Archive for the ‘Hot Article’ Category

Highly emissive gold nanoclusters

An infographic highlighting new protein-protected noble metal nanoclusters

Higher-order assembly of BSA gold nanoclusters using supramolecular host–guest chemistry: a 40% absolute fluorescence quantum yield
Anjan Maity* and Atul Kumar
Nanoscale Adv., 2022, 4, 2988-2991, DOI: 10.1039/D2NA00123C

Meet the authors

Anjan Maity was born and brought up in a village named Naguria, just beside the Rupnarayan River in Purba Medinipur in a humble farmer’s family. From childhood, he had the vision to contribute to society and propel his country in the right direction by becoming an IAS officer. But, life directed him on a different path, and he have become a prolific researcher in the chemical science community. He pursued his B.Sc. in Chemistry (Hons.) from Vidyasagar University, followed by an M.Sc. in Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-Kharagpur) securing all India rank (AIR) 62 in IIT-JAM examination. He had multiple brief research stints at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-Kanpur), Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-Guwahati), JNCASR-Bangalore, and National Chemical Laboratory, Pune (NCL-Pune). Finally, he joined as a Ph.D. scholar at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, in January 2020 with the support of a UGC fellowship securing AIR 24 in the National Eligibility Test (NET). He worked under a prestigious Ph.D. fellowship (Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship, PMRF, Ministry of Education, Government of India). His research is purely experimental in nature and based on the synthesis and characterizations of protein-protected gold nanoclusters, tuning its optoelectronic properties by utilizing supramolecular host-guest chemistry and further utilizing it in biology.

Apart from research, he studies music, is an avid music listener, and loves playing the violin.

a) What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

It is a biocompatible fluorescent molecule that can be utilized in biological applications. The most challenging task was synthesizing the CB7 molecule and designing the higher-order assembly.

b) How do you feel about Nanoscale Advancesas a place to publish research on this topic?

Nanoscale Advances is a gold open access journal. Because of this, my work visibility and citation will be much higher. Moreover, since my work is more advanced in this topic of BSA gold nanocluster, so, I feel it is perfect for my work.

c) Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

This is an excellent research area not only in academia but also will help to get a position as a scientist in various industries.

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Nanoscale Advances Most Popular Articles so far…

We wanted to share with you some of the most popular articles published in Nanoscale Advances since the journal was launched last year. These articles are the most highly cited, most read, or most highly shared online to date.

Our community have published some fantastic research in Nanoscale Advances since launch in 2018 and we wanted to make it even easier for you to find the best articles.

 

Nanoscale Advances most popular articles, 2018

 

Here are just a few picks from the collection. We hope you enjoy them.

 

Reviews

Biomolecule-derived quantum dots for sustainable optoelectronics

Satyapriya Bhandari, Dibyendu Mondal, S. K. Nataraj and R. Geetha Balakrishna

Nanoscale Adv., 2019, 1, 913-936

 

Communications

Detection of microRNA biomarkers via inhibition of DNA-mediated liposome fusion

Coline Jumeaux, Eunjung Kim, Philip D. Howes, Hyemin Kim, Rona Chandrawati and Molly M. Stevens

Nanoscale Adv., 2019, 1, 532-536

 

Are octahedral clusters missing on the carbon energy landscape?

Tomas Lazauskas, Alexey A. Sokol and Scott M. Woodley

Nanoscale Adv., 2019, 1, 89-93

 

Papers

Chemically reactive protein nanoparticles for synthesis of a durable and deformable superhydrophobic material

Arpita Shome, Adil Majeed Rather and Uttam Manna

Nanoscale Adv., 2019, Advance Article

 

Synthesis and characterization of silver nanoparticle-loaded amorphous calcium phosphate microspheres for dental applications

Mayuresh Keskar, Camila Sabatini, Chong Cheng and Mark T. Swihart

Nanoscale Adv., 2019, 1, 627-635

 

Tetradic phosphor white light with variable CCT and superlative CRI through organolead halide perovskite nanocrystals

Gopi C. Adhikari, Preston A. Vargas, Hongyang Zhu, Alexei Grigoriev and Peifen Zhu

Nanoscale Adv., 2019, Advance Article

 

Rh-doped MoSe2 as a toxic gas scavenger: a first-principles study

Hao Cui, Guozhi Zhang, Xiaoxing Zhang and Ju Tang

Nanoscale Adv., 2019, 1, 772-780

 

For the full collection, please see the journal website here.

