Sodium 1‐Naphthalenesulfonate‐Functionalized Reduced Graphene Oxide Stabilizes Silver Nanoparticles with Lower Cytotoxicity and Long‐Term Antibacterial Activity

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are increasingly used in daily life for their antibacterial properties, but their low stability and high cytotoxicity hamper practical applications. In this work, sodium 1‐naphthalenesulfonate‐functionalized reduced graphene oxide (NA‐rGO) was used as a substrate for AgNPs to produce a AgNP‐NA‐rGO hybrid. This hybrid showed substantially higher antibacterial activity than polyvinyl pyrrolidone(PVP)‐stabilized AgNPs, and the AgNPs on NA‐rGO were more stable than the AgNPs on PVP, resulting in long‐term antibacterial effects. More importantly, this hybrid showed excellent water solubility and low cytotoxicity, suggesting the great potential application as sprayable reduced graphene oxide based antibacterial solutions.     

Durable Mesenchymal Stem Cell Labelling by Using Polyhedral Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Small polyhedral superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles (<10 nm) coated with a thin layer of silica were prepared (SPIO@SiO₂ and SPIO@SiO₂‐NH₂). Surface modification of the small polyhedral silica‐coated SPIO nanoparticles with amines led to substantially higher mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) labelling efficiency without the use of additional transfecting agents. Therefore, amine surface‐modified nanoparticles (SPIO@ SiO₂‐NH₂) appeared to be the preferred candidate for MSC labelling. In vitro studies demonstrated that controlled labelling of SPIO@SiO₂ and SPIO@SiO₂‐NH₂ did not cause MSC death or proliferation inhibition. MSCs labelled with SPIO@SiO₂‐NH₂ nanoparticles retained differentiation potential and showed osteogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiations. The noncytotoxic polyhedral SPIO@SiO₂‐NH₂ nanoparticle‐labelled MSCs were successfully implanted in rabbit brain and erector spinae muscle, and demonstrated long‐lasting, durable MRI labelling efficacy after 8–12 weeks.     

CXCR4‐Targeted and MMP‐Responsive Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging

MRI offers high spatial resolution with excellent tissue penetration but it has limited sensitivity and the commonly administered contrast agents lack specificity. In this study, two sets of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were synthesized that were designed to selectively undergo copper‐free click conjugation upon sensing of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes, thereby leading to a self‐assembled superparamagnetic nanocluster network with T₂ signal enhancement properties. For this purpose, IONPs with bioorthogonal azide and alkyne surfaces masked by polyethylene glycol (PEG) layers tethered to CXCR4‐targeted peptide ligands were synthesized and characterized. The IONPs were tested in vitro and T₂ signal enhancements of around 160 % were measured when the IONPs were incubated with cells expressing MMP2/9 and CXCR4. Simultaneous systemic administration of the bioorthogonal IONPs in tumor‐bearing mice demonstrated the signal‐enhancing ability of these ‘smart’ self‐assembling nanomaterials.     

Copper Oxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis,Characterization and Their Antibacterial Activity

Copper oxide nanoparticles were prepared by electrochemical reduction method using tetra butyl ammonium bromide (TBAB) as structure directing agent in an organic medium viz. tetra hydro furan (THF) and acetonitrile (ACN) in 4:1 ratio by optimizing current density and molar concentration of the ligand. The reduction process takes place under inert atmosphere of nitrogen over a period of 2 h. Such nanoparticles are prepared using simple electrolysis cell in which the sacrificial anode as a commercially available copper metal sheet and platinum (inert) sheet act as a cathode. The parameters such as current density, solvent polarity, distance between electrodes, and concentration of stabilizers are used to control the size of nanoparticles. The synthesized copper oxide nanoparticles were characterized by using UV–Visible, FT-IR, XRD, SEM–EDS and TEM analysis techniques. The nanoparticles were tested for antibacterial activity against human pathogens like Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus strains and which was proved to be excellent.     

