Adsorption of β-Lactoglobulin on Thiol-Functionalized Mesoporous Silica.

SBA-15 mesoporous materials were synthesized with different pore sizes (5 and 10 nm) and thiol-functionalized groups and then characterized to describe their ability to differentially adsorb β-lactoglobulin (BLG), a globular protein with an ellipsoid shape measuring 6.9 nm in length and 3.6 nm in width.

Sub-THz Vibrational Dynamics in Ordered Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles.

The vibrational dynamics in the sub-THz range of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) having ordered cylindrical mesopores was investigated. MCM-41 and SBA-15 particles were synthesized, and their structure was determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), low-angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), N physisorption analyses, and Raman scattering. Brillouin scattering measurements are reported and enabled determining the stiffness of the silica walls (speed of sound) using finite element calculations for the ordered mesoporous structure.

Manipulating multi-spectral slow photons in bilayer inverse opal TiO@BiVO composites for highly enhanced visible light photocatalysis.

Manipulation of light has been proved to be a promising strategy to increase light harvesting in solar-to-chemical energy conversion, especially in photocatalysis. Inverse opal (IO) photonic structures are highly promising for light manipulation as their periodic dielectric structures enable them to slow down light and localize it within the structure, thereby improving light harvesting and photocatalytic efficiency. However, slow photons are confined to narrow wavelength ranges and hence limit the amount of energy that can be captured through light manipulation.

Core-shell polygalacturonate magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization, and functionalities.

This work aims to synthesize polygalacturonate-based magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (INP-polyGalA). The synthesis consists of the diffusion of both Fe and Fe at a molar ratio of 1:2 through polyGalA solution followed by the addition of an alkaline solution. To form individual nanoparticle materials, the polyGalA concentration needs to be below its overlapping concentration (C*).

Functionalization of developed bacterial cellulose with magnetite nanoparticles for nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine applications.

This paper deals with the preparation of novel magnetic materials made from tetraaza macrocyclic Schiff base bacterial cellulose ligands with magnetite nanoparticles (FeONPs) through a multi-step procedure for antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities and chemotherapy in cancer treatment. First, the 2,3-dialdehyde bacterial cellulose (DABC) was chemically modified by ethylenediamine (EDA) and benzil (Bzl) in the presence of ferrous ions. Then, the magnetite nanoparticles (FeONPs) was produced inside the complex [Fe(DABC-EDA-Bzl)Cl] through a co-precipitation method.

Comparative studies on the adsorption of metal ions from aqueous solutions using various functionalized graphene oxide sheets as supported adsorbents.

Graphene oxide (GO) was chemically modified by bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amino groups (BPED) through a multistep procedure. For comparison, and to justify the grafting of BPED groups onto the GO sheets, the GO-based material obtained after each step was used as a solid phase adsorbent for removing Cu(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) metal ions from aqueous solutions. The influence of metal ion concentrations, pH, contact time and temperature on their adsorption onto the GO-based adsorbents was investigated and the GO-EDA-CAC-BPED adsorbent showed the highest ability to adsorb Cu(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) with a concentration of 250 mg.