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Nanoscale most popular articles published in 2018

We wanted to share with you some of the most popular articles published in Nanoscale from last year. These articles are the top 5% most highly cited, most read, or most highly shared online throughout 2018.

 

Our community have published some fantastic research in Nanoscale during 2018 and we wanted to make it even easier for you to find the best articles.

 

Nanoscale most popular articles, 2018

 

Here are just a few picks from the collection. We hope you enjoy them.

 

Reviews

Plasmonics with two-dimensional semiconductors: from basic research to technological applications

Amit Agarwal, Miriam S. Vitiello, Leonardo Viti, Anna Cupolillo and Antonio Politano

Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 8938-8946

 

Recent advances in the nanoengineering of electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction

Fengwang Li, Douglas R. MacFarlane and Jie Zhang

Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 6235-6260

 

Communications

Electrohydrodynamic printing of silver nanowires for flexible and stretchable electronics

Zheng Cui, Yiwei Han, Qijin Huang, Jingyan Dong and Yong Zhu

Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 6806-6811

 

Fabrication of hierarchical CoP nanosheet@microwire arrays via space-confined phosphidation toward high-efficiency water oxidation electrocatalysis under alkaline conditions

Xuqiang Ji, Rong Zhang, Xifeng Shi, Abdullah M. Asiri, Baozhan Zheng and Xuping Sun

Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 7941-7945

 

Papers

Graphitic and oxidised high-pressure high temperature (HPHT) nanodiamonds induce differential biological responses in breast cancer cell lines

Benjamin Woodhams, Laura Ansel-Bollepalli, Jakub Surmacki, Helena Knowles, Laura Maggini, Michael de Volder, Mete Atatüre and Sarah Bohndiek

Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 12169-12179

 

Spray coating of the PCBM electron transport layer significantly improves the efficiency of p-i-n planar perovskite solar cells

Yifan Zheng, Jaemin Kong, Di Huang, Wei Shi, Lyndsey McMillon-Brown, Howard E. Katz, Junsheng Yu and André D. Taylor

Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 11342-11348

 

Synthesis of garlic skin-derived 3D hierarchical porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitors

Qing Zhang, Kuihua Han, Shijie Li, Ming Li, Jinxiao Li and Ke Ren

Nanoscale, 2018, 10, 2427-2437

 

 

For more articles, see the full collection here.

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Have you read our most popular Nanoscale articles from 2017?

With 2018 now well underway, we thought to look back and share with you a selection of our most popular articles from 2017. These articles high quality research across nanoscience and nanotechnology, and are all free to access online until the end of March.*

 

Nanoscale Horizons publishes experimental and theoretical work of high quality with a significant general interest to the journal’s wide readership across the breadth of nanoscience and nanotechnology.

 

Sign up now to get updates on all articles as they are published on Twitter, Facebook, and our e-alerts.


Reviews

Recent progress in van der Waals heterojunctions

Wanshun Xia, Liping Dai, Peng Yu, Xin Tong, Wenping Song, Guojun Zhang and Zhiming Wang

DOI: 10.1039/C7NR00844A, Review Article

 

Recent progress in cellulose nanocrystals: sources and production

Djalal Trache, M. Hazwan Hussin, M. K. Mohamad Haafiz and Vijay Kumar Thakur

DOI: 10.1039/C6NR09494E, Review Article

 

Biomimetic polymeric superhydrophobic surfaces and nanostructures: from fabrication to applications

Gang Wen, ZhiGuang Guo and Weimin Liu

DOI: 10.1039/C7NR00096K, Review Article

 

Nanostructured materials on 3D nickel foam as electrocatalysts for water splitting

Nitin K. Chaudhari, Haneul Jin, Byeongyoon Kimc and Kwangyeol Lee

DOI: 10.1039/C7NR04187J, Review Article

 


Paper

Excitation wavelength independent visible color emission of carbon dots

Hua Wang, Chun Sun, Xingru Chen, Yu Zhang, Vicki L. Colvin, Quinton Rice, Jaetae Seo, Shengyu Feng, Shengnian Wang and William W. Yu

DOI: 10.1039/C6NR09200D, Paper

 

Color-stable water-dispersed cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals

Leyre Gomez, Chris de Weerd, Jose L. Hueso and Tom Gregorkiewicz

DOI: 10.1039/C6NR08892A, Paper

 

