Carbon fluoroxide nanoparticles as fluorescent labels and sonosensitizers for theranostic applications

Carbon fluoroxide (CFO) nanoparticles (NPs) produced from silicon carbide wafers are used as both fluorescent probes and sonosensitizers for theranostic application. In vitro cell tests were carried out to investigate the feasibility of ultrasound-based therapy with the use of the CFO NPs. The NPs that penetrated inside the cells were shown to provoke cell destruction after application of an ultrasound treatment. No significant toxic effect was observed when the cells were treated with NP concentrations up to 0.5 mg ml⁻¹ without applying ultrasound treatment. The obtained results open a new way toward cancer therapy strategies.     

Biofunctionalized upconverting CaF<Subscript>2</Subscript>:Yb,Tm nanoparticles for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida albicans</Emphasis> detection and imaging

Versatile optimization of the synthesis method and composition of Yb3+ and Tm3+ co-doped CaF2 nanoparticles as well as a novel biofunctionalization method were developed and evaluated.Through multistep synthesis,the luminescence intensity of the Tm3+ activator was enhanced by more than 10-fold compared to standard one-step synthesis.The proposed methods were used to homogenously distribute the doping ions within the nanoparticle's volume and thus reduce luminescence quenching.Optimization of dopant ions concentration led to the selection of the most efficient visible and near-infrared up-converting nanoparticles,which were CaF2 doped with 10％ Yb3+ 0.05％ Tm3+ and 20％ Yb3+ 0.5％ Tm3+,respectively.To illustrate the suitability of the synthesized nanoparticles as bio-labels,a dedicated biofunctionalization method was used,and the nanoparticles were applied for labeling and imaging of Candida albicans cells.This method shows great promise because of extremely low background and high specificity because of the presence of the attached molecules.     

碳量子点的合成、性质及其应用

碳量子点(CQDs,C-dots or CDs)是一种新型的碳纳米材料,尺寸在10nm以下,具有良好的水溶性、化学惰性、低毒性、易于功能化和抗光漂白性、光稳定性等优异性能,是碳纳米家族中的一颗闪亮的明星。自从2006年[1]报道了碳量子点(CQDs)明亮多彩的发光现象后,世界各地的研究小组开始对CQDs进行了深入的研究。最近几年的研究报道了各种方法制备的CQDs在生物医学、光催化、光电子、传感等领域中都有重要的应用价值。这篇综述主要总结了关于CQDs的最近的发展,介绍了CQDs的合成方法、表面修饰、掺杂、发光机理、光电性质以及在生物医学、光催化、光电子、传感等领域的应用。     

荧光碳量子点的制备与进展

近年来,碳量子点作为一种新型的纳米材料,具有低细胞毒性、强荧光性、良好的生物相容性以及制备方法简单等特点,在生物传感、药物传递、细胞成像以及分析检测等领域具有潜在的应用价值,而受到人们的广泛关注。在此综述了碳量子点的制备方法、性质以及应用等,并对其发展前景进行了展望。     

Multicolor luminescent carbon nanoparticles: Synthesis, supramolecular assembly with porphyrin, intrinsic peroxidase-like catalytic activity and applications

Luminescent carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) are newcomers to the world of nanomaterials and have shown great impact in health and environmental applications as well as being promising building blocks for future nanodevices because of their fascinating photoluminescence and potential to serve as nontoxic replacements for traditional heavy-metals-based quantum dots. Herein, fluorescent CNPs have been prepared from candle soot by refluxing with HNO₃ and subsequently separated by a single centrifugation. The CNPs can be represented by the empirical formula C₁H_0.677O_0.586N_0.015Na_0.069, and have a size of 20–100 nm, height of 3.0 nm, lifetime of 7.31 ns ± 0.06 ns and quantum yield of ∼1.7%. Further studies demonstrate that: (1) the as-prepared CNPs exhibit excellent stability in biological media and their luminescence intensity does not change with ionic strength or pH in the physiological and pathological range of pH 4.5–8.8; (2) CNPs can act as electron donors and transporters and porphyrin can assemble onto CNPs through electrostatic and π-stacking interactions to form porphyrin-CNPs supramolecular composites; (3) CNPs have strong intrinsic peroxidase-like activity. Based on this intrinsic peroxidase activity, a simple, cheap, and highly selective and sensitive colorimetric and quantitative assay has been developed for the detection of glucose levels. This assay has been used to analyze real samples, such as diluted blood and fruit juice.      

