Photothermal versus photodynamic treatment for the inactivation of the bacteria Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus: An in vitro study.

The widespread occurrence of microbial pathogens, including multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, has ignited research efforts to discover alternative strategies to combat infections in patients. Recently, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) have been proposed for the inactivation of pathogens. Although PDT and PTT are very promising antipathogenic tools, further effort is needed to determine their real impact on pathogens apart from the effects of individual elements involved in the photodynamic/photothermal processes, i.

Anti-proliferative Activities of Metallic Nanoparticles in an in Vitro Breast Cancer Model.

Aims: To investigate effect of metallic nanoparticles, silver (AgNPs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as antitumor treatment in vitro against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and their associated mechanisms. This could provide new class of engineered nanoparticles with desired physicochemical properties and may present newer approaches for therapeutic modalities to breast cancer in women.

Materials And Methods: A human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) was used as a model of cells.

Spectroscopic characterization of magnetic Fe3O4@Au core shell nanoparticles.

The magnetic nanoparticles iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles and iron oxide/gold core-shell (Fe3O4/Au) nanoparticles were synthesized and their catalytic photo-degradation activity towards malathion as example of organophosphorus pesticides were reported. Iron oxide (Fe3O4) magnetic nanoparticle was successfully prepared through co-precipitation method by the reduction of ferric chloride (FeCl3) using ascorbic acid. The morphology of the prepared nanoparticles was characterized by the TEM and XRD (X-ray diffraction) techniques.

Structure-directing and high-efficiency photocatalytic hydrogen production by Ag clusters.

H2 production by water splitting is hindered mainly by the lack of low-cost and efficient photocatalysts. Here we show that sub-nanometric silver clusters can catalyze the anisotropic growth of gold nanostructures by preferential adsorption at certain crystal planes of Au seeds, with the result that the final nanostructure can be tuned via the cluster/seed ratio. Such semiconducting Ag clusters are extremely stable and retain their electronic structure even after adsorption at the tips of Au nanorods, enabling various photocatalytic experiments, such as oxygen evolution from basic solutions.

Studies on the photo-catalytic activity of semiconductor nanostructures and their gold core-shell on the photodegradation of malathion.

This work is devoted to the synthesis of different semiconductor nanoparticles and their metal core-shell nanocomposites such as TiO2, Au/TiO2, ZnO, and Au/ZnO. The morphology and crystal structures of the developed nanomaterials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). These materials were used as catalysts for the photodegradation of malathion, which is one of the most commonly used pesticides in developing countries.

Hybrid Au-CdSe and Ag-CdSe nanoflowers and core-shell nanocrystals via one-pot heterogeneous nucleation and growth.

A general approach, based on heterogeneous nucleation and growth of CdSe nanostructures on Au or Ag nanocrystals, for the synthesis of Au-CdSe and Ag-CdSe hybrid nanostructures is developed. The new approach provides a versatile one-pot route for the synthesis of hybrid nanoflowers consisting of a gold or silver core and multipod CdSe rods or an intact CdSe shell with controlled thickness, depending on the nucleation and growth parameters. At lower growth temperatures such as 150 °C, the CdSe clusters are adsorbed on the surface of the metal cores in their surface defects, then multiple arms and branches form, resulting in nanoflower-shaped hybrid structures.

Formation mechanisms of gold-zinc oxide hexagonal nanopyramids by heterogeneous nucleation using microwave synthesis.

This work reports the development of a fast and simple "one-pot" route for the synthesis of hybrid Au-ZnO hexagonal nanopyramids by sequential homogeneous-heterogeneous nucleation steps involving both Au and Zn ions using microwave irradiation (MWI). The rapid decomposition of zinc acetate by MWI in the presence of a mixture of oleic acid (OAc) and oleylamine (OAm) results in the formation of hexagonal ZnO nanopyramids. In the presence of Au ions, the initially formed Au nanocrystals act as heterogeneous nuclei for the nucleation and growth of the ZnO nanopyramids.

Growth mechanism of anisotropic gold nanocrystals via microwave synthesis: formation of dioleamide by gold nanocatalysis.

A facile and fast one-pot microwave irradiation method has been developed to prepare different shapes of gold nanoparticles capped with a mixture of oleylamine and oleic acid. The size, shape, and morphology of the nanocrystals could be tailored by varying the ratio of oleylamine to oleic acid, the microwave time, and the concentration of the gold ions. These effects are directly reflected in the surface plasmon resonance properties of the resulting nanocrystals in the visible and near-infrared regions.

Rapid and sensitive microplate assay for screening the effect of silver and gold nanoparticles on bacteria.

Background & Aim: Nanomaterials are the leading requirement of the rapidly developing field of nanomedicine and bionanotechnology, and in this respect, nanotoxicology research is gaining great importance. In the field of infections, nanoparticles are being utilized as therapeutic tools against microbes, thus understanding the properties of nanoparticles and their effect on microbes is essential prior to clinical application. The aim of this study was to evaluate a microplate-based assay for monitoring the toxicity of silver and gold nanoparticles on bacteria.

Synthesis of high quality zinc blende CdSe nanocrystals.

Highly homogeneous and luminescent CdSe colloidal nanocrystals in the less common zinc blende crystal structure have been obtained at high temperature in a noncoordinating organic solvent. The key parameter appears to be the addition of a phosphonic acid to the trioctylphosphine-selenium complex before its injection into the hot cadmium mixture, while the role of temperature is less relevant. Compared to standard (wurtzite) colloidal CdSe preparations, we find that the growth rate is considerably reduced, and the energy gap between the first two absorption bands becomes larger.