Chemical Modification of Graphene Oxide through Diazonium Chemistry and Its Influence on the Structure-Property Relationships of Graphene Oxide-Iron Oxide Nanocomposites.

4-Carboxyphenyl groups are covalently grafted onto graphene oxide via diazonium chemistry for studying their role on the adsorption of iron oxide nanoparticles. The nanoparticles are deposited via a novel phase-transfer approach involving specific interactions at the interface between two immiscible solvents. The increased density and the homogeneous distribution of surface carboxyl moieties enable the preparation of a nanocomposite with improved iron oxide distribution and loading.

Zirconia-doped nanoparticles: organic coating, polymeric entrapment and application as dual-imaging agents.

Zirconia nanoparticles doped with Eu, Tb and Gd ions have been synthesized following the benzyl alcohol route. The nanoparticles were coated with N-hydroxydodecanamide and encapsulated in PLGA-b-PEG-COOH nanomicelles. The magnetic and fluorescent properties of these hybrid nanocarriers were investigated, proving them to be potential dual-imaging contrast agents.

In-vacuum projection of nanoparticles for on-chip tunneling spectroscopy.

Starting with a discussion of the percolation problem applied to the trapping of conducting nanoparticles between nanometer-spaced electrodes, we show that a good strategy to trap a single nanoparticle between the electrodes is to prepare chips with low coverage of nanoparticles to avoid percolating current paths. To increase the probability of trapping a single nanoparticle, we developed a new method where nanoparticles are projected in-vacuum on the chip, followed by a measure of the tunnel current, in a cycle that is repeated up to a few thousand times until a preset threshold value is reached. A plot of the tunneling current as a function of time allows discriminating between the two possible current paths, i.

One-step synthesis and self-assembly of metal oxide nanoparticles into 3D superlattices.

A simple one-pot approach based on the "benzyl alcohol route" is introduced for the fabrication of highly ordered supercrystals composed of highly uniform 3-4 nm zirconia and rare-earth stabilized zirconia nanoparticles. The as-fabricated supercrystals reach sizes larger than 10 μm and present well-defined 3D morphologies such as flower-like, rhombic dodecahedron, and bipyramids. This system is unique in that the supercrystals are formed in one-step directly in the reaction medium where the nanoparticles are synthesized.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of pyrazole derivatives as potential multi-kinase inhibitors in hepatocellular carcinoma.

We described the optimization, by molecular modelling, of small pyrazole derivatives, as kinase inhibitors, obtained through a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between nitrile imines and functionalized acetylenes. The two compounds, selected as potential agents active against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were then evaluated in vitro for their biological activity on HCC-derived cell lines. The compounds show a promising inhibitory growth efficacy (IC(50) 50-100 μM) in SNU449 cell line, as well as block of cell cycle progression and induction of apoptosis, and can be considered as lead compounds for further SAR developments.