Preparation and characterization of alkylphosphonic acid self-assembled monolayers on titanium alloy by chemisorption and electrochemical deposition.

Ti-6Al-4V alloy is the most commonly used alloy for dental and orthopedic implants. In order to improve osseointegration, different surface modification methods are usually employed, including self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). This study presents an investigation of both active (electroassisted) and passive (adsorption) approaches for the modification of Ti-6Al-4V using alkylphosphonic acid.

Surface-induced conformational changes in doped bovine serum albumin self-assembled monolayers.

Evidence for considerable stabilization of doped bovine serum albumin (BSA) molecules upon adsorption on gold surfaces is provided. This is compared to the surface-induced conformational changes of the bare BSA and its corresponding monolayer. The BSA unfolding phenomenon is correlated with dehydration, which in turn enables improved monolayer coverage.

"Beating speckles" via electrically-induced vibrations of Au nanorods embedded in sol-gel.

Generation of macroscopic phenomena through manipulating nano-scale properties of materials is among the most fundamental goals of nanotechnology research. We demonstrate cooperative "speckle beats" induced through electric-field modulation of gold (Au) nanorods embedded in a transparent sol-gel host. Specifically, we show that placing the Au nanorod/sol-gel matrix in an alternating current (AC) field gives rise to dramatic modulation of incident light scattered from the material.