Russell Johnson, Development Editor – Page 23 – Journal of Materials Chemistry Blog

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Journal of Materials Chemistry welcomes new Advisory Board members

07 Dec 2010

Journal of Materials Chemistry is delighted to welcome another four outstanding materials chemists to the Journal of Materials Chemistry Advisory Board. These scientists will help advise the Editorial Board and the RSC Editors as the journal continues to improve and evolve through 2011 and beyond.

The new Journal of Materials Chemistry Advisory Board members are:
•   Cheng-Yong Su (Guangzhou, China)
•   Amparo Fuertes (Bellaterra, Spain
•   David G. Evans (Beijing, China)
•   Etienne Duguet (Bordeaux, France)

Here is the full list of Journal of Materials Chemistry Editorial Board and Advisory Board members.

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Materials Chemistry of Nanofabrication themed issue in 2011

24 Nov 2010

Journal of Materials Chemistry is publishing a themed issue on the Materials Chemistry of Nanofabrication with Professor Ken Carter (University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA) as the guest editor. Please contact the Editorial Office if you are interested in contributing to the themed issue.

The deadline for the receipt of manuscripts for this themed issue is 6^th March 2011.

The themed issue will collect a selection of the best papers in this area in a high profile and high impact themed issue which will be published in 2011.

Examples of topics for this issue include:

Assembly and manipulation of nanoparticles, nanowires and nano-objects
Advances in nanofabrication techniques and materials
New routes towards device fabrication
New device architectures
High speed, high throughput or low cost nanofabrication
Use of self-assembled polymeric materials in fabrication
Characterization and metrology

Journal of Materials Chemistry publishes original research that demonstrates novelty and advance, either in the chemistry used to produce materials or in the properties/applications of the materials produced. Work submitted that is outside of these criteria will not usually be considered for publication. All manuscripts will be refereed in accordance to the standard procedures of Journal of Materials Chemistry, and in this articles for the themed issue will be treated in the same way as regular submissions to the journal.

Manuscripts can be submitted using the RSC’s on-line submissions service available via the Journal’s Homepage www.rsc.org/materials. Please clearly mark that the manuscript is “submitted in response to the call for papers for the Materials Chemistry of Nanofabrication themed issue”.

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Targeting tumours with graphene oxide

22 Nov 2010

A graphene oxide anticancer drug carrier that combines different targeting mechanisms has been designed by scientists from China.

Many anticancer drugs are toxic or cause harmful side effects because they target healthy cells as well as tumour cells. Yongsheng Chen from Nankai University, China, and colleagues have developed a delivery system using functionalised graphene oxide as the drug carrier. Graphene oxide has a very high surface area, enabling it to transport a large amount of the drug. As cancer cells are typically more acidic than normal cells, the team developed the system to increase drug release as pH decreases. This confines the drug to the tumour site and limits uptake by healthy cells. This could allow doctors to use higher doses and improve the effectiveness of treatments, or reduce side-effects for patients…

Read the full article for free in Highlights in Chemical Science.

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ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship

04 Nov 2010

ChemComm is delighted to invite nominations for the very first ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship. The lectureship, which will be awarded annually, will recognise an emerging scientist in the early stages of their independent academic career. Deadline for nominations: 28th February 2011. Visit the ChemComm blog for more information.

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Making colour tuneable quantum dots

22 Oct 2010

An improved synthesis of Mn-doped ZnSe quantum dots offers tailored fluorescent labels for biomedical imaging.

Mn:ZnSe quantum dots have many interesting properties including tuneable photoluminescence, high colour purity and biocompatibility. To improve the properties Hongzhi Wang, Yaogang Li, and colleagues at Donghua University, Shanghai, China, have developed a new synthesis. The simple aqueous phase method allows control over the size of the quantum dots and the photoluminescence can be tuned across a broader range by changing the reaction conditions. The quantum dots created by this method also have a higher quantum yield compared to previous synthetic routes which should improve the performance of any biomedical imaging agents based on this material.

Mn:ZnSe quantum produced by this method are more stable than CdTe to UV irradiation and chemical oxidation. Mn:ZnSe quantum dots don’t contain Cd (a common component in quantum dots) eliminating the risk of Cd leaching from the material and poisoning patients. The stability and lack of Cd makes these quantum dots promising candidates for biomedical applications.

Read the full article here: Pengtao Shao, Qinghong Zhang, Yaogang Li and Hongzhi Wang, J. Mater. Chem., 2010, DOI: 10.1039/C0JM01878C

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Nominations for the 2011 Prizes and Awards are now open

24 Sep 2010

The RSC currently presents around 60 prestigious Prizes and Awards annually to scientists in all the main chemical science disciplines allowing for the greatest range of scientists to be recognised for their work; individuals, teams and organisations working across the globe.

There are nine categories of awards including specific categories for Industry and Education so whether you work in business, industry, research or education recognition is open to everyone. Our Prizes and Awards represent the dedication and outstanding achievements in the chemicals sciences and are a platform to showcase inspiring science to gain the recognition deserved.