In situ cathodic activation of V-incorporated NixSy nanowires for enhanced hydrogen evolution

Xiao Shang, Kai-Li Yan, Yi Rao, Bin Dong, Jing-Qi Chi, Yan-Ru Liu, Xiao Li, Yong-Ming Chai and Chen-Guang Liu

DOI: 10.1039/C7NR02867A, Paper

 

Thickness-dependent Schottky barrier height of MoS2 field-effect transistors

Junyoung Kwon, Jong-Young Lee, Young-Jun Yu, Chul-Ho Lee, Xu Cui, James Honed and Gwan-Hyoung Lee

DOI: 10.1039/C7NR01501A, Paper

 

Complete ultrafast charge carrier dynamics in photo-excited all-inorganic perovskite nanocrystals (CsPbX3)

Navendu Mondal and Anunay Samanta

DOI: 10.1039/C6NR09422H, Paper

 

Exosome-like silica nanoparticles: a novel ultrasound contrast agent for stem cell imaging

Fang Chen, Ming Ma, Junxin Wang, Fang Wang, Shi-Xiong Chern, Eric Ruike Zhao, Anamik Jhunjhunwala, Sean Darmadi, Hangrong Chen and Jesse V. Jokerst

DOI: 10.1039/C6NR08177K, Paper

 


We hope you enjoy reading these articles!

 

*Access to articles through login via your free Royal Society of Chemistry publishing personal account

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Direct real-time detection of single proteins using silicon nanowire-based electrical circuits

The development of analytical devices that convert biological response into an electrical signal is a very important goal with great potential benefits for clinical diagnostics, environmental science, and defense.

In a recent communication published in Nanoscale, researchers discuss findings from a newly developed single silicon nanowire (SiNW) based biosensor, which is able to directly detect protein adsorption/desorption at single-molecule resolutions.

Fig. 1 Schematic demonstration of SiNW FET-based electrical biosensors, where Au electrodes are passivated by using a thermally deposited 50 nm-thick SiO2 layer. The inset shows how His-tag F1-ATPase is immobilized on the surface of SiNWs through Ni2+ chelation.

SiNW’s were synthesised following an Au-catalysed vapor deposition method and then high-density SiNW array devices were fabricated on silicon substrates using photolithography. Subsequently the devices were functionalized in a stepwise manner to impart the biomolecule recognizing Nickel functionality, and characterized with XPS and FTIR spectroscopy.

By combining theses devices with microfluidic systems, the authors were able to achieve real-time, direct detection of the chelation between Nickel and the imidazole of His-tags in the target biomolecules (F1 ATPases) at the single-event level. This nondestructive and label-free sensor shows great promise for number verification and real-time monitoring of proteins in complex biological systems.

Direct real-time detection of single proteins using silicon nanowire-based electrical circuits
Jie Li, Gen He, Hiroshi Ueno, Chuancheng Jia, Hiroyuki Noji, Chuanmin Qi and Xuefeng Guo
Nanoscale, 2016, DOI: 10.1039/C6NR04103E

Alexander Cook is a guest web writer for the RSC journal blogs. He is a PhD researcher in the Perrier group at the University of Warwick, focusing on polymer materials and their use in various applications. Follow him on twitter @alexcook222

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HOT article: Ultra-small lipid–polymer hybrid nanoparticles for tumor-penetrating drug delivery

When it comes to cancer treatment, smaller can sometimes be better, as a new HOT article published in Nanoscale has shown. New ultra-small hybrid nanoparticles, developed by Jiangfang Zhang and a team based at the University of California, have proven highly effective at delivering anti-cancer drugs in mice – the nanoparticles, which are under 25nm in size, could penetrate deep into the tumours of the mice to release the drug where it would be most effective.

The size of drug delivery nanocarriers has a crucial role in how effective they are at moving through the body: too large, and they will be cleared by the liver; too small, and they will be filtered by the kidneys. Cancer drug carriers work best at sizes below 50nm, where they can more easily infiltrate tumours, but preventing such small particles from aggregating once synthesised can be a challenge. Zhang’s team used both lipids and polymers to make their nanoparticles highly stable, even in physiological conditions –  the polymer cores took up the hydrophobic drug, while the lipid coating provided stability and protection from the aqueous environment of the body.

