Nanobiomaterials and Nanoanalysis: Opportunities for Improving the Science to Benefit Biomedical Technologies

Nanomaterials advocated for biomedical applications must exhibit well‐controlled surface properties to achieve optimum performance in complex biological or physiological fluids. Dispersed materials with extremely high specific surface areas require as extensive characterization as their macroscale biomaterials analogues. However, current literature is replete with many examples of nanophase materials, most notably nanoparticles, with little emphasis placed on reporting rigorous surface analysis or characterization, or in formal implementation of surface property standards needed to validate structure‐property relationships for biomedical applications. Correlations of nanophase surface properties with their stability, toxicity and biodistributions are essential for in vivo applications. Surface contamination is likely, given their processing conditions and interfacial energies. Leaching adventitious adsorbates from high surface area nanomaterials is a possible toxicity mechanism. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), long known as a ubiquitous contaminant in clean room conditions, chemical synthesis and microfabrication, remains a likely culprit in nanosystems fabrication, especially in synthesis, soft lithography and contact molding methods. New standards and expectations for analyzing the interfacial properties of nanoparticles and nano‐fabricated technologies are required. Surface science analytical rigor similar to that applied to biomedical devices, nanophases in microelectronics and heterogeneous catalysts should serve as a model for nanomaterials characterization in biomedical technologies.     

Nanocomposite Materials Formed by Ion Implantation

Ion implantation has become a versatile and powerful technique for synthesizing nanometer‐scale clusters and crystals embedded in the near‐surface region of a variety of hosts in order to create nanocomposite materials with often unique optical, magnetic, and other properties. Here we review some of the principal features of this nanophase materials synthesis technique as well as the materials properties that are exhibited by nanocomposites created by using ion beams. Outstanding difficulties and future research directions are also discussed.     

Chemical Processing of Nanostructured Cemented Carbide

Chemical processing is becoming a vital component in the economic development of advanced engineering materials. Our research group on chemical processing has been focussed on the development of process to produce nanophase cemented carbide. It is a much more direct route for making WC/Co than traditional processing methods, and offers the potential for lower cost production of novel materials with homogeneous nanophase microstructures and improved properties. This paper addresses the scientific and technical issues relating to the chemical processing of nanophase WC/Co composite powder and their sintering.     

纳米材料结构特征

根据纳米材料的结构特点,我们把它们分为两类。一类是具有高密度的紧密结构,如文献[1]中报导的纳米铁;只一类是低密度具有大量纳米尺寸空洞的无规网络结构,如文献[2]中报导的纳米氧化锡。两者的根本差别在于是否存在高体积分数的纳米空洞。紧密结构纳米材料具有大量的晶界结构,而多孔网络结构纳米材料具有大量的表面结构,这导致两者物化性质的巨大差异。     

微波合成无机纳米材料的研究进展

微波加热作为一种合成纳米材料的新方法，近年来得到飞速发展。介绍了微波加热原理，阐述了微波合成无机纳米材料的一些研究进展，主要是液相微波加热在制备金属氧化物和金属硫化物纳米材料以及微波烧结在合成陶瓷材料的应用，并对该领域未来作了一些展望。     

NANOCRYSTALLIZATION OF METALS AND COMPOSITES PROCESSED MECHANICALLY IN THE SOLID STATE

Extreme plastic deformation encountered in a variety of mechanical processes may yield nanostructured and nanophase materials with a broad range of chemical composition and microstructure. This paper discusses several such examples including the deformation induced nanophase formation in powder particles, thin foil sandwich structures, and at the surface of metals and alloys exposed to friction induced wear conditions. The deformation processes occurring within powder samples during mechanical attrition are important for fundamental studies on the effect of extreme mechanical deformation on the microstructure and its stability.     

Preliminary Study on Aluminium-based Nanophase Composites Al_(88)Ni_(10)Y_2 and Al_(88)Ni_8Y_4

A new kind of aluminium-based alloy part amorphous/part crystalline, can be produced directlyby rapid quenching of the liquid. These materials have a novel structure of nanometer-sizedcrystals in an amorphous matrix and quite remarkable mechanical properties. The materialscan be considered to be nanophase composites. In this work Al88Ni10Y2 and Al88Ni8Y4 (atpct) nanophase composites consisting of a nanoscale dispersion of fcc-Al crystallites uniformlydispersed in an amorphous matrix, have been produced by melt-spinning. They have much highermicrohardness HV than fully amorphous alloys with the same composition. while retaining goodbending ductility The volume fraction, crystallite size and distribution of the fcc-Al phase havebeen estimated by DSC. X-ray diffraction and TEM. lt is found that the microstructure andproperties of the nanophase composites are very sensitive to the composition and the quenchingconditions. lncreasing the Y contedt and decreasing the Ni content at a given Al content givesmuch smaller dispersed nanophase aluminium crystallites. The volume fraction and crystallitesize of the fcc-Al phase increase with a decrease of wheel speed (quenching rate). The effectsof Y and Ni contents on the ease of formaticn of the nanophase composites are discussed. Theorigins of the novel mechanical properties are also considered.     