Here are just a few of the Prizes and Awards that you may be interested in:

Barrer Award: For meritorious recent pure or applied work in the field of porous inorganic materials

Beilby Medal and Prize: For work of exceptional practical significance in chemical engineering, applied materials science, energy efficiency or a related field

Peter Day Award: For outstanding contributions to, and advancement of, the field of materials chemistry. The award will alternate between those specialising in the broad areas of soft matter and of continuous lattice solids

de Gennes Prize: For outstanding and exceptional work in the field of materials chemistry

Gibson-Fawcett Award: To recognise original and independent contributions to Materials Chemistry

John B Goodenough Award: To recognise exceptional and sustained contributions to the area of materials chemistry

Stephanie L Kwolek Award: To recognise exceptional contributions to the area of Materials Chemistry from a scientist working outside the UK

Materials for Industry – Derek Birchall Award: To reward an individual for creativity and excellence in the application of materials chemistry in industry

Do you know someone who has made a significant contribution to advancing the chemical sciences? View our full list of Prizes and Awards and use the online system to nominate yourself or colleagues.

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Hot Article: Molecular dynamics simulations of La2O3-doped silicate intergranular films in Si3N4

22 Sep 2010

Intergranular films (IGFs) are amorphous nanometer-scale thin films that are observed at many grain boundaries in polycrystalline ceramics. IGFs make up only a small volume percent of the bulk ceramic, but their unique local chemistry can strongly influence the macroscopic properties of the material.

Graphical abstract: Molecular dynamics simulations of La2O3-doped silicate intergranular films in Si3N4

Results of the simulations performed in this study by Stephen H. Garofalini and Yun Jiang show segregation of La ions (arrows) from intergranular film to the prismatic Si3N4 surface; equivalent to HAADF-STEM results. The simulations and also show the effect of composition on varying segregation and growth.

Interested to know more? Read the full article:

Yun Jiang and Stephen H. Garofalini, J. Mater. Chem., 2010, DOI: 10.1039/C0JM01555E

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Hot Article: Lung cancer targeted photodynamic therapy and imaging using functionalised albumin nanoparticles

21 Sep 2010

Nanoparticles, in sizes under 200 nm, exclusively accumulate into malignant lesions with decreased exposure to other vital organs. This typical property, known as passive targeting, has been utilized for cancer drug targeting. Porphyrins produce a singlet oxygen under UV exposure to induce tumour cell death.

In this study, hematoporphyrin attached albumin nanoparticles (HP-ANP) were fabricated and their therapeutic application for lung cancer was evaluated. HP-ANP were further functionalized with gamma-emitting nuclides (99mTc) to demonstrate in vivo imaging and pharmacokinetic properties through scintigraphic imaging. Here, Chang-Koo Shim and colleagues in South Korea have illustrated the possible application of HP-ANP for cancer targeted imaging and therapy.

Interested to know more? Read the full article here

Su-Geun Yang, Ji-Eun Chang, Byungchul Shin, Sanghyun Park, Kun Na and Chang-Koo Shim, J. Mater. Chem., 2010, DOI:10.1039/C0JM01544J

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Hot Article: One-pot synthesis of monodispersed ZnS nanospheres with high antibacterial activity

20 Sep 2010

Microbial contamination is a tremendous problem in our society nowadays. ZnO is extensively used as a universal inorganic antibacterial reagent in the food industry, however, few reports related to antibacterial function of ZnS have been published up to date.

Graphical abstract: One-pot synthesis of monodispersed ZnS nanospheres with high antibacterial activity

Erkang Wang and colleagues in China have developed a facile one-pot method to prepare complex three-dimensional ZnS nanospheres with good water-dispersibility and uniform size. The obtained ZnS nanospheres exhibited high performance in prohibiting the growth of the foodborne pathogen Escherichia coli and negligible mammalian cell toxicity.

Interested to know more? Read the full article.

Gaiping Li, Junfeng Zhai, Dan Li, Xiaona Fang, Hong Jiang, Qingzhe Dong and Erkang Wang*
J. Mater. Chem., 2010, Advance Article, DOI:10.1039/C0JM01776K Paper

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Hot Article: Purifying proteins with magnetic particles

13 Sep 2010

The development of fast and efficient methods to separate proteins of interest from a biological source remains a challenging task in the proteomic era. With the use of magnetic nanoparticles, the separation of proteins can be significantly simplified by applying an external magnetic field.

Nanfeng Zheng and co-workers have prepared superparamagnetic core-shell Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@poly(styrene-alt-maleic acid)/Ni-NTA particles having abundant Ni-NTA binding sites for the efficient separation of His-tagged proteins. The shell composition of poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) allows the incorporation of more Ni-NTA affinity sites onto the surface of the magnetic spheres making them particularly promising for the magnetic separation of low-concentration His-tagged proteins.

Interested to know more? Read the full article here:

Superparamagnetic core-shell polymer particles for efficient purification of his-tagged proteins
Weijun Fang, Xiaolan Chen and Nanfeng Zheng
J. Mater. Chem., 2010, Advance Article
DOI:10.1039/C0JM02081H. Paper

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