Journal of Nanoparticle Research最新文献

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) constitute one of the most important breakthroughs in biomedicine due to unique and highly beneficial characteristics that essentially include intrinsic fluorescence, high biocompatibility, cost-effective and scalable synthesis, water solubility, nanoscale size, low toxicity, and easy functional modification. Such features chaperone CQDs toward rather universal applicability in myriad biomedical domains where their performance has been proven across very diverse aspects. Especially, CQDs have been established as excellent nanocarriers for drug delivery applications, antimicrobial agents, carriers of therapeutic genes, and efficient photosensitizers used in photodynamic therapy. The diagnostic potential has been underlined by delivering successful results in applications of cellular and bacterial bioimaging with improved diagnostic precision. CQDs have further played an important role in advancing theragnostic nanomedicine that combines the therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities in one nanoparticle. Modifications, such as the functional group doping, improve specificity and efficiency more toward targeted biomedical applications. In this review, we try to look deeply into the significant role that CQDs play in the field of biomedicine and underline their transformational efficacy and specific potency in therapeutic as well as diagnostic applications.

Antibiotics in water are a major pollutant that poses serious threats to ecosystems and human health, underscoring the urgent need for effective purification methods. Photocatalysis with semiconducting nanomaterials stands out as one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for degrading harmful organic pollutants. Nitrogen-enriched graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₅), a versatile 2D nanomaterial, is recognized for its visible light-active properties, with several advantages for photocatalytic applications. However, its efficacy is often hindered by high charge recombination rates. Herein, wide bandgap nano zirconia was employed as a