纳米材料应用技术的新进展

纳米材料是具有多种优异性能的功能材料,有广阔的应用前景。本文对纳米材料应用技术的现状和最新的研究进展情况进行了综述。详细介绍了纳米材料在模具、锂离子二次电池、太阳能电池、功能涂层等方面的应用及研究情况,并对纳米材料应用技术的未来进行了展望。     

Adhesion of Pseudomonas fluorescens onto nanophase materials

Nanobiotechnology is a growing area of research, primarily due to the potentially numerous applications of new synthetic nanomaterials in engineering/science. Although various definitions have been given for the word 'nanomaterials' by many different experts, the commonly accepted one refers to nanomaterials as those materials which possess grains, particles, fibres, or other constituent components that have one dimension specifically less than 100?nm. In biological applications, most of the research to date has focused on the interactions between mammalian cells and synthetic nanophase surfaces for the creation of better tissue engineering materials. Although mammalian cells have shown a definite positive response to nanophase materials, information on bacterial interactions with nanophase materials remains elusive. For this reason, this study was designed to assess the adhesion of Pseudomonas fluorescens on nanophase compared to conventional grain size alumina substrates. Results provide the first evidence of increased adhesion of Pseudomonas fluorescens on alumina with nanometre compared to conventional grain sizes. To understand more about the process, polymer (specifically, poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid or PLGA) casts were made of the conventional and nanostructured alumina surfaces. Results showed similar increased Pseudomonas fluorescens capture on PLGA casts of nanostructured compared to conventional alumina as on the alumina itself. For these reasons, a key material property shown to enhance bacterial adhesion was elucidated in this study for both polymers and ceramics: nanostructured surface features.     

Synthesis and cellular biocompatibility of two nanophase hydroxyapatite with different Ca/P ratio

The cellular biocompatibility of two types of nanophase hydroxyapatites including nanophase standard hydroxyapatite (n-HA) and nanophase calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (n-CDHA) synthesized by a wet chemical method were assessed using primary cultured osteoblasts. Cytotoxicity of both materials was investigated with L929 cell line. The MTT method was used to evaluate the proliferation of osteoblasts on the third day and ALP activity assay was carried out on the fifth day. SEM was used to observe the morphology of the osteoblasts on the third day. Two types of nanophase hydroxyapatite both showed no cytotoxicity. Higher cell proliferation was observed on n-CDHA than n-HA. At the same time, cells spread more actively on the n-CDHA group. The ALP level of n-CDHA was also significantly higher on the former. Our results show that the n-CDHA is more suitable for osteoblasts growth and is also helpful for ALP synthesis.     

Polymer/bioactive glass nanocomposites for biomedical applications: A review

Nanoscale bioactive glasses have been gaining attention due to their reported superior osteoconductivity when compared to conventional (micron-sized) bioactive glass materials. The combination of bioactive glass nanoparticles or nanofibers with polymeric systems enables the production of nanocomposites with potential to be used in a series of orthopedic applications, including scaffolds for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This review presents the state of art of the preparation of nanoscale bioactive glasses and corresponding composites with biocompatible polymers. The recent developments in the preparation methods of nano-sized bioactive glasses are reviewed, covering sol–gel routes, microemulsion techniques, gas phase synthesis method (flame spray synthesis), laser spinning, and electro-spinning. Then, examples of the preparation and properties of nanocomposites based on such inorganic bionanomaterials are presented, obtained using various polymer matrices, including polyesters such as poly(hydroxybutyrate), poly(lactic acid) and poly(caprolactone), and natural-based polymers such as polysaccharides (starch, chitin, chitosan) or proteins (silk fibroin, collagen). The physico-chemical, mechanical, and biological advantages of incorporating nanoscale bioactive glasses in such biodegradable nanocomposites are discussed and the possibilities to expand the use of these materials in other nanotechnology concepts aimed to be used in different biomedical applications are also highlighted.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of consolidation processes during fabrication of nanophase palladium

Consolidation processes during fabrication of nanophase palladium from atom clusters are simulated using molecular statics (MS), molecular dynamics (MD), and a potential from the emebedded atom ,ethod (EAM). The MD simulations are conducte3d under conditions similar experimental conditions, i.e., at room temperature (300 K) and under compressive pressures of 10–50 kbar (1–5 GPa). Several dynamic phenomena have been observed during the simulations, such as “neck” formation, surface rounding, void formation and shrinking, and cluster extrusion. The effect of applied compressive pressures on the final structures of nanophase materials during considation is demonstrated.     

