Surface-directed synthesis of erbium-doped yttrium oxide nanoparticles within organosilane zeptoliter containers.

We introduce an approach to synthesize rare earth oxide nanoparticles using high temperature without aggregation of the nanoparticles. The dispersity of the nanoparticles is controlled at the nanoscale by using small organosilane molds as reaction containers. Zeptoliter reaction vessels prepared from organosilane self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) were used for the surface-directed synthesis of rare earth oxide (REO) nanoparticles.

Surface assembly and nanofabrication of 1,1,1-tris(mercaptomethyl)heptadecane on Au(111) studied with time-lapse atomic force microscopy.

The solution self-assembly of multidentate organothiols onto Au(111) was studied in situ using scanning probe nanolithography and time-lapse atomic force microscopy (AFM). Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) prepared from dilute solutions of multidentate thiols were found to assemble slowly, requiring more than six hours to generate films. A clean gold substrate was first imaged in ethanolic media using liquid AFM.

Spatially selective surface platforms for binding fibrinogen prepared by particle lithography with organosilanes.

We introduce an approach based on particle lithography to prepare spatially selective surface platforms of organosilanes that are suitable for nanoscale studies of protein binding. Particle lithography was applied for patterning fibrinogen, a plasma protein that has a major role in the clotting cascade for blood coagulation and wound healing. Surface nanopatterns of mercaptosilanes were designed as sites for the attachment of fibrinogen within a protein-resistant matrix of 2-[methoxy(polyethyleneoxy)propyl] trichlorosilane (PEG-silane).