纳米ZnO晶体的制备及其荧光性能研究

采用直接沉淀法，通过改变沉淀剂（氨水、NaOH）及反应时间制备纳米ZnO粒子，并通过扫描电子显微镜、荧光显微镜对所得产物的形貌及其荧光性能进行分析表征。结果显示：不同沉淀剂制备的ZnO纳米粒子的形貌和尺寸均不相同，用Zn（NO3）2和NH3．H2O反应可制得花状的纳米粒子，而用Zn（NO3）2和NaOH反应则会生成球状的纳米粒子，其尺寸分别为500和200nm左右；反应前期，反应时间主要影响粒子的尺寸，随反应时间的增加粒子的形貌也发生变化；与以NaOH为沉淀剂制备的纳米ZnO粒子相比，以氨水为沉淀剂制备的纳米ZnO粒子具有好的荧光性能。     

Preparation of carbon-coated iron oxide nanoparticles dispersed on graphene sheets and applications as advanced anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

We report a novel chemical vapor deposition （CVD） based strategy to synthesize carbon-coated Fe203 nanoparticles dispersed on graphene sheets （Fe2Og@C@G）. Graphene sheets with high surface area and aspect ratio are chosen as space restrictor to prevent the sintering and aggregation of nanoparticles during high temperature treatments （800 ℃）. In the resulting nanocomposite, each individual Fe2O3 nanoparticle （5 to 20 nm in diameter） is uniformly coated with a continuous and thin （two to five layers） graphitic carbon shell. Further, the core-shell nanoparticles are evenly distributed on graphene sheets. When used as anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the conductive-additive-free Fe2OB@C@G electrode shows outstanding Li＋ storage properties with large reversible specific capacity （864 mAh/g after 100 cycles）, excellent cyclic stability （120% retention after 100 cycles at 100 mA/g）, high Coulombic efficiency （-99%）, and good rate capability.     

Metal oxide nanoparticles for advanced energy applications

Hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD) has been employed as an economically scalable method for the deposition of crystalline molybdenum oxide nanoparticles at high density. Under optimal synthesis conditions, only crystalline nanostructures with a smallest dimension of ~ 3-50 nm are observed with extensive transmission electron microscopy analyses. The incorporation of crystalline molybdenum oxide nanoparticles into battery electrodes has led to profound advancements in state-of-the-art negative electrodes (anodes) in lithium-ion batteries. The nanoparticle materials exhibit a high rate capability as anticipated for the reduced solid-state Li-ion diffusion length.     

Microarray immunoassay for phenoxybenzoic acid using polymer encapsulated Eu:Gd2O3 nanoparticles as fluorescent labels

Currently, detection in microarray bioanalysis is based mainly on the use of organic dyes. To overcome photobleaching and spectral overlaps we applied a new type of fluorophore, crystalline europium-doped gadolinium oxide (Eu:Gd2O3) nanoparticles, as labels in immunoassay microarrays. The Eu:Gd2O3 nanoparticles synthesized by spray pyrolysis offer narrow red emission, large Stokes shift, photostable laser-induced fluorescence with a long lifetime (1 ms). The amino functionalization of the particles was achieved by poly(L-lysine) (PL) encapsulation. The formation of a stable PL shell was confirmed by TEM analysis, colloidal stability studies, and quantification of the surface reactive amino groups. The PL-encapsulated particles were covalently conjugated to antibodies and successfully applied as reporters in a competitive fluorescence microimmunoassay for phenoxybenzoic acid (PBA), a generic biomarker of human exposure to pyrethroid insecticides. Microarrays were fabricated by microcontact printing of BSA-PBA in line patterns (10 x 10 microm). Confocal fluorescence microscopy combined with internal standard (fluorescein) calibration was used for quantitative measurements. The microarray immunoassay demonstrated a limit of detection of 1.4 microg L(-1) PBA. This work suggests the potential application of lanthanide oxide nanoparticles as fluorescent probes in microarray and biosensor technology, immunodiagnostics, and high-throughput screening.     