Ultrasmall Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles with Europium(III) DO3A as a Bimodal Imaging Probe

A new prototype consisting of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles decorated with europium(III) ions encapsulated in a DO3A organic scaffold was designed as a platform for further development of bimodal contrast agents for MRI and optical imaging. The USPIO nanoparticles act as negative MRI contrast agents, whereas the europium(III) ion is a luminophore that is suitable for use in optical imaging detection. The functionalized USPIO nanoparticles were characterized by TEM, DLS, XRD, FTIR, and TXRF analysis, and a full investigation of the relaxometric and optical properties was conducted. The typical luminescence emission of europium(III) was observed and the main red emission wavelength was found at 614 nm. The relaxometric study of these ultrasmall nanoparticles showed r₂ values of 114.8 mm ^?1_Fes^?1 at 60 MHz, which is nearly double the r₂ relaxivity of Sinerem^®.     

Heparin–Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for Theranostic Applications

In this study, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) were engineered with an organic coating composed of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), providing heparin-based nanoparticle systems (LMWH@SPIONs). The purpose was to merge the properties of the heparin skeleton and an inorganic core to build up a targeted theranostic nanosystem, which was eventually enhanced by loading a chemotherapeutic agent. Iron oxide cores were prepared via the co-precipitation of iron salts in an alkaline environment and oleic acid (OA) capping. Dopamine (DA) was covalently linked to BSA and LMWH by amide linkages via carbodiimide coupling. The following ligand exchange reaction between the DA-BSA/DA-LMWH and OA was conducted in a biphasic system composed of water and hexane, affording LMWH@SPIONs stabilized in water by polystyrene sulfonate (PSS). Their size and morphology were investigated via dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The LMWH@SPIONs’ cytotoxicity was tested, showing marginal or no toxicity for samples prepared with PSS at concentrations of 50 µg/mL. Their inhibitory activity on the heparanase enzyme was measured, showing an effective inhibition at concentrations comparable to G4000 (N-desulfo-N-acetyl heparin, a non-anticoagulant and antiheparanase heparin derivative; Roneparstat). The LMWH@SPION encapsulation of paclitaxel (PTX) enhanced the antitumor effect of this chemotherapeutic on breast cancer cells, likely due to an improved internalization of the nanoformulated drug with respect to the free molecule. Lastly, time-domain NMR (TD-NMR) experiments were conducted on LMWH@SPIONs obtaining relaxivity values within the same order of magnitude as currently used commercial contrast agents.     

Synthesis,Characterization, and Antibacterial Activity of Mg-Doped CuO Nanoparticles

This study aims to investigate the effect of magnesium (Mg) doping on the characteristics and antibacterial properties of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles (NPs). The Mg-doped CuO NPs were fabricated by the co-precipitation method. NPs were characterized by X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Photoluminescence (PL). Broth microdilution, agar-well diffusion, and time-kill assays were employed to assess the antibacterial activity of the NPs. XRD revealed the monoclinic structure of CuO NPs and the successful incorporation of Mg dopant to the Cu_1−xMg_xO NPs. TEM revealed the spherical shape of the CuO NPs. Mg doping affected the morphology of NPs and decreased their agglomeration. EDX patterns confirmed the high purity of the undoped and Mg-doped CuO NPs. FTIR analysis revealed the shifts in the Cu–O bond induced by the Mg dopant. The position, width, and intensity of the PL bands were affected as a result of Mg doping, which is an indication of vacancies. Both undoped and doped CuO NPs exhibited significant antibacterial capacities. NPs inhibited the growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. These results highlight the potential use of Mg-doped CuO NPs as an antibacterial agent.     

Dendronized Anionic Gold Nanoparticles: Synthesis,Characterization, and Antiviral Activity

Anionic carbosilane dendrons decorated with sulfonate functions and one thiol moiety at the focal point have been used to synthesize water‐soluble gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) through the direct reaction of dendrons, gold precursor, and reducing agent in water, and also through a place‐exchange reaction. These nanoparticles have been characterized by NMR spectroscopy, TEM, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV/Vis spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and zeta‐potential measurements. The interacting ability of the anionic sulfonate functions was investigated by EPR spectroscopy with copper(II) as a probe. Different structures and conformations of the AuNPs modulate the availability of sulfonate and thiol groups for complexation by copper(II). Toxicity assays of AuNPs showed that those produced through direct reaction were less toxic than those obtained by ligand exchange. Inhibition of HIV‐1 infection was higher in the case of dendronized AuNPs than in dendrons.     

Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles in Listeria innocua Dps (DNA‐Binding Protein from Starved Cells): A Study with the Wild‐Type Protein and a Catalytic Centre Mutant

A comparative analysis of the magnetic properties of iron oxide nanoparticles grown in the cavity of the DNA‐binding protein from starved cells of the bacterium Listeria innocua, LiDps, and of its triple‐mutant lacking the catalytic ferroxidase centre, LiDps‐tm, is presented. TEM images and static and dynamic magnetic and electron magnetic resonance (EMR) measurements reveal that, under the applied preparation conditions, namely alkaline pH, high temperature (65 °C), exclusion of oxygen, and the presence of hydrogen peroxide, maghemite and/or magnetite nanoparticles with an average diameter of about 3 nm are mineralised inside the cavities of both LiDps and LiDps‐tm. The magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) thus formed show similar magnetic properties, with superparamagnetic behaviour above 4.5 K and a large magnetic anisotropy. Interestingly, in the EMR spectra an absorption at half‐field is observed, which can be considered as a manifestation of the quantum behaviour of the MNPs. These results indicate that Dps proteins can be advantageously used for the production of nanomagnets at the interface between molecular clusters and traditional MNPs and that the presence of the ferroxidase centre, though increasing the efficiency of nanoparticle formation, does not affect the nature and fine structure of the MNPs. Importantly, the self‐organisation of MNP‐containing Dps on HRTEM grids suggests that Dps‐enclosed MNPs can be deposited on surfaces in an ordered fashion.     

Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Labeled with an Excited‐State Intramolecular Proton Transfer Dye

Excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) is a particularly well known reaction that has been very little studied in magnetic environments. In this work, we report on the photophysical behavior of a known ESIPT dye of the benzothiazole class, when in solution with uncoated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, and when grafted to silica‐coated iron oxide nanoparticles. Uncoated iron oxide nanoparticles promoted the fluorescence quenching of the ESIPT dye, resulting from collisions during the lifetime of the excited state. The assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles with a shell of silica provided recovery of the ESIPT emission, due to the isolation promoted by the silica shell. The silica network gives protection against the fluorescence quenching of the dye, allowing the nanoparticles to act as a bimodal (optical and magnetic) imaging contrast agent with a large Stokes shift.     

Fe1−yO Nanoparticles: Organometallic Synthesis and Magnetic Properties

Non‐stoichiometric wüstite particles (Fe_1?yO) are synthesized using the controlled room‐temperature hydrolysis of the organometallic precursor {Fe[N(SiMe₃)₂]₂}. Particles stabilized by hexadecylamine with a diameter of ～5 nm are obtained. For such small nanoparticles, a distorted crystallographic structure is evidenced by wide‐angle X‐ray scattering at room temperature and reported for the first time. The study of the magnetic properties indicates that these particles are composed of an antiferromagnetic core surrounded by a ferromagnetic shell. According to the Néel theory, we demonstrate that this shell consists of 1.5 % of Fe³⁺ ions ferromagnetically coupled with Fe²⁺ ions.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Water‐Soluble Conjugated Glycopolymer for Fluorescent Sensing of Concanavalin A

A neutral polyfluorene derivative that contains 20 mol % 2,1,3‐benzothiadiazole (BT) is synthesized by Suzuki cross‐coupling polymerization. A cationic conjugated polymer A and an α‐mannose‐bearing polymer B are subsequently obtained through different post‐polymerization methods. As a result of the charged pendant groups or sugar‐bearing groups attached to the polymer side chains, both A and B show good water‐solubility. The titration of Concanavalin A (Con A) into polymer aqueous solution leads to different fluorescent responses for polymers A and B . Polymer A does not show any obvious fluorescence change upon interaction with Con A, whereas polymer B shows fluorescence increase in BT emission intensity when Con A is added. This is because of the specific interaction between α‐mannose and Con A, which induces polymer aggregation, and then facilitates energy transfer from the phenylene–fluorene segments to the BT units. A practical calibration curve ranging from 1 nM to 250 nM is obtained by correlating the changes in BT emission intensity with Con A concentration. The advantage of polymer B ‐based Con A macromolecular probe is that it shows signal increase upon Con A recognition, which is significantly different from other conjugated polymer‐based fluorescence quenching assays.     

