be fully reversed by excess ligands. Dry storage is not preferable to storage in solvent. Storage under inert argon atmosphere reduces losses more than all other conditions but could not prevent it entirely.     

Aerosol Catalysis on Nickel Nanoparticles

Nickel nanoparticles produced by spark discharges were used as aerosol catalyst for the formation of methane. The available surface area of the particles was determined using different methods. It was found that the surface area available for nitrogen adsorption and, therefore, for the methanation reaction remained virtually constant during restructuring of the agglomerates while the surface area based on the mobility was significantly reduced. In general, the reaction parameters such as activation energy and reaction rates agree well with the values for single nickel crystals and foils. At temperatures above 350°C the activation energy and the photoelectric activity of the particles decrease indicating the formation of graphite on the particle surface. Also the change of the work function points to the build up of multiple layers of graphite on the particle surface. The surprisingly low temperature for the surface deactivation may indicate an enhanced formation of carbon atoms at the surface.     

基于功能化的金纳米的共振瑞利散射方法手性识别肉碱对映体

一种不经分离而同时测定手性对映体的简便方案是非常有趣和有用的.提出一种基于共振瑞利散射(RRS)光谱技术手性识别新方法,利用功能化的金纳米粒子(Au NPs)同时检测肉碱对映体.Au NPs的RRS强度很弱,但当Cu2+存在时,RRS强度显著增加.更有趣的是,肉碱对映体均可以降低Cu2+-Au NPs体系的RRS强度,但D-肉碱使RRS降低更多.在最优实验条件下,均有良好的线性关系并有很好的相关系数以及较低的检出限.由此,这种方法可以计算出肉碱对映体的对映体比率和对映体分数.并应用于胶囊样品中肉碱对映体混合物手性识别的研究.该方法不需要复杂的手性修饰处理,并具有简捷低消耗、灵敏度高、选择性好等优点.     

Protein‐Affinitive Polydopamine Nanoparticles as an Efficient Surface Modification Strategy for Versatile Porous Scaffolds Enhancing Tissue Regeneration

Porous scaffolds for tissue regeneration are often functionalized with extracellular matrix proteins to enhance surface/cell interactions and tissue regeneration. However, continuous coatings produced by commonly used surface modification strategies may preclude cells from contacting and sensing the chemical and physical cues of the scaffold. Here, it is shown that polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA‐NPs) tightly adhere on various scaffolds to form nanostructures, and the coverage can be finely tuned. Furthermore, the PDA‐NPs have good affinity to a variety of proteins and peptides. Thus, the PDA‐NPs act as an anchor to immobilize signal biomolecules on scaffolds, and consequently promote cell activity and tissue regeneration. β‐Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) scaffolds decorated with PDA‐NPs demonstrate excellent osteoinductivity and bone‐regeneration performance due to the protein affinity of PDA‐NPs and the intrinsic bioactive characteristics of TCP scaffolds. In summary, PDA‐NPs with excellent affinity for protein adhesion represent a versatile platform to modify porous scaffolds while not compromising the biological functions of the scaffolds, and might have potential applications in tissue regeneration.     

Engineering Protein Venoms as Self-Assembling CXCR4-Targeted Cytotoxic Nanoparticles

Protein venoms are effective cytotoxic molecules that when conveniently targeted to tumoral markers can be exploited as promising anticancer drugs. Here, it is explored whether the structurally unrelated melittin, gomesin, and CLIP71 could be functionally active when engineered, in form of GFP fusions, as self-assembling multimeric nanoparticles. Incorporated in modular constructs including a C-terminal polyhistidine tag and an N-terminal peptidic ligand of the cytokine receptor CXCR4 (overexpressed in more than 20 human neoplasias), these venoms are well produced in recombinant bacteria as proteolytically stable regular nanoparticles ranging between 12 and 35 nm. Being highly fluorescent, these materials selectively penetrate, label, and kill CXCR4⁺ tumor cells in a CXCR4-dependent fashion. The obtained data support the concept of recombinant venoms as promising drugs, through the precise formulation as tumor-targeted nanomaterials for selective theragnostic applications in CXCR4⁺ cancers.     

Functionalized Biomimetic Magnetic Nanoparticles as Effective Nanocarriers for Targeted Chemotherapy

Novel MamC‐mediated biomimetic magnetic nanoparticles (BMNPs) are proposed as valuable carriers for targeted chemotherapy because of the size (36 ± 12 nm) and of surface properties conferred by MamC coating. They are super‐paramagnetic at room and body temperatures, have a large magnetic moment per particle, mediate hyperthermia, are cytocompatible, and, having a negative surface charge at physiological pH, can be efficiently coupled with DOXOrubicin (DOXO) and a monoclonal antibody (mAb) directed against the human Met/hepatocyte growth factor receptor (overexpressed in many cancers) displaying coupling stability, while releasing DOXO at acidic pH. This release can be enhanced by hyperthermia. The DOXO‐mAb‐BMNPs selectively recognize Met, bind efficiently to Met⁺ tumor cells, and discharge DOXO within their nuclei more efficiently than DOXO‐BMNPs, exerting cytotoxicity. These data represent proof of concept for future in vivo experiments in which the controlled dual targeting (mAb‐mediated and magnetic) approach and combined (chemotherapy and hyperthermia) therapy will be studied.     

