At the Limits of Liquid Crystallinity: Stimuli Responsive 3D Columnar Liquid Crystals and Soft Crystals of Supramolecular Anthracene Mesogens

Chemistry of Materials

DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b03382

Matthias Lehmann, Steffi Gloza and Sabine Roth
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Electroluminescence Dynamics across Grain Boundary Regions of Monolayer Tungsten Disulfide

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b06408

Youmin Rong, Yuewen Sheng, Mercè Pacios, Xiaochen Wang, Zhengyu He, Harish Bhaskaran and Jamie H. Warner
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Direct Pen Writing of Adhesive Particle-Free Ultrahigh Silver Salt-Loaded Composite Ink for Stretchable Circuits

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b05082

Mingjun Hu, Xiaobing Cai, Qiuquan Guo, Bin Bian, Tengyuan Zhang and Jun Yang
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Influence of pH on the Quantum-Size-Controlled Photoelectrochemical Etching of Epitaxial InGaN Quantum Dots

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b09555

Xiaoyin Xiao, Ping Lu, Arthur J. Fischer, Michael E. Coltrin, George T. Wang, Daniel D. Koleske and Jeffrey Y. Tsao
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Thermodynamics of Binding Between Proteins and Carbon Nanoparticles: The Case of C60@Lysozyme

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b09985

Matteo Calvaresi, Andrea Bottoni and Francesco Zerbetto
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Remotely Controlled Isomer Selective Molecular Switching

Nano Letters

DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b02974

Verena Schendel, Bogdana Borca, Ivan Pentegov, Tomasz Michnowicz, Ulrike Kraft, Hagen Klauk, Peter Wahl, Uta Schlickum and Klaus Kern
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Integrated Photonic Nanofences: Combining Subwavelength Waveguides with an Enhanced Evanescent Field for Sensing Applications

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b05864

Victor J. Cadarso, Andreu Llobera, Mar Puyol and Helmut Schift
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Biodegradable Photonic Melanoidin for Theranostic Applications

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b05931

Min-Young Lee, Changho Lee, Ho Sang Jung, Mansik Jeon, Ki Su Kim, Seok Hyun Yun, Chulhong Kim and Sei Kwang Hahn
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Static and Dynamic Performance of Complementary Inverters Based on Nanosheet α-MoTe2 p-Channel and MoS2 n-Channel Transistors

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b06419

Atiye Pezeshki, Seyed Hossein Hosseini Shokouh, Pyo Jin Jeon, Iman Shackery, Jin Sung Kim, Il-Kwon Oh, Seong Chan Jun, Hyungjun Kim and Seongil Im
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Weak Van der Waals Stacking, Wide-Range Band Gap, and Raman Study on Ultrathin Layers of Metal Phosphorus Trichalcogenides

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b05927

Ke-zhao Du, Xing-zhi Wang, Yang Liu, Peng Hu, M. Iqbal Bakti Utama, Chee Kwan Gan, Qihua Xiong and Christian Kloc
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Lift-Off Free Fabrication Approach for Periodic Structures with Tunable Nano Gaps for Interdigitated Electrode Arrays

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b06405

Stefan Partel, Can Dincer, Stephan Kasemann, Jochen Kieninger, Johannes Edlinger and Gerald Urban
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Light-Directed Particle Patterning by Evaporative Optical Marangoni Assembly

Nano Letters

DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b04377

Subramanyan Namboodiri Varanakkottu, Manos Anyfantakis, Mathieu Morel, Sergii Rudiuk and Damien Baigl
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Physisorption Controls the Conformation and Density of States of an Adsorbed Porphyrin

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b08350

S. P. Jarvis, S. Taylor, J. D. Baran, D. Thompson, A. Saywell, B. Mangham, N. R. Champness, J. A. Larsson and P. Moriarty
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Insertion of Calcium Ion into Prussian Blue Analogue in Nonaqueous Solutions and Its Application to a Rechargeable Battery with Dual Carriers

The Journal of Physical Chemistry C

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b10245

Tohru Shiga, Hiroki Kondo, Yuichi Kato and Masae Inoue
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X-ray Lithography on Perovskite Nanocrystals Films: From Patterning with Anion-Exchange Reactions to Enhanced Stability in Air and Water

ACS Nano

DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.5b06536

Francisco Palazon, Quinten A. Akkerman, Mirko Prato and Liberato Manna
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In vitro assessment of antibody-conjugated gold nanorods for systemic injections

Background: The interest for gold nanorods in biomedical optics is driven by their intense absorbance of near infrared light, their biocompatibility and their potential to reach tumors after systemic administration. Examples of applications include the photoacoustic imaging and the photothermal ablation of cancer. In spite of great current efforts, the selective delivery of gold nanorods to tumors through the bloodstream remains a formidable challenge. Their bio-conjugation with targeting units, and in particular with antibodies, is perceived as a hopeful solution, but the complexity of living organisms complicates the identification of possible obstacles along the way to tumors. Results: Here, we present a new model of gold nanorods conjugated with anti-cancer antigen 125 (CA125) antibodies, which exhibit high specificity for ovarian cancer cells. We implement a battery of tests in vitro, in order to simulate major nuisances and predict the feasibility of these particles for intravenous injections. We show that parameters like the competition of free CA125 in the bloodstream, which could saturate the probe before arriving at the tumors, the matrix effect and the interference with erythrocytes and phagocytes are uncritical. Conclusions: Although some deterioration is detectable, anti-CA125-conjugated gold nanorods retain their functional features after interaction with blood tissue and so represent a powerful candidate to hit ovarian cancer cells.