纳米氧化铁的电化学合成

采用金属铁为"牺牲"阳极,不锈钢片为阴极,在无隔膜电解槽中,用电化学法合成纳米氧化铁.通过XRD、FTIR、TG DSC及粒径分布等测试方法对所得的纳米粒子进行了表征和分析.实验表明:离心后得到的胶体放置于40℃的真空干燥箱中干燥后,得到无定型纳米氧化铁粒子;经320℃煅烧3h后,粒子转化为γ Fe2O3,平均粒径为22.0nm;进一步提高煅烧温度,在540℃煅烧3h后,可得到平均粒径为35.2nm的α Fe2O3.     

憎水性三金属纳米粒子的合成、表征及磁性

以磺基琥珀酸二辛酯钠盐(AOT)为表面活性剂,采用反胶束法合成了憎水性CoFe/Au纳米粒子, 利用配体交换、水洗等去除AOT并使纳米粒子分级.采用紫外-可见光谱(UV-Vis)、透射电镜(TEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线电子能量散射(EDX)及等离子发射光谱 (ICP)等对产物进行了表征,通过超导量子干涉仪(SQIUD)研究了纳米粒子的磁性质.结果表明,反胶束法合成的CoFe/Au三金属纳米粒子具有较好的单分散性和稳定性,平均粒径约为4 nm.当外磁场强度为1.5×10⁴ A/m时,阻塞温度T_b为65 K,温度高于T_b时纳米粒子显示出超顺磁性,低于T_b时呈铁磁性,在5 K时其矫顽力(Hc)达4.67×10⁴ A/m.     

Synthesis of Small‐Sized,Porous, and Low‐Toxic Magnetite Nanoparticles by Thin POSS Silica Coating

In this communication, we report the synthesis of small‐sized (<10 nm), water‐soluble, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS), which contain either polyethylene glycol (PEG) or octa(tetramethylammonium) (OctaTMA) as functional groups. The POSS‐coated MNPs exhibit superparamagnetic behavior with saturation magnetic moments (51–53 emu g^?1) comparable to silica‐coated MNPs. They also provide good colloidal stability at different pH and salt concentrations, and low cytotoxicity to MCF‐7 human breast epithelial cells. The relaxivity data and magnetic resonance (MR) phantom images demonstrate the potential application of these MNPs in bioimaging.     

Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Embedded onto 3D Mesochannels of KIT‐6 with Different Pore Diameters and Their Excellent Magnetic Properties

Here, we report the results of our detailed study on the fabrication of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles confined in mesoporous silica KIT‐6 with a 3D structure and large, tunable pore diameters. It was confirmed by XRD, nitrogen adsorption, high‐resolution (HR) TEM, and magnetic measurements that highly dispersed iron oxide nanoparticles are occupied inside the mesochannels of KIT‐6. We also demonstrated that the size of the iron oxide nanoparticle can be controlled by simply changing the pore diameter of the KIT‐6 and the weight percentage of the iron oxide nanoparticles. The effect of the weight percentage and size of the iron oxide nanoparticles, and the textural parameters of the support on the magnetic properties of iron oxide/KIT‐6 has been demonstrated. The magnetization increases with decreasing iron content in the pore channels of KIT‐6, whereas coercivity decreases for the same samples. Among the KIT‐6 materials studied, KIT‐6 with 7.5 wt % of iron showed the highest saturation magnetic moment and magnetic remanence. However, all the samples register a coercivity of around 2000 Oe, which is generally observed for the hard magnetic materials. In addition, we have found a paramagnetic‐to‐superparamagnetic transition at low temperature for samples with different iron content at low temperature. The cause for this exciting transition is also discussed in detail. Magnetic properties of the iron oxide loaded KIT‐6 were also compared with pure iron oxide and iron oxide loaded over SBA‐15. It was found that iron oxide loaded KIT‐6 showed the highest magnetization due to its 3D structure and large pore volume. The pore diameter of the iron oxide loaded KIT‐6 support also plays a critical role in controlling the magnetization and the blocking temperature, which has a direct relation to the particle diameter and increases from 48 to 63 K with an increase in the pore diameter of the support from 8 to 11.3 nm.