Current Nanoscience - Volume 4, Issue 3, 2008

In many in vitro cultures, cells may change their morphology, probably caused by adherence to the surface of the culture dish. Since a fractal alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) surface provides super water-repellency with a contact angle of 174° , we considered that it might provide an improved surface environment for the growth and differentiation of cells by preventing intimate adhesion. C6 glioma cells which were selected to t Read More

We investigate functional capabilities of large arrays of gold and silver nanorods as elements of plasmonic devices. The samples were fabricated by electron beam lithography and lift-off techniques on glass substrates. The areas patterned by the nanorods or other nanoparticles can be large, with dimensions of up to about one centimeter. Structural and optical characterization has allowed confirmation of a high homogeneity Read More

SnO2 micron rods were prepared via a simple solution phase precursor route and modified with 1 wt% of Au. The products are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The gas sensing properties of the materials were tested in an organic glass chamber by mixing target gas into air. The results revealed that the product consists of SnO2 micron rods with diameters of ∼1-3 μm and lengths Read More

To promote the applications of namomaterials, the potential toxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and their derivates to environment have been studied. With γ-ray irradiation, MWCNTs were modified chemically with glucosamine and decylamine to obtain glucosamine-MWCNTs (g-MWCNTs) and decylamine-MWCNTs (d-MWCNTs). Their toxicological experiments were carried out with Tetrahymena pyriformis. The resu Read More

The effects of the tested factors including pH value, NaCl concentration, ODN concentration and charge ratio on the size and zeta potentials of nanoparticles (ODN-PLL, PLL: poly(l-lysine)s) were investigated by use of uniform design and NGR peptides were used to modify the nanoparticles, indicating that none of the tested factors was correlated with nanoparticles' size, however, a linear correlation (r = 0.8505) was found b Read More

Hysteresis effect in carbon nanotube field-effect transistors can be commonly employed to construct the nonvolatile memory devices of single-wall carbon nanotubes. In this paper, we investigate in detail the programming/erasing characteristics of such memory devices, which may present great importance for their availabilities. In order to write and erase the memory devices with reproducibility and stability, it is essential t Read More

In semiconductor industry, process control and physical failure analysis were dominated by light and electron microscopy as well as surface analysis techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) until the end of the last century. During the past decade, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray reflectivity (XRR) have been successfully applied in out-of-fab analytical labs. In addition to XRF and TXRF, some additio Read More

The present study was aimed at developing and exploring the use of long circulating biocompatible PEGylated PPI 5.0G dendrimers for delivery of an anti-inflammatory drug, Aceclofenac. The PPI 5.0G dendrimers were synthesized and PEGylated using Nhydroxysuccinimide- activated dicarboxylic acid PEG 2000 (COOH-PEG-COOH). PEGylation was confirmed by IR, NMR and MASS spectra. The Aceclofenac was loaded in Read More

The characterisation of natural aquatic nanoparticles (especially in relation to flocculation processes, contaminant transport and biogeochemistry) has become an important field of environmental science. Ubiquitous colloid-size microbes and their nanoscale extracellular components affect the chemistry and physical properties of their surroundings in all habitable environments on Earth, thus affecting fundamentally the planet's Read More

Owing to vast technological advances, hemodialysis (HD) has become a mature modality significantly increasing the survival of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients. However, many HD complications still exist that mainly relate to the nature of middlemolecular- weight and/or protein-bound toxins that both low- and high-flux dialysers cannot efficiently remove. For instance, hyperhomocysteinemia and amyloidosis are t Read More

Nano-engineered multilayer microshells (microcapsules) as nano/microreactors are expected to expand the capabilities of confined photoreaction occurring in shell walls and in shell interiors and to explore new functionalities of application. The basis for optical reactions in multilayer microshells is their tailored wall components and particular properties originated from the permeability and stability of shell walls in response to ext Read More