TAT conjugated, FITC doped silica nanoparticles for bioimaging applications

Water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion synthesis of 70 nm size monodisperse TAT (a cell penetrating peptide, CPP) conjugated, FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate) doped silica nanoparticles (TAT-FSNPs) is reported; human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells (in vitro) and rat brain tissue (in vivo) were successfully labeled using TAT-FSNPs.     

Particle-rotor-model calculations in 125I

Recent experimental data on ¹²⁵I has revealed several interesting structural features. These include the observation of a three quasiparticle band, prolate and oblate deformed bands, signature inversion in the yrast positive-parity band and identification of the unfavoured πh _11/2 band showing very large signature splitting. In the present work, particle-rotor-model calculations have been performed for the πh _11/2 band, using an axially symmetric deformed Nilsson potential. The calculations reproduce the experimental results well and predict a moderate prolate quadrupole deformation of about 0.2 for the band.     

Effect of Mg doping on morphology,photocatalytic activity and related biological properties of Zn1−xMgxO nanoparticles

The objective of this study is to synthesize ZnO and Mg doped ZnO (Zn_1−xMg_xO) nanoparticles via the sol-gel method, and characterize their structures and to investigate their biological properties such as antibacterial activity and hemolytic potential.Nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by the sol-gel method using zinc acetate dihydrate (Zn(CH₃COO)₂.2H₂O) and magnesium acetate tetrahydrate (Mg(CH₃COO)₂.4H₂O) as precursors. Methanol and monoethanolamine were used as solvent and sol stabilizer, respectively. Structural and morphological characterizations of Zn_1−xMg_xO nanoparticles were studied by using XRD and SEM-EDX, respectively. Photocatalytic activities of ZnO and selected Mg-doped ZnO (Zn_1−xMg_xO) nanoparticles were investigated by degradation of methylene blue (MeB). Results indicated that Mg doping (both 10% and 30%) to the ZnO nanoparticles enhanced the photocatalytic activity and a little amount of Zn0.90 Mg0.10 O photocatalyst (1.0 mg/mL) degraded MeB with 99% efficiency after 24 h of irradiation under ambient visible light. Antibacterial activity of nanoparticles versus Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) was determined by the standard plate count method. Hemolytic activities of the NPs were studied by hemolysis tests using human erythrocytes. XRD data proved that the average particle size of nanoparticles was around 30 nm. Moreover, the XRD results indicatedthat the patterns of Mg doped ZnO nanoparticles related to ZnO hexagonal wurtzite structure had no secondary phase for x ≤ 0.2 concentration. For 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.02, NPs showed a concentration dependent antibacterial activity against E. coli . While Zn_0.90Mg_0.10 O totally inhibited the growth of E. coli , upper and lower dopant concentrations did not show antibacterial activity.     

Raman spectroscopy and support vector machines for quick toxicological evaluation of titania nanoparticles

With the rapid development of nanotechnology products, there is a significant concern on the adverse effects that might be associated with them. Traditional biological assays are typically used to asses the toxicity in vitro. There are, however, questions regarding the suitability of these assays for this purpose, mainly due to the potential interaction of the particles with the utilized dyes. In addition, this process can be costly and time consuming, as a large number of different assays have to be used. To address some of these issues, Raman spectroscopy is used in this study to investigate the particle‐cell interactions. The spectrum of a living cell is a very complex and rich collection of data directly related to its chemical composition. To enhance the data resolution and make the detection of toxicity more robust, data‐mining techniques have been deployed. Furthermore, data‐mining techniques enable full automation of the entire process, minimizing user input. The Raman spectroscopy successfully evaluated the toxicity of TiO₂ nanoparticles by both the peak‐by‐peak analysis and with the implementation of support vector machines. The particles were found to display cytotoxicity after 36 h of exposure. The results were confirmed by MTT (3‐(4,5‐Dimethylthiazol‐2‐Yl)‐2,5‐Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide) assay and are in agreement with the existing literature on the subject. Overall, Raman spectroscopy appears to be among the very few techniques that exhibit low levels of interferences (obscuration, fluorescence, emission, etc.) from the particle addition. Since it does not rely on biomarkers, it can be used in situ for an extended period with minimal effects on the cellular biochemistry. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of interaction forces in controlling the stability and polishing performance of CMP slurries

