Sonochemical synthesis and rheological properties of shear thickening silica dispersions

A sonochemical method has been developed to synthesize shear thickening fluid. This shear thickening fluid (STF) is composed of hard silicon dioxide nanoparticles and polyethylene glycol (PEG) liquid polymer. The combination of flow-able and hard components at a particular composition, results a material with remarkable rheological properties that is suitable for liquid body armor applications. In the present study nine types of STF’s have been synthesized with two different types of silica nanoparticles (15 nm and 200 nm) and polyethylene glycol at various weight fractions using a high intensity ultrasonic irradiation. The resultant STF samples were tested for their rheological and thermal properties. The advantages and disadvantages of this process have been discussed.     

Solvent effect in sonochemical synthesis of metal-alloy nanoparticles for use as electrocatalysts

Nanomaterials are now widely used in the fabrication of electrodes and electrocatalysts. Herein, we report a sonochemical study of the synthesis of molybdenum and palladium alloy nanomaterials supported on functionalized carbon material in various solvents: hexadecane, ethanol, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol (PEG 400) and Ionic liquids (ILs). The objective was to identify simple and more environmentally friendly design and fabrication methods for nanomaterial synthesis that are suitable as electrocatalysts in electrochemical applications. The particles size and distribution of nanomaterials were compared on two different carbons as supports: activated carbon and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The results show that carbon materials functionalized with ILs in ethanol/deionized water mixture solvent produced smaller particles sizes (3.00 ± 0.05 nm) with uniform distribution while in PEG 400, functionalized materials produced 4.00 ± 1 nm sized particles with uneven distribution (range). In hexadecane solvents with Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as capping ligands, large particle sizes (14.00 ± 1 nm) were produced with wide particle size distribution. The metal alloy nanoparticles produced in ILs without any external reducing agent have potential to exhibit a higher catalytic activity due to smaller particle size and uniform distribution.     

Ex vivo assessment of polyol coated-iron oxide nanoparticles for MRI diagnosis applications: toxicological and MRI contrast enhancement effects

Polyol synthesis is a promising method to obtain directly pharmaceutical grade colloidal dispersion of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). Here, we study the biocompatibility and performance as T2-MRI contrast agents (CAs) of high quality magnetic colloidal dispersions (average hydrodynamic aggregate diameter of 16-27 nm) consisting of polyol-synthesized SPIONs (5 nm in mean particle size) coated with triethylene glycol (TEG) chains (TEG-SPIONs), which were subsequently functionalized to carboxyl-terminated meso-2-3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) coated-iron oxide nanoparticles (DMSA-SPIONs). Standard MTT assays on HeLa, U87MG, and HepG2 cells revealed that colloidal dispersions of TEG-coated iron oxide nanoparticles did not induce any loss of cell viability after 3 days incubation with dose concentrations below 50 μg Fe/ml. However, after these nanoparticles were functionalized with DMSA molecules, an increase on their cytotoxicity was observed, so that particles bearing free terminal carboxyl groups on their surface were not cytotoxic only at low concentrations (<10 μg Fe/ml). Moreover, cell uptake assays on HeLa and U87MG and hemolysis tests have demonstrated that TEG-SPIONs and DMSA-SPIONs were well internalized by the cells and did not induce any adverse effect on the red blood cells at the tested concentrations. Finally, in vitro relaxivity measurements and post mortem MRI studies in mice indicated that both types of coated-iron oxide nanoparticles produced higher negative T2-MRI contrast enhancement than that measured for a similar commercial T2-MRI CAs consisting in dextran-coated ultra-small iron oxide nanoparticles (Ferumoxtran-10). In conclusion, the above attributes make both types of as synthesized coated-iron oxide nanoparticles, but especially DMSA-SPIONs, promising candidates as T2-MRI CAs for nanoparticle-enhanced MRI diagnosis applications.     

