Tandem Hydroperoxyl-Alkylperoxyl Radical Quenching by an Engineered Nanoporous Cerium Oxide Nanoparticle Macrostructure (NCeONP): Toward Efficient Solid-State Autoxidation Inhibitors.

The use of nanomaterials as inhibitors of the autoxidation of organic materials is attracting tremendous interest in petrochemistry, food storage, and biomedical applications. Metal oxide materials and CeO in particular represent one of the most investigated inorganic materials with promising radical trapping and antioxidant abilities. However, despite the importance, examples of the CeO material's ability to retard the autoxidation of organic substrates are still lacking, together with a plausible chemical mechanism for radical trapping.

Quantum dot encapsulated nanocolloidal bioconjugates function as bioprobes for in vitro intracellular imaging.

Bioimaging probes incorporating quantum dots (QDs) are important for identifying organelles and monitoring their movement/location in living cells. Organelle specificity can be accomplished by functionalizing probe surfaces with chemical groups that can react with antibodies capable of targeting specific organelle-protein epitopes. Here, such a bioprobe is generated by encapsulating ZnS-capped CdSe QDs within polystyrene (PS) nanocolloids via Pickering miniemulsion using laponite nanoclay platelets as solid-stabilizers.

PEG Bottle Brush Copolymers as Antimicrobial Mimics: Role of Entropic Templating in Membrane Lysis.

Novel polymers containing quaternary functional groups, with and without (control copolymer) PEG side chains, were synthesized and characterized for their ability to lyse the phospholipid membranes of liposome vesicles. Calcein loaded unilamellar vesicles composed of 1,2-dioleoyl- sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine (DOPC) were used to mimic red-blood cell membranes, and a 80:20 (mol/mol) mixture of 1,2-dioleoyl- sn-glycero-3-phosphatidyl ethanolamine (DOPE) and 1,2-dioleoyl- sn- glycero-3-[phospho- rac-(1-glycerol)] (DOPG) was used to mimic the outer cell-membrane of the gram-negative bacteria, E. coli.

Gold nanorods or nanospheres? Role of particle shape on tuning the shape memory effect of semicrystalline poly(ε-caprolactone) networks.

In this study, modified poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) tri-block copolymers were successfully synthesized through ring opening polymerization. The nanocomposite films containing either colloidal gold nanorods (AuNRs) or gold nanospheres (AuNSs) in the polymer matrix were fabricated without chemical modification to realize light-responsive shape memory behaviors. The localized surface plasmon resonance of AuNPs was utilized by irradiating the selective wavelength of light to create a photothermal effect.

Temperature dependence of serum protein adsorption in PEGylated PNIPAm microgels.

The effect of PEGylation on the thermal response and protein adsorption resistance of crosslinked PNIPAm microgels was investigated. It was found that the presence of PEG, its molecular weight (M(n) 300 and 1100 g/mol) and its concentration (10, 20, and 30 wt.%) each significantly influenced both the value and breadth of the volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) and the adsorption of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the surface of the microgels.

Thermoresponsive semicrystalline poly(ε-caprolactone) networks: exploiting cross-linking with cinnamoyl moieties to design polymers with tunable shape memory.

The overall goal of this study was to synthesize semicrystalline poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) copolymer networks with stimuli-responsive shape memory behavior. Herein, we investigate the influence of a cinnamoyl moiety to design shape memory polymer networks with tunable transition temperatures. The effect of various copolymer architectures (random or ABA triblock), the molecular weight of the crystalline domains, PCL diol, (M(w) 1250 or 2000 g mol(-1)) and its composition in the triblock (50 or 80 mol %) were also investigated.

Multicore-shell PNIPAm-co-PEGMa microcapsules for cell encapsulation.

The overall goal of this study was to fabricate multifunctional core-shell microcapsules with biological cells encapsulated within the polymer shell. Biocompatible temperature responsive microcapsules comprised of silicone oil droplets (multicores) and yeast cells embedded in a polymer matrix (shell) were prepared using a novel microarray approach. The cross-linked polymer shell and silicone multicores were formed in situ via photopolymerization of either poly(N-isopropylacryamide)(PNIPAm) or PNIPAm, copolymerized with poly(ethylene glycol monomethyl ether monomethacrylate) (PEGMa) within the droplets of an oil-in-water-in-oil double emulsion.

Pickering emulsion as a template to synthesize Janus colloids with anisotropy in the surface potential.

A versatile new concept is presented for the synthesis of Janus colloids composed of Laponite nanoclay armored poly(divinylbenzene) with an anisotropic surface potential via a double Pickering emulsion template. First, polystyrene or poly(divinylbenzene) colloids stabilized with Laponite nanoclay are synthesized via a Pickering miniemulsion approach. These nanoparticle-stabilized colloids were then templated at a wax-water interface in a second Pickering emulsion in order to chemically modify one hemisphere of the colloids.

Microwave, photo- and thermally responsive PNIPAm-gold nanoparticle microgels.

Microwave-, photo- and thermo-responsive polymer microgels that range in size from 500 to 800 microm and are swollen with water were prepared by a novel microarray technique. We used a liquid-liquid dispersion technique in a system of three immiscible liquids to prepare hybrid PNIPAm- co-AM core-shell capsules loaded with AuNPs. The spontaneous encapsulation is a result of the formation of double oil-in-water-in-oil (o/w/o) emulsion.