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is an essential step in metal and dielectric planarization in multilayer microelectronic device fabrication. In the CMP process it is necessary to minimize the extent of surface defect formation while maintaining good planarity and optimal material removal rates. These requirements are met through the control of chemical and mechanical interactions during the polishing process by engineering the slurry chemistry, particulate properties, and stability. In this study, the performance of surfactant-stabilized silica CMP slurries at high pH and high ionic strengths are investigated with particular emphasis on the particle-particle and particle-substrate interactions. It is shown that for the design of consistently high performing slurries, stability of abrasive particles must be achieved under the dynamic processing conditions of CMP while maintaining sufficient pad-particle-wafer interactions.     

Mechanical and thermodynamic properties of surfactant aggregates at the solid-liquid interface

Surfactants are widely used to stabilize colloidal systems in a variety of industrial applications through the formation of self-assembled aggregates at the solid-liquid interface. Previous studies have reported that the control of surfactant-mediated slurry stability can be achieved through the manipulation of surfactant chain length and concentration. However, a fundamental understanding of the mechanical and energetic properties of these aggregates, which may aid in the molecular-level design of these systems, is still lacking. In this study, experimentally measured force/distance curves between an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip and self-assembled surfactant aggregates on mica or silica substrates at concentrations higher than the bulk critical micelle concentration (CMC) were used to determine their mechanical and thermodynamic properties. The experimental curves were fitted to a model which describes the interaction between a hard sphere (tip) and a soft substrate (surfactant structures) based on a modified Hertz theory for the case of a thin elastic layer on a rigid substrate. The calculated mechanical properties were found to be in the same order of magnitude as those reported for rubber-like materials (e.g., polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)). By integrating the force/distance curves, the energy required for breaking the surface aggregates was also calculated. These values are close to those reported for bulk-micelle formation.     

Self-assembled Gemini surfactant film-mediated dispersion stability

The force-distance curves of 12-2-12 and 12-4-12 Gemini quaternary ammonium bromide surfactants on mica and silica surfaces obtained by atomic force microscopy (AFM) were correlated with the structure of the adsorption layer. The critical micelle concentration was measured in the presence or absence of electrolyte. The electrolyte effect (the decrease of CMC) is significantly more pronounced for Gemini than for single-chain surfactants. The maximum compressive force, F(max), of the adsorbed surfactant aggregates was determined. On the mica surface in the presence of 0.1 M NaCl, the Gemini micelles and strong repulsive barrier appear at surfactant concentrations 0.02-0.05 mM, which is significantly lower than that for the single C(12)TAB (5-10 mM). This difference between single and Gemini surfactants can be explained by a stronger adsorption energy of Gemini surfactants. The low concentration of Gemini at which this surfactant forms the strong micellar layer on the solid/solution interface proves that Gemini aggregates (micelles) potentially act as dispersing agent in processes such as chemical mechanical polishing or collector in flotation. The AFM force-distance results obtained for the Gemini surfactants were used along with turbidity measurements to determine how adsorption of Gemini surfactants affects dispersion stability. It has been shown that Gemini (or two-chain) surfactants are more effective dispersing agents, and that in the presence of electrolyte, the silica dispersion stability at pH 4.0 can also be achieved at very low surfactant concentrations ( approximately 0.02 mM).     

Electron deficient bridges involving silylenes: a theoretical study

Ab initio and density functional studies show that silylenes can form complexes with BH(3) and the resultant complexes possess 3c-2e bridges. The complexation energy for the formation of the these H-bridged structures is in the range of 18-46 kcal/mol. The characteristics of the electron deficient bridges depend on the substituents attached to the silylenes. With an increase in the pi-donating capacity of the substituents, the exothermicity of complex formation gets reduced but the kinetic stability of the H-bridged structures increase. The natural bond orbital analysis shows that all the H-bridged structures are associated with sigma(B-H)-->ppi(Si) second-order delocalization, which is responsible for the origin of the 3c-2e bonds. The complexation energies of the silylene-BH(3) complexes have been shown to have a correlation to the singlet-triplet energy gaps of silylenes.