The nanoparticles were targeted to tumour cells by conjugating them to folate ligands – when injected into mice with induced tumours, the number of target nanoparticles present within the tumours was three times that of non-targeted carriers. What’s more, the anti-cancer drug docetaxel could be loaded into the nanoparticles and used to treat the mice, with highly promising results. Over half of the mice treated with the hybrid nanocarriers were still alive 64 days after having tumours induced, a significant extension compared to a clinically used drug treatment.

Read the full article here:

Ultra-small lipid–polymer hybrid nanoparticles for tumor-penetrating drug delivery

Diana Dehaini, Ronnie H. Fang, Brian T. Luk, Zhiqing Pang, Che-Ming J. Hu, Ashley V. Kroll, Chun Lai Yu,  Weiwei Gao and Liangfang Zhang*
Nanoscale, 2016, Advance Article

Susannah May is a guest web writer for the RSC Journal blogsShe currently works in the Publishing Department of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and has a keen interest in biology and biomedicine, and the frontiers of their intersection with chemistry. She can be found on Twitter using @SusannahCIMay.

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iPAINT: brushing-up on super resolution microscopy

In recent years, super-resolution microscopy has enabled researchers to explore biological interfaces at the nanoscale. Single-molecule localization methods, such as point accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography (PAINT), are fundamental techniques for studying the morphology and architecture of living matter. While super-resolution microscopy techniques like PAINT have acquired the interest of researchers in biology, it remains elusive to applications in soft matter and materials science.

In issue 16 of Nanoscale, researchers from the Netherlands have endeavoured to overcome the limitations of PAINT, such as a pre-requisite for hydrophobic domains or specific ligand/receptor pairs, by introducing interface point accumulation for imaging in nanoscale topography (iPAINT). In short, this new technique enables nanometre resolution imaging of interfaces by non-covalent, continuous labelling during imaging. This was achieved by labelling silica nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol (PEG) end-functionalized with a photoactivatable rhodamine analogue (PEG552) that is able to continuously adsorb and desorb from the interface. This method of labelling is essential for interfaces such as emulsions, foams and crystals like ice.

By employing iPAINT as a generic imaging method, the authors are able to obtain super-solution images at different interfaces in 3D. This innovation allows users to develop PAINT in other fields, such as colloid and interface science, food science, soft matter physics and nanotechnology.

iPAINT: a general approach tailored to image the topology of interfaces with nanometer resolution
A. Aloi, N. Vilanova, L. Albertazzi and I. K. Voets
Nanoscale, 2016, DOI: 10.1039/C6NR00445H

Dr Lee Barrett is a guest web writer for the Nanoscale blog. Lee is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Centre for Molecular Nanometrology at the University of Strathclyde. His research is currently focused on the development of nanoparticle-based sensors and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Follow him on twitter @L_Bargie

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HOT article: Ionizing radiation improves glioma-specific targeting of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated with cmHsp70.1 monoclonal antibodies (SPION–cmHsp70.1)

In this HOT article, tumour-specific targeting using superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) combined with ionising radiation is investigated. Heat shock protein Hsp70 is known to be expressed by cells exposed to stressful conditions or specifically on the membrane of highly aggressive tumour cells.  SPIONs, which are negative contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), were synthesised to contain the Hsp70 specific antibody (cmHsp70.1) to increase uptake into various tumour cells.

Conjugation of the cmHsp70.1 was accomplished by introducing amine groups to the dextran polymer coating of SPIONs, allowing covalent attachment to the carboxylic acid functional groups of the antibody through carbodiimide coupling. This was shown to dramatically increase loading of iron oxide into various tumour cells, compared to unconjugated SPIONs. By exposing cells to a non-lethal dose of ionising radiation, additional uptake could be achieved as cells express more of the heat shock mHsp70.

The differences in uptake can be seen in the figure below in both in vivo and in vitro environments using MRI and fluorescence microscopy, respectively. This approach has the potential to be clinically relevant for both diagnosis and therapy of tumours.

Figure 1 Targeting of the orthotopic C6 glioma by SPION–cmHsp70.1 conjugates. (A) Magnetic resonance images for the control, non-irradiated animals treated with SPIONs, SPION–cmHsp70.1 particles and irradiated rats (10 Gy) treated with SPION–cmHsp70.1. Images were obtained in RARE-T1, TurboRARE-T2 and FLASH regimens. Retention of the nanoparticles in the tumor presented as hypotensive zones on T2-weighted and gradient echo images (red arrows). (B) Immunofluorescent images of the brain tumor stained with anti-Hsp70 antibodies (green). Nuclei stained with DAPI (blue). Nanoparticles detected using reflective laser scanning at 488 nm (red). Scale bar, 40 μm.

