Gold Nanocages: Engineering Their Structure for Biomedical Applications

The galvanic replacement reaction between a Ag template and HAuCl₄ in an aqueous solution transforms 30–200 nm Ag nanocubes into Au nanoboxes and nanocages (nanoboxes with porous walls). By controlling the molar ratio of Ag to HAuCl₄, the extinction peak of resultant structures can be continuously tuned from the blue (400 nm) to the near‐infrared (1200 nm) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. These hollow Au nanostructures are characterized by extraordinarily large cross‐sections for both absorption and scattering. Optical coherence tomography measurements indicate that the 36 nm nanocage has a scattering cross‐section of ～ 0.8 × 10^–15 m² and an absorption cross‐section of ～ 7.3 × 10^–15 m². The absorption cross‐section is more than five orders of magnitude larger than those of conventional organic dyes. Exposure of Au nanocages to a camera flash resulted in the melting and conversion of Au nanocages into spherical particles due to photothermal heating. Discrete‐dipole‐approximation calculations suggest that the magnitudes of both scattering and absorption cross‐sections of Au nanocages can be tailored by controlling their dimensions, as well as the thickness and porosity of their walls. This novel class of hollow nanostructures is expected to find use as both a contrast agent for optical imaging in early stage tumor detection and as a therapeutic agent for photothermal cancer treatment.     

Inside Front Cover: Self‐Assembled Highly Faceted Wurtzite‐Type ZnS Single‐Crystalline Nanotubes with Hexagonal Cross‐Sections (Adv. Mater. 16/2005)

Highly faceted wurtzite‐type ZnS nanotubes with hexagonal cross‐section morphologies have been self‐assembled via a controllable high‐temperature thermal‐chemical reaction route in work reported by Yin and co‐workers on p. 1972. The self‐assembly growth along c‐axis to highly hexagonal‐faceted ZnS single‐crystalline nanotubes is associated with the crystallographic characteristics, such as the non‐central and polar surfaces of the wurtzite‐type ZnS structure. The faceted ZnS nanotubes grow along the <0001> direction, and are closed by low‐index faces of non‐polar {1000} faces. The inside cover and insets show electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images of the faceted ZnS nanotubes.     

Inside Front Cover: Fabrication of Ideally Ordered Nanoporous Alumina Films and Integrated Alumina Nanotubule Arrays by High‐Field Anodization (Adv. Mater. 17/2005)

A simple, low‐cost approach to fabricating large‐area highly ordered nanoporous alumina films in sulfuric acid solutions through a single‐step high‐field anodization, without the assistance of any additional process, is reported on p. 2115 by Chu and co‐workers. The critical high anodizing potential in the adopted electrolyte system increases with the ageing of solutions after a long period of anodization. Correspondingly, the applicable current density for stable anodization rises significantly, thus leading to high‐speed film growth. Uniform porous anodic alumina films in sulfuric acid solutions under a high electric field of 40–70 V and 1600–2000 A m^–2 are achieved.     

A kernel free particle‐finite element method for hypervelocity impact simulation

An improved hybrid particle‐finite element method has been developed for the simulation of hypervelocity impact problems. Unlike alternative methods, the revised formulation computes the density without reference to any kernel or interpolation functions, for either the density or the rate of dilatation. This simplifies the state space model and leads to a significant reduction in computational cost. The improved method introduces internal energy variables as generalized co‐ordinates in a new formulation of the thermomechanical Lagrange equations. Example problems show good agreement with exact solutions in one dimension and good agreement with experimental data in a three‐dimensional simulation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct solution of ill‐posed boundary value problems by radial basis function collocation method

Numerical solution of ill‐posed boundary value problems normally requires iterative procedures. In a typical solution, the ill‐posed problem is first converted to a well‐posed one by assuming the missing boundary values. The new problem is solved by a conventional numerical technique and the solution is checked against the unused data. The problem is solved iteratively using optimization schemes until convergence is achieved. The present paper offers a different procedure. Using the radial basis function collocation method, we demonstrate that the solution of certain ill‐posed problems can be accomplished without iteration. This method not only is efficient and accurate, but also circumvents the stability problem that can exist in the iterative method. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stofftransport durch polymere und anorganische Schichten

Polymeric materials are to be found in an increasing number of applications. In many areas, however, their high permeability for substances such as gases or water vapour creates problems. Traditionally, additional barrier layers are deposited onto the polymeric substrates as a permeation barrier, i.e. as a barrier against the transport of substances. Typically, polymeric layers are deposited from solution in atmospheric pressure, inorganic layers in vacuum processes. Highest barrier properties can be achieved via multi layer systems from inorganic and organic layers. This article describes basic principles of the permeation of substances through layer systems, highlights the differences of the substance transport through polymeric materials and inorganic layers and gives consequences for the production of materials with high and ultra‐high barrier properties, on the basis of polymeric substrates