微波在纳米技术中的应用

纳米技术制备的纳米材料由于其独特的效应而应用广泛，微波因其加热方式不同于普通的方法，制备的纳米材料具有粒度均匀、形态均匀、分布均匀的特点，性能优于普通方法制备的纳米材料。     

Mg2Si基热电材料研究现状及进展

介绍了热电材料的基本原理与应用情况,总结了现阶段提高Mg2Si基热电材料热电性能的途径：包括对Mg2Si材料进行多种元素的掺杂;制备低维数材料、纳米材料与超晶格结构材料。评述了Mg2Si基热电材料在掺杂改性和制备方面的研究进展。分别阐述了掺杂Ge、Sn、Pb、Te、Sb、Bi、Ag等几种元素对Mg2Si热电性能的影响。对溶体生长法、固相烧结法、机械合金化、放电等离子烧结法与电场激活压力辅助合成法的优缺点进行了评价,通过对比最后指出了场激活压力辅助合成法是新的合成Mg2Si节能和高效的新的制备方法。     

生物医用量子点材料的研究进展

量子点是一种新型的荧光材料,由于独特的微观结构和物理、化学特性,使其在生物医学领域有广阔的应用前景。通过对近十多年来,有关含重金属的量子点制备技术、应用实例等的现状分析,提出了合成新颖的无重金属量子点即低毒性或生物兼容性量子点的重要意义和迫切性,介绍了合成低毒性或生物兼容性量子点的最新研究现状,并展望了今后的发展前景。     

Synthesis and properties of novel materials at high pressure and temperature—molecular dynamics simulation studies

Molecular dynamics simulations, in combination with lattice dynamics studies, based on semiempirical interatomic potentials, have been very useful in the study of properties of complex novel materials at high temperature and pressure. Various properties such as the equation of state, elastic and thermodynamic properties, phase transitions and melting have been studied. These studies help in understanding the synthesis of important new and novel materials, especially the amorphous materials, compounds with unusually coordinated atoms, (e.g. with five-coordinated silicon atoms), materials with controlled thermal expansion, etc. A few examples will be discussed from our recent studies.     

TiO2空心球制备及在染料敏化太阳能电池和锂离子电池中应用的研究进展

空心球结构的半导体氧化物具有密度低、比表面积大、机械和热稳定性好等优点。空心球结构对TiO_2纳米材料的电化学性能有着显著的优化作用,TiO_2空心球作为一种重要的半导体氧化物具有良好的物理和化学性质,在多种领域均表现出潜在的应用价值,制备大小和壳层数均可控的半导体TiO_2空心球已引起了研究者的广泛关注。主要综述了在硬模板、软模板和无模板条件下TiO_2空心球的制备方法;同时还介绍了其在染料敏化太阳能电池和锂离子电池方面的最新研究进展;最后,对TiO_2空心球的可控合成前景进行了展望。     

Coating Opportunities for Nanoparticles Made from the Condensation of Physical Vapors

Nanophase materials made from the condensation of physical vapors are finding their way into a variety of commercial industries and applications. However, these applications differ from those originally cited during the early developments of this ever growing field of materials research. In this paper we present some areas where nanophase materials have emerged in industrial and commercial film and coating applications.     

CVD‐Diamanttechnologie mit der Heißdraht‐Aktivierung

In this contribution technological developments in the field of polycrystalline diamond film deposition using hot‐filament acitvated CVD processes are described. The aims of these developments focus on machining applications where products have already been introduced into market and on relatively new applications in the field of electrochemistry, respectively. The work is motivated on the one hand by trends in materials machining like high speed cutting and dry machining of new, difficult‐to‐machine light weight materials. On the other hand doped, conducting diamond films exhibit new electrochemical properties beside their extreme chemical inertness. As demonstrated by examples these properties open new perspectives in the fields of water treatment, electroplating and electrochemical synthesis.     

The impact of powder diffraction on the structural characterization of organic crystalline materials

The bulk properties of organic crystalline materials depend on their molecular and crystal structures but, as many of these materials cannot be prepared in a suitable form for conventional single-crystal diffraction studies, structural characterization and rationalization of these properties must be obtained from powder diffraction data. The recent development of direct-space structure solution methods has enabled the study of a wide range of organic materials using powder diffraction data, many of structural complexity only made tractable by these advances in methodology. These direct-space methods are based on a number of global optimization techniques including Monte Carlo, simulated annealing, genetic algorithm and differential evolution approaches. In this article, the implementation and relative efficiency and reliability of these methods are discussed, and their impact on the structural study of organic materials is illustrated by examples of polymorphic systems, pharmaceutical, pigment and polypeptide structures and compounds used in the study of intermolecular networks.