Gold and silica-coated gold nanoparticles as thermographic labels for DNA detection

The infrared emissivity of Au and silica-coated Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) deposited on indium tin oxide substrates was investigated. NPs were irradiated with laser light at a frequency close to the Au plasmon resonance band, and the blackbody radiation emitted as a result was monitored with an IR camera equipped with an InAs array detector. The differences in temperature before and after laser irradiation were recorded (T-jumps) and were found to be directly proportional to the number of particles present on the slide and to the laser power used in the experiment. Coating Au NPs with silica increased the measured T-jumps 2-5 times, depending on the thickness of the silica shell. This was in agreement with the observation that silica has a much higher IR emissivity than Au. Both Au and silica-coated Au NPs were then tested as labels for thermographic DNA detection. Target DNA concentrations as low as 100 pM were recorded when Au NPs were used as labels and as low as 10 pM when silica-coated Au NPs were used.     

生物医用磁性纳米颗粒的制备与表面改性

磁性纳米颗粒目前是生物医用纳米材料领域异常活跃的方向之一.不同方法制备的磁性纳米颗粒经不同聚合物或分子表面改性后具有多方面的生物医学应用.本文综合评述了磁性纳米颗粒的制备方法,如共沉淀法、溶胶-凝胶法、微乳剂法等;总结了磁性纳米颗粒表面改性技术,包括改性物质与改性方法;概括了磁性纳米颗粒在生物医学领域的应用,主要涉及磁靶向制剂、细胞分离、肿瘤细胞的过热治疗、MR I衬度增强剂四方面.磁性纳米颗粒还有很大的发展空间和广阔的应用前景.     

Bioconjugated silica nanoparticles: Development and applications

Advanced bioanalysis, including accurate quantitation, has driven the need to understand biology and medicine at the molecular level. Bioconjugated silica nanoparticles have the potential to address this emerging challenge. Particularly intriguing diagnostic and therapeutic applications in cancer and infectious disease as well as uses in gene and drug delivery, have also been found for silica nanoparticles. In this review, we describe the synthesis, bioconjugation, and applications of silica nanoparticles in different bioanalysis formats, such as selective tagging, barcoding, and separation of a wide range of biomedically important targets. Overall, we envisage that further development of these nanoparticles will provide a variety of advanced tools for molecular biology, genomics, proteomics and medicine. Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Bioconjugated fluorescent zeolite L nanocrystals as labels in protein microarrays

Zeolite L nanocrystals, as inorganic host material containing hydrophobic fluorophore N,N'-bis(2,6-dimethylphenyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide in the unidirectional channels, are developed as new labels for biosensor systems. The external surface of the particles is modified with carboxylic acid groups for conjugation to primary amines of biomolecules such as antibodies. Anti-digoxigenin (anti-DIG) is selected to be immobilized on zeolite L via N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide ester linker. Together with DIG, it serves as a good universal binding pair for diverse analyte detection owing to the high binding affinity and low background noise. The conjugates are characterized by the dynamic light scattering technique for their hydrodynamic diameters and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for antigen-antibody binding behavior. The characterizations prove that anti-DIG antibodies are successfully immobilized on zeolite L with their binding activities maintained. The microarray fluorescent sandwich immunoassay based on such nanocrystalline labels shows high sensitivity in a thyroid-stimulating hormone assay with the lower detection limit down to the femtomolar range. These new fluorescent labels possess great potential for in vitro diagnostics applications.     