A Comparative Study of Chemical Routes for Coating Gold Nanoparticles via Controlled RAFT Emulsion Polymerization

The synthesis of core‐shell Au nanoparticles protected by an amphiphilic block copolymer is investigated by distinct reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion polymerization routes. The controlled polymerization of polymer shells onto Au nanoparticles is attempted by using the macroRAFT (MR) agent based on 2‐(dodecylthiocarbonothioylthio)‐2‐methylpropionic acid synthesized via RAFT polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate and exploring several approaches, which include (i) post‐modification; (ii) in situ synthesis and (iii) “grafting from” strategies. In the conditions investigated here all these strategies lead to Au polymer nanocomposites but morphological well‐defined core‐shell nanoparticles are only obtained by applying the “grafting from” strategy. In particular, conditions that promote chain extension from the MR agent adsorbed onto the Au nanoparticles are found necessary to obtain nanostructures with such morphological characteristics and that still show the localized surface plasmon resonance typical of colloidal Au nanoparticles.     

Influence of Hydrothermal Temperature on Structures and Photovoltaic Properties of SnO2 Nanoparticles

Two SnO₂ nanoparticles were synthesized by hydrothermal method at 170°C and 180°C, respectively. Transmission electron microscope observations reveal that the diameters of both the nanoparticles are around 6nm. At the same time, surface photovoltage spectroscopy measurements show that the nanoparticle synthesized at 180°C has more surface electronic states at 0.3eV below the conduction band than the one synthesized at 170°C. This means that the temperatures chosen in hydrothermal synthesis have significant influence on the surface electronic characteristics of resultant SnO² nanoparticles but the effect on their sizes is not obvious. However, after being calcined at 500°C for 2h, the diameter of the nanoparticle synthesized at 180°C increased to 23nm and that of the nanoparticle synthesized at 170°C increased to 32nm as calculated from X-ray diffraction pattern.     

自组装银纳米粒子及其SERS增强效应

采用柠檬酸三钠还原硝酸银方法制备出银纳米粒子, 并通过在玻璃表面修饰3-氨基丙基-三乙氧基硅烷( APTES)对银纳米粒子进行自组装。利用紫外-可见(UV-Vis)吸收光谱和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)测试手段对样品进行分析和表征。由测试结果可知银纳米粒子的尺寸比较均匀, 组装致密度较高, 基本以亚单层的形式分布于基底表面。进一步研究了以结晶紫(CV)为探针分子的自组装基底的表面增强拉曼光谱(SERS), 计算发现该基底的拉曼增强因子数量级达106。结果表明: 银纳米粒子自组装基底具有良好的SERS增强效应, 为痕量CV的检测提供了有效的方法。     

Spontaneous Agglomeration of Silver Nanoparticles Deposited on Carbon Film Surface

The spontaneous aggregation of silver nanoparticles on a two-dimensional surface at room temperature is investigated. The nanoparticles were deposited on a carbon film and have been observed by a transmission electron microscope (TEM) for over one year. These particles were about 10nm, spherical and well dispersed initially, and an obviously spontaneous agglomeration was observed at the 12th day, the values, coverage rate of the silver particles on carbon film, were increased with time (before 40th day), but reduced with time (after 40th day). These show that the aggregates of the particles tend to have the smallest surface to reduce their surface free energy and are compact three-dimensional cluster in which the most size is above 100nm. Agglomerating is a successively slow diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) growth. Another phenomenon, a big aggregate gathering some particles and a small aggregate to form a still bigger one, is observed. This indicates that the aggregating processes are controlled by migration of the particles on carbon film surface and surface energy of the particles.     