Size-dependent magnetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles

Uniform iron oxide nanoparticles in the size range from 10 to 24 nm and polydisperse 14 nm iron oxide particles were prepared by thermal decomposition of Fe(III) carboxylates in the presence of oleic acid and co-precipitation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) chlorides by ammonium hydroxide followed by oxidation, respectively. While the first method produced hydrophobic oleic acid coated particles, the second one formed hydrophilic, but uncoated, nanoparticles. To make the iron oxide particles water dispersible and colloidally stable, their surface was modified with poly(ethylene glycol) and sucrose, respectively. Size and size distribution of the nanoparticles was determined by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and X-ray diffraction. Surface of the PEG-functionalized and sucrose-modified iron oxide particles was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Magnetic properties were measured by means of vibration sample magnetometry and specific absorption rate in alternating magnetic fields was determined calorimetrically. It was found, that larger ferrimagnetic particles showed higher heating performance than smaller superparamagnetic ones. In the transition range between superparamagnetism and ferrimagnetism, samples with a broader size distribution provided higher heating power than narrow size distributed particles of comparable mean size. Here presented particles showed promising properties for a possible application in magnetic hyperthermia.     

Silica encapsulation of luminescent silicon nanoparticles: stable and biocompatible nanohybrids

This article presents a process for surface coating and functionalization of luminescent silicon nanoparticles. The particles were coated with silica using a microemulsion process that was adapted to the fragile silicon nanoparticles. The as-produced core–shell particles have a mean diameter of 35 nm and exhibit the intrinsic photoluminescence of the silicon core. The silica layer protects the core from aqueous oxidation for several days, thus allowing the use of the nanoparticles for biological applications. The nanoparticles were further coated with amines and functionalized with polyethylene glycol chains and the toxicity of the particles has been evaluated at the different stages of the process. The core–shell nanoparticles exhibit no acute toxicity towards lung cells, which is promising for further development.     

Study of optical and thermal properties in nickel doped ZnS nanoparticles using surfactants

The presence of surfactants polyethylene glycol (PEG), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), sodium hexameta polyphosphate (SHMP) and tri-octyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) on the surface of Ni²⁺ doped ZnS (ZnS:Ni²⁺) nanoparticles resulted variation in their optical properties. The optical properties of each surfactant-capped ZnS:Ni²⁺ nanoparticles were investigated using UV–visible (UV–Vis) absorption and photoluminescence (PL) techniques. The absorption spectra and fluorescent emission spectra showed a significant blue shift compared to that of the bulk zinc sulfide. The effect of the optical properties in colloidal form (wet) and dry samples were investigated. Enhanced PL emission was observed for the dry samples at 80 °C. Thermal properties of the ZnS:Ni²⁺ was also studied using thermo gravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), Fourier transform infra-red spectrometer (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results are presented and discussed.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance as an effective method for a characterization of functionalized iron oxide

Iron(II, III) oxide magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) have been coated with (3-Chloropropyl) trimethoxysilane and subsequently functionalized with 4-Amino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl and Amoxicillin. Finally, the functionalized iron oxide NPs have been coated with natural polymer, chitosan, in order to prevent NPs agglomeration in aqueous environment. The product was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was studied by the electron paramagnetic resonance method and the parameters describing the magnetic properties of the investigated nanoparticles, such as g-factor and line width, were calculated.     

Cell viability and MRI performance of highly efficient polyol-coated magnetic nanoparticles

This work aimed at determining conditions that would allow us to control the size of the NPs and create a system with characteristics apt for biomedical applications. We describe a comprehensive study on the synthesis and physical characterization of two highly sensitive sets of triethylene glycol (TREG) and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) to be evaluated for use as magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents. The ferrofluids demonstrated excellent colloidal stability in deionized water at pH 7.0 as indicated by dynamic light scattering (DLS) data. The magnetic relaxivities, r ₂, were measured on a 1.5 T clinical MRI instrument. Values in the range from 205 to 257 mM^?1 s^?1 were obtained, varying proportionally to the SPIONs’ sizes and coating nature. Further in vitro cell viability tests and in vivo biodistribution analyses of the intravenously administered nanoparticles showed that the prepared systems have good biocompatibility and migrate to several organs, mainly the meninges, spleen, and liver. Based on these results, our findings demonstrated the potential utility of these nanosystems as clinical contrast agents for MR imaging.     

Theory of enhanced second-harmonic generation in some artificial materials

We review the recent theoretical investigation on enhanced second-harmonic generation (SHG) in soft nonlinear optical materials based on ferrofluids, graded metallic films, and graded metal-dielectric films of anisotropic particles. The SHG of soft ferrofluid-based nonlinear optical materials possess magnetic-field controllabilities, i.e., magnetic-field-controllable anisotropy, red-shift and enhancement, which are caused to appear by the shift of a resonant plasmon frequency due to the formation of the chains of the coated nanoparticles. Both graded metallic films and graded metal-dielectric films of anisotropic particles can serve as a novel optical material for producing a broad structure in both the linear and SHG response and an enhancement in the SHG signal, due to the local field effects.      