Sonia Centi

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Investigation of size¿dependent cell adhesion on nanostructured interfaces

Background: Cells explore the surfaces of materials through membrane-bound receptors, such as the integrins, and use them to interact with extracellular matrix molecules adsorbed on the substrate surfaces, resulting in the formation of focal adhesions. With recent advances in nanotechnology, biosensors and bioelectronics are being fabricated with ever decreasing feature sizes. The performances of these devices depend on how cells interact with nanostructures on the device surfaces. However, the behavior of cells on nanostructures is not yet fully understood. Here we present a systematic study of cell-nanostructure interaction using polymeric nanopillars with various diameters. Results: We first checked the viability of cells grown on nanopillars with diameters ranging from 200?nm to 700?nm. It was observed that when cells were cultured on the nanopillars, the apoptosis rate slightly increased as the size of the nanopillar decreased. We then calculated the average size of the focal adhesions and the cell-spreading area for focal adhesions using confocal microscopy. The size of focal adhesions formed on the nanopillars was found to decrease as the size of the nanopillars decreased, resembling the formations of nascent focal complexes. However, when the size of nanopillars decreased to 200?nm, the size of the focal adhesions increased. Further study revealed that cells interacted very strongly with the nanopillars with a diameter of 200?nm and exerted sufficient forces to bend the nanopillars together, resulting in the formation of larger focal adhesions. Conclusions: We have developed a simple approach to systematically study cell-substrate interactions on physically well-defined substrates using size-tunable polymeric nanopillars. From this study, we conclude that cells can survive on nanostructures with a slight increase in apoptosis rate and that cells interact very strongly with smaller nanostructures. In contrast to previous observations on flat substrates that cells interacted weakly with softer substrates, we observed strong cell-substrate interactions on the softer nanopillars with smaller diameters. Our results indicate that in addition to substrate rigidity, nanostructure dimensions are additional important physical parameters that can be used to regulate behaviour of cells.

Chiung Kuo

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Uptake, transport, distribution and Bio-effects of SiO 2 nanoparticles in Bt-transgenic cotton

Background: SiO2 nanoparticle is one of the most popular nanomaterial which has been used in various fields, such as wastewater treatment, environmental remediation, food processing, industrial and household applications, biomedicine, disease labeling, and biosensor, etc. In agriculture, the use of SiO2 nanoparticles as insecticide, carriers in drug delivery, or in uptake and translocation of nutrient elements, etc., has been given attention. However, the effects of nanoparticles on plants have been seldom studied. In this work, the toxicity of SiO2 nanoparticles and their uptake, transport, distribution and bio-effects have been investigated in Bt-transgenic cotton. Methods: The phytotoxic effects of SiO2 nanoparticles were exhibited in Bt-transgenic cotton with different SiO2 concentrations of 0, 10, 100, 500 and 2000?mg.L?1 for 3?weeks through dry biomasses, nutrient elements, xylem sap, enzymes activities, and hormone concentrations. The uptake and distribution of nanoparticles by the plants were confirmed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results: The SiO2 nanoparticles decreased significantly the plant height, shoot and root biomasses; the SiO2 nanoparticles also affected the contents of Cu, Mg in shoots and Na in roots of transgenic cotton; and SOD activity and IAA concentration were significantly influenced by SiO2 nanoparticles. In addition, SiO2 nanoparticles were present in the xylem sap and roots as examined by TEM showing that the SiO2 nanoparticles were transported from roots to shoots via xylem sap. Conclusions: This is the first report of the transportation of SiO2 nanoparticles via xylem sap within Bt-transgenic cotton. This study provides direct evidence for the bioaccumulation of SiO2 nanoparticles in plants, which shows the potential risks of SiO2 nanoparticles impact on food crops and human health.

Van Le

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Au-SnS Hetero Nanostructures: Size of Au Matters

Chemistry of Materials

DOI: 10.1021/cm5039914

Biplab K. Patra, Amit K. Guria, Anirban Dutta, Arnab Shit and Narayan Pradhan

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First-Cycle Evolution of Local Structure in Electrochemically Activated Li2MnO3

Chemistry of Materials

DOI: 10.1021/cm5039792

Jason R. Croy, Joong Sun Park, Fulya Dogan, Christopher S. Johnson, Baris Key and Mahalingam Balasubramanian

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