CdSe/ZnSe核-壳结构纳米粒子合成新方法

报道用“一步”合成新方法制备了CdSe/ZnSe核-壳结构的发光纳米粒子.该方法是将锌的前驱体注入表面Se富集的CdSe发光纳米粒子溶液中,通过Zn²⁺与Se共价键结合,从而在CdSe发光纳米粒子的表面形成ZnSe壳.分别通过X射线粉末衍射、光电子能谱、透射电镜、紫外-可见吸收光谱和光致发光光谱,对核-壳结构的发光纳米粒子的结构及光学性质进行了表征.结果表明,以较宽带隙的ZnSe在较窄带隙的CdSe纳米粒子表面形成的壳层有效地钝化了CdSe纳米粒子的表面缺陷,明显地提高了室温下CdSe纳米粒子的光致发光效率.X射线粉末衍射表明随着Zn²⁺的不断注入,CdSe/ZnSe的衍射峰逐渐移向ZnSe衍射峰.光电子能谱数据显示,Zn2p的双峰分别位于1020,1040eV附近,通过与体材料ZnO相比,确定为Zn²⁺的光电子发射,说明Zn是以共价键形式存在于CdSe纳米粒子的表面.透射电镜照片显示纳米粒子具有良好的单分散性,核-壳结构的发光纳米粒子直径较CdSe核的直径明显增加.     

Au纳米粒子增强丙酮受激拉曼散射研究

受激拉曼散射(stimulated Raman scattering,SRS)具有激光的特性,并且容易获取不同波长的激光,从而成为调谐激光频率的重要途径之一。然而,由于其转化效率低,限制了它的实际应用。金属纳米粒子具有很强的表面增强效应,曾被广泛地用于增强拉曼散射而获得良好的效果。本文提出将金属纳米粒子的这种性质用于增强SRS。把Au纳米粒子混合于拉曼介质丙酮中,以532nm的纳秒脉冲激光作为激发光,研究了Au纳米粒子在丙酮中的浓度对丙酮SRS一阶Stokes光强的影响,并通过仿真计算对实验结果进行了解释和分析。     

Graphenic Aerogels Decorated with Ag Nanoparticles as 3D SERS Substrates for Biosensing

A versatile and efficient surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate based on a hybrid aerogel composed of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), suitable for highly sensitive label-free detection of chemical and biological species, is presented. The simple and low-cost one-pot hydrothermal synthesis allows obtaining of a 3D nanostructured spongy-like matrix that shows good spatial distribution of Ag nanoparticles in intimate contact with rGO flakes, characterized by means of several morphological, structural, and compositional techniques. The nanostructured material, tested by SERS analysis with both rhodamine 6G (R6G) and 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (MBA), shows a satisfying SERS efficiency, quantified in terms of minimum detectable concentration of 10⁻¹⁰ and 10⁻⁷ m , corresponding to on- and off-resonant excitation, respectively. The versatility of chemical/biochemical functionalization is successfully demonstrated by exploiting different routes, by immobilizing both protoporphyrin IX (PRPIX) and hemin (H) that take advantage of π−π non-covalent bonding with the graphene layers, as well as thiol-ended oligonucleotides (DNA probes/aptamers) directly grafted on the AgNPs. Finally, after the successful integration of the hybrid aerogel into a microfluidic chip, the biorecognition of miR222 is obtained demonstrating the reliability of the aerogel substrate as SERS platform for biosensing.     

三水合醋酸钠纳米成核剂的性能研究

三水合醋酸钠是一种具有较高的储能密度和热导率的储热相变材料,但是在凝固过程中的过冷和相分离现象限制了它的应用,需要寻求有效的成核剂和增稠剂来克服过冷和相分离的问题。本文实验分析了几种纳米材料（AIN、Si₃N₄、ZrB₂、SiO₂、BC₄、SiB₆）的成核效果,结果表明质量分数5%或4%的Si₃N₄、10%ZrB₂、5%AlN在自然分散下就能够消除三水合醋酸钠过冷度,质量分数2%的SiO₂在熔化的三水合醋酸钠中经磁力搅拌和超声分散后能够消除其过冷度。结合纳米材料的粒度分析结果,表明粒度分布在几十纳米到300纳米左右的纳米材料有较好的成核效果。     

表面修饰的CdS纳米荧光探针的研究

采用溶胶-凝胶法合成硫脲表面修饰的硫化镉纳米粒子[CdS/SC(NH₂)₂],研究硫脲的用量对其粒径的影响,用X射线粉末衍射、透射电子显微镜,红外光谱以及荧光光谱等手段进行了表征。并研究了小牛胸腺DNA的加入对该纳米粒子荧光光谱的影响。实验结果表明,硫脲的用量对该纳米粒子的粒径大小及发光特性有明显影响,随反应物中硫脲与镉离子的物质的量的比值增加,CdS/SC(NH₂)₂纳米粒子粒径变小,其发射波长蓝移,表现出明显的量子尺寸特性;小牛胸腺DNA的加入使CdS/SC(NH₂)₂纳米粒子的发射光谱强度减弱,实验推测该纳米粒子与小牛胸腺DNA存在静电相互作用, 该研究结果可望用于DNA的分析测定。     

氮吸附法测定纳米粒子的比表面积实验

在纳米粒子的性能表征中,比表面积是一个非常重要的参数。本文研究了用氮吸附法测定纳米粒子比表面积的实验方法。