From Corrosion Casting to Virtual Dissection: Contrast-Enhanced Vascular Imaging using Hafnium Oxide Nanocrystals.

Vascular corrosion casting is a method used to visualize the three dimensional (3D) anatomy and branching pattern of blood vessels. A polymer resin is injected in the vascular system and, after curing, the surrounding tissue is removed. The latter often deforms or even fractures the fragile cast.

Mapping out the Aqueous Surface Chemistry of Metal Oxide Nanocrystals: Carboxylate, Phosphonate, and Catecholate Ligands.

Iron oxide and hafnium oxide nanocrystals are two of the few successful examples of inorganic nanocrystals used in a clinical setting. Although crucial to their application, their aqueous surface chemistry is not fully understood. The literature contains conflicting reports regarding the optimum binding group.

Resorcin[4]arene-based multidentate phosphate ligands with superior binding affinity for nanocrystal surfaces.

We designed and synthesized two resorcin[4]arene scaffolds with four phosphate binding groups. The ligands effectively bind in at least a tridentate fashion at low surface coverage. The superior binding affinity is demonstrated using solution NMR spectroscopy and exceeds that of single phosphonates.