Ionizing radiation improves glioma-specific targeting of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated with cmHsp70.1 monoclonal antibodies (SPION–cmHsp70.1)
Maxim A. Shevtsov, Boris P. Nikolaev, Vyacheslav A. Ryzhov, Ludmila Y. Yakovleva, Yaroslav Y. Marchenko, Marina A. Parr, Valerij I. Rolich, Anastasiya L. Mikhrina, Anatolii V. Dobrodumov, Emil Pitkin and Gabriele Multhoff
Nanoscale, 2015,7, 20652-20664, DOI: 10.1039/C5NR06521F, Paper

Dr Mike Barrow is a guest web writer for the Nanoscale blog, he currently works as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Liverpool. Twitter: @mikesyb

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HOT article: Responsive polymer brushes for controlled nanoparticle exposure

In this article, Scheutjens-Fleer self-consistent field (SF-SCF) theory simulations were used to accurately predict the position of a nanoparticle attached to the end-group of a responsive polymer chain surrounded by a majority of non-responsive polymer chains in a mixed brush system.

Certain stimuli such as pH or temperature can be used to create a defined ‘on-off’ switch between a protected ‘off’ state, where the responsive polymer chain is contracted thus burying the nanoparticles well within the non-responsive components, or an ‘on’ state where the nanoparticle is exposed to the medium through swelling of the responsive polymer chains.

The solvent quality was parameterised by the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (χ) and for nearly all investigated systems there was a sharp transition at the so-called critical χ value between the on-off state.   Design variables for mixed polymer brushes such as grafting density, chain length and nanoparticle size were investigated and all had an effect on the critical χ value, with a larger particle size and grafting density leading to an increase in χ. Fixing the polymer chain length for both responsive and non-responsive polymer chains led to the most optimal switching.

The authors are planning to develop materials from these findings and use the mixed polymer brush-nanoparticle systems as rapidly responsive (bio)sensors with single molecule sensitivity.

Responsive polymer brushes for controlled nanoparticle exposure
Namik Akkilic, Frans A. M. Leermakers and Wiebe M. de Vos
Nanoscale, 2015,7, 17871-17878, DOI: 10.1039/C5NR05150A

Dr Mike Barrow is a guest web writer for the Nanoscale blog, he currently works as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Liverpool. Twitter: @mikesyb

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Micro meets nano: Multicolour gold nanoprobes detect micoRNA biomarkers in serum

Researchers from Chinese Academy of Sciences have investigated the use of molecular beacons (MBs) for the simultaneous detection of multiple microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers.

The MBs were immobilized onto gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) via poly-adenine (poly-A) spacer. In addition, the authors used short oligonucleotides (oligos) consisting of 5 As in order to fill the gaps between MBs on the AuNP surface to ensure stability in salt solutions and obtain greater fluorescence signals.

MBs with 3 different fluorophores were employed in order to enable multiplexed detection of miRNAs in simulated serum samples. The authors reported that each MB specifically bound to its corresponding miRNA target in the presence of 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), thereby demonstrating the applicability of this method for real biological sample detection.

In recent years, miRNA has emerged as a potential biomarker for many types of diseases, such as cancer, neurological disorders and cardiovascular disease. The need for rapid and sensitive assays for miRNA detection is therefore of great interest. Wang et al. have demonstrated a step in this direction with the research presented here.

Elaborately designed diblock nanoprobes for simultaneous multicolor detection of microRNAs
Chenguang Wang, Huan Zhang, Dongdong Zeng, Wenliang Sun, Honglu Zhang, Ali Aldalbahi, Yunsheng Wang, Lili San, Chunhai Fan, Xiaolei Zuo and Xianqiang Mi
Nanoscale, 2015,7, 15822-15829, DOI: 10.1039/C5NR04618A

Dr Lee Barrett is a guest web writer for the Nanoscale blog. Lee is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Centre for Molecular Nanometrology at the University of Strathclyde. His research is currently focused on the development of nanoparticle-based sensors and surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Follow him on twitter @L_Bargie

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