Photoluminescence and doping mechanism of theranostic Eu3+/Fe3+ dual-doped hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

Theranostic nanoparticles currently have been regarded as an emerging concept of ‘personalized medicine’ with diagnostic and therapeutic dual-functions. Eu³⁺ doped hydroxyapatite (HAp) has been regarded as a promising fluorescent probe for in vivo imaging applications. Additionally, substitution of Ca²⁺ with Fe³⁺ in HAp crystal may endow the capability of producing heat upon exposure to a magnetic field. Here we report a preliminary study of doping mechanism and photoluminescence of Eu³⁺ and Fe³⁺ doped HAp nanoparticles (Eu/Fe:HAp). HAp with varied concentration of Eu³⁺ and Fe³⁺ doping are presented as Eu(10 mol%):HAp, Eu(7 mol%)-Fe(3 mol%):HAp, Eu(5 mol%)-Fe(5 mol%):HAp, Eu(3 mol%)-Fe(7 mol%):HAp, and Fe(10 mol%):HAp in the study. The results showed that the HAp particles, in nano-size with rod-like morphology, were successfully doped with Eu³⁺ and Fe³⁺, and the particles can be well suspended in cell culture medium. Photoluminescence analysis revealed that particles have prominent emissions at 536 nm, 590 nm, 615 nm, 650 nm and 695 nm upon excitation at a wavelength of 397 nm. Moreover, these Eu/Fe:HAp nanoparticles belonged to B-type carbonated HAp, which has been considered an effective biodegradable and biocompatible drug/gene carrier in biological applications.     

Highly selective and sensitive magnetic silica nanoparticles based fluorescent sensor for detection of Zn ions

In this work, quinoline group modified multifunctional silica nanoparticles having high magnetization and excellent Zn²⁺ selectivity have been successfully prepared. These multifunctional nanoparticles were characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The characterization data indicated that the organic ligand was successfully grafted on the surface of the magnetic silica nanoparticles. The fluorescent properties of the nanosensor were characterized and employed to detect Zn²⁺ with excellent selectivity and sensitivity (0.1 μM) toward Zn²⁺ over other cations even in trace amount.     

Synthesis of stable dispersion of copper nanoparticles in a water-in-supercritical carbon dioxide using polydimethylsiloxane as the stabiliser

This study reportes the synthesis of stable dispersion copper nanoparticles by chemical reduction of copper chloride (CuCl₂) in a water-in-supercritical carbon dioxide medium using sodium borohydrate (NaBH₄) as a reducing agent, polydimethylsiloxane as the stabiliser and sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulphosuccinate (AOT) as co-surfactant at temperature 40°C and pressure in the range 2000–2400?psi. UV–visible spectroscopy exhibits a typical emission peak at 560–590?nm for Cu nanoparticles. By changing the reaction pressure and the stabiliser concentration, the size and the shape of the copper nanoparticles could be easily controlled. The X-ray diffraction pattern reveals that the Cu nanoparticles are formed in the range 4–8?nm, which is consistent with the transmission electron microscopy images.     

Immobilization of biomolecules on the surface of inorganic nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Abstract

Various inorganic nanoparticles have been used for drug delivery, magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging, and cell targeting owing to their unique properties, such as large surface area and efficient contrasting effect. In this review, we focus on the surface functionalization of inorganic nanoparticles via immobilization of biomolecules and the corresponding surface interactions with biocomponents. Applications of surface-modified inorganic nanoparticles in biomedical fields are also outlined.     

Immobilization of biomolecules on the surface of inorganic nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Various inorganic nanoparticles have been used for drug delivery, magnetic resonance and fluorescence imaging, and cell targeting owing to their unique properties, such as large surface area and efficient contrasting effect. In this review, we focus on the surface functionalization of inorganic nanoparticles via immobilization of biomolecules and the corresponding surface interactions with biocomponents. Applications of surface-modified inorganic nanoparticles in biomedical fields are also outlined.