Nanosized cancer cell-targeted polymeric immunomicelles loaded with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

Stable 30–50 nm polymeric polyethylene glycol–phosphatidylethanolamine (PEG–PE)-based micelles entrapping superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) have been prepared. At similar concentrations of SPION, the SPION-micelles had significantly better magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2 relaxation signal compared to ‘plain’ SPION. Freeze-fracture electron microscopy confirmed SPION entrapment in the lipid core of the PEG–PE micelles. To enhance the targeting capability of these micelles, their surface was modified with the cancer cell-specific anti-nucleosome monoclonal antibody 2C5 (mAb 2C5). Such mAb 2C5-SPION immunomicelles demonstrated specific binding with cancer cells in vitro and were able to bring more SPION to the cancer cells thus demonstrating the potential to be used as targeted MRI contrast agents for tumor imaging.     

Solid-stabilized emulsion formation using stearoyl lactylate coated iron oxide nanoparticles

Iron oxide nanoparticles can exhibit highly tunable physicochemical properties that are extremely important in applications such as catalysis, biomedicine and environmental remediation. The small size of iron oxide nanoparticles can be used to stabilize oil-in-water Pickering emulsions due to their high energy of adsorption at the interface of oil droplets in water. The objective of this work is to investigate the effect of the primary particle characteristics and stabilizing agent chemistry on the stability of oil-in-water Pickering emulsions. Iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by the co-precipitation method using stoichiometric amounts of Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ salts. Sodium stearoyl lactylate (SSL), a Food and Drug Administration approved food additive, was used to functionalize the iron oxide nanoparticles. SSL is useful in the generation of fat-in-water emulsions due to its high hydrophilic–lipophilic balance and its bilayer-forming capacity. Generation of a monolayer or a bilayer coating on the nanoparticles was controlled through systematic changes in reagent concentrations. The coated particles were then characterized using various analytical techniques to determine their size, their crystal structure and surface functionalization. The capacity of these bilayer coated nanoparticles to stabilize oil-in-water emulsions under various salt concentrations and pH values was also systematically determined using various characterization techniques. This study successfully demonstrated the ability to synthesize iron oxide nanoparticles (20–40 nm) coated with SSL in order to generate stable Pickering emulsions that were pH-responsive and resistant to significant destabilization in a saline environment, thereby lending themselves to applications in advanced oil spill recovery and remediation.     

Controlling synthesis of Fe nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol

This study looks at the synthesis of Fe nanoparticles using a borohydride reduction of metal salts in the presence of carboxyl and methoxyl terminated polyethylene glycol (PEG). As the PEG concentration is varied, there is a corresponding increase in the Fe content of samples as determined by Mossbauer spectroscopy. Particle sizes are between 70 and 300 nm as indicated by transmission electron microscopy. As the polymer concentration is increased the overall saturation magnetization of the coated nanoparticles initially increases due to the increased iron content with a maximum of 70 emu/g for nanoparticles with the largest Fe content. The magnetization then begins to decrease as the polymer concentration begins to contribute to a significant volume fraction of the sample. All samples are magnetically soft with high remanence as indicated by SQUID magnetometry measurements.     

Nanoscale Janus Particles with Dual Protein Functionalization

Biofunctionalized Janus particles with tailored surface chemistry are gathering interest for applications as catalysts, multifunctional cell surface targets, nanomotors, and drug delivery systems. The dual nature of the surface chemistry of Janus particles can be exploited to immobilize drugs, cell surface targets, and/or other functional molecules on both sides of the particle surface. In this study, a model system is established for the scalable preparation of nanoscale Janus particles with dual protein functionalization with the proteins ferritin and streptavidin. 80 nm silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) modified with azidosilane are used to prepare Pickering emulsions with molten wax as the droplet phase. The azide‐functionalized SiNPs on the Pickering emulsion droplets are further subjected to face‐selective silanization with biotin‐polyethylene glycol ethoxy silane. Afterward, ferritin is grafted on the azide‐functionalized side via a click‐reaction and the biotin groups are conjugated with streptavidin which is labeled with ultrasmall gold nanoparticles. In order to elucidate the advantages and limits of this approach, a detailed characterization is performed of the particles at every process step. The results show that this method represents a scalable platform for the versatile preparation of nanoscale Janus nanoparticles that can potentially be used with a wide variety of proteins.     

Rheological properties of polydisperse magnetic fluids. Effect of chain aggregates

A theoretical model of medium-density polydisperse magnetic fluids is proposed. The model takes into account that the major fraction of particles in typical ferrofluids is characterized by a magnetic core diameter of about 10 nm. In addition, there is a certain proportion of large particles with a core diameter of about 16 nm. As a result of the magnetic dipole interaction, the large particles form chain aggregates. Small particles, for which the magnetic dipole interaction energy (both with each other and with large particles) is smaller than the thermal energy, remain in the individual nonaggregated state. The distribution of chains with respect to the number of (large) particles and some rheological characteristics of the ferrofluids are determined. The proposed model is capable of explaining, in principle, the giant magnetoviscosity effect and a strong dependence of the rheological properties of ferrofluids on the shear rate observed in some recent experiments.     

Studies on polyethylene glycol coating on NiFe2O4 nanoparticles for biomedical applications

The NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were prepared by the combustion method and these nanoparticles were successfully coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) for the possible biomedical applications such as magnetic resonance imaging, drug delivery, tissue repair, magnetic fluid hyperthermia etc. The structural and magnetic characterizations of NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles were carried out by x-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry techniques, respectively. The morphology of the uncoated and coated nanoparticles was studied by scanning electron microscopy. The existence of PEG layer on NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles was confirmed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique.     

Experimental investigation on the magneto-optic effects of ferrofluids via dynamic measurements

An experimental investigation on the origin of the magneto-optic effects of ferrofluids is presented. Dynamic measurements of their transverse and longitudinal magneto-optic effects and their magnetic properties have been performed. As ferrofluids are colloidal suspensions of magnetic particles in a liquid, the influence of two parameters has been studied: the magnetic anisotropy energy of particles and the carrier liquid viscosity for four ferrofluid samples. The interpretation and the comparison of results give some clues for a better understanding of magneto-optical effects of ferrofluids.     

Preparation, optical properties, magnetic properties and thermal stability of core-shell structure cobalt/zinc oxide nanocomposites

Cobalt nanoparticles coated with zinc oxide can form composite spheres with core-shell structure. This coating process was based on the use of silane coupling with agent 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane (HS-(CH₂)₃Si(OCH₃)₃, MPTS) as a primer to render the cobalt surface vitreophilic, thus it renders cobalt surface compatible with ZnO. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to gain insight into the way in which the MPTS is bound to the surface of the cobalt nanoparticles. The morphological structure, chemical composition, optical properties and magnetic properties of the product were investigated by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscope and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It was found that the Co/ZnO core-shell structure nanocomposites exhibited both of favorable magnetism and photoluminescence properties. Results of the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) indicated that the thermal stability of cobalt/zinc oxide was better than that of pure cobalt nanoparticles.     

Particle speciation during PEG–Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> hybrid nanoparticle self-assembly on Si(Ti)O<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The kinetics of assembly of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in aqueous suspension on planar Si(Ti)O₂ surfaces have been determined using high-resolution optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy (OWLS). Analysis of the results revealed that the initially uniform population was spontaneously transformed into two types of particles with significantly different adsorption behaviour.     

Shear Thickening Fluids Based on Additives with Different Concentrations and Molecular Chain Lengths

将二氧化硅颗粒和不同分子链长添加剂颗粒分散到聚乙二醇分散介质中制得剪切增稠液样品,研究了添加剂的不同含量和不同分子链长对剪切增稠液流变性能的影响. 对其流变特性的研究表明,随着添加剂含量的增加和分子链长的增长,样品的剪切增稠效应增强明显,并用大粒子簇的形成对增强机理给出了合理的解释.     

Synthesis and rheological investigation of a magnetic fluid using olivary silica-coated iron particles as a precursor

A new type of magnetic fluid was prepared by dispersing monodispersed iron–silica (Fe–SiO₂) composite particles in polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400. The composite particles Fe–SiO₂ were synthesized by hydrogen reduction from α-Fe₂O₃–SiO₂ spheres. Their microstructures were observed by a high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and the magnetism was characterized with a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. Both steady-state and dynamic rheological properties of the magnetic fluid under different magnetic fields were studied by using a rheometer. Experimental results show that this magnetic fluid has a relatively high magnetoviscous effect at low shear rates. The yield stress of this material shows an increasing trend with a magnetic flux density. Also, viscoealstic properties of such materials are different from conventional ones.