Gold over Branched Palladium Nanostructures for Photothermal Cancer Therapy.

Bimetallic nanostructures show exciting potential as materials for effective photothermal hyperthermia therapy. We report the seed-mediated synthesis of palladium-gold (Pd-Au) nanostructures containing multiple gold nanocrystals on highly branched palladium seeds. The nanostructures were synthesized via the addition of a gold precursor to a palladium seed solution in the presence of oleylamine, which acts as both a reducing and a stabilizing agent.

How to choose a precursor for decomposition solution-phase synthesis: the case of iron nanoparticles.

The decomposition of organometallic compounds as precursors has revolutionized the synthesis of nanoparticles in solution. However, effective control of size and size distribution of iron nanoparticles has remained challenging due to the high reactivity of iron towards oxygen or oxygen-containing materials. Reported is a decomposition study that shows how metal to ligand bonding and symmetry of the compound can be manipulated to control the size and size distribution of iron nanoparticles in the 6-16 nm range.

How hollow structures form from crystalline iron-iron oxide core-shell nanoparticles in the electron beam.

Here, we report the effect of oleylamine (OLA) stabilizing molecules on the stability of iron-iron oxide core-shell nanoparticles in the electron beam. The presence of excess OLA (>50 wt%) induces the structural transformation in the highly crystalline, core-shell structures to form hollow iron oxide nanoparticles after 120 s of electron beam exposure.

Hot-injection synthesis of iron/iron oxide core/shell nanoparticles for T2 contrast enhancement in magnetic resonance imaging.

Here we report a new, bench-top synthesis for iron/iron oxide core/shell nanoparticles via the thermal decomposition of Fe(η(5)-C(6)H(3)Me(4))(2). The iron/iron oxide core/shell nanoparticles are superparamagnetic at room temperature and show improved negative contrast in T(2)-weighted MR imaging compared to pure iron oxides nanoparticles, and have a transverse relaxivity (r(2)) of 332 mM(-1) s(-1).