Acetone Sensing and Catalytic Conversion by Pd-Loaded SnO.

Noble metal additives are widely used to improve the performance of metal oxide gas sensors, most prominently with palladium on tin oxide. Here, we photodeposit different quantities of Pd (0-3 mol%) onto nanostructured SnO and determine their effect on sensing acetone, a critical tracer of lipolysis by breath analysis. We focus on understanding the effect of operating temperature on acetone sensing performance (sensitivity and response/recovery times) and its relationship to catalytic oxidation of acetone through a packed bed of such Pd-loaded SnO.

BiO boosts brightness, biocompatibility and stability of Mn-doped Ba(VO) as NIR-II contrast agent.

Deep-tissue fluorescence imaging remains a major challenge as there is limited availability of bright biocompatible materials with high photo- and chemical stability. Contrast agents with emission wavelengths above 1000 nm are most favorable for deep tissue imaging, offering deeper penetration and less scattering than those operating at shorter wavelengths. Organic fluorophores suffer from low stability while inorganic nanomaterials (e.

Simultaneous Nanothermometry and Deep-Tissue Imaging.

Bright, stable, and biocompatible fluorescent contrast agents operating in the second biological window (1000-1350 nm) are attractive for imaging of deep-lying structures (e.g., tumors) within tissues.

Single-Nanoparticle Thermometry with a Nanopipette.

Thermal measurements at the nanoscale are key for designing technologies in many areas, including drug delivery systems, photothermal therapies, and nanoscale motion devices. Herein, we present a nanothermometry technique that operates in electrolyte solutions and, therefore, is applicable for many measurements, capable of measuring and mapping temperature with nanoscale spatial resolution and sensitive to detect temperature changes down to 30 mK with 43 μs temporal resolution. The methodology is based on local measurements of ionic conductivity confined at the tip of a pulled glass capillary, a nanopipettete, with opening diameters as small as 6 nm.

Silica-Coated TiN Particles for Killing Cancer Cells.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) using plasmonic nanoparticles for cancer treatment is on the verge of clinical application. Titanium nitride (TiN) nanoparticles offer a promising alternative to commonly used gold-based systems at a fraction of the costs. Little is known, however, about the relationship between TiN particle characteristics and their optical properties in colloidal systems.

Nd-Doped BiVO luminescent nanothermometers of high sensitivity.

Neodymium-doped BiVO nanoparticles are explored for luminescent nanothermometry in the first and second biological windows. The nanothermometer sensitivity can be increased by an order of magnitude through careful selection of excitation wavelength and emission peaks, leading to sub-degree resolution and penetration depth up to 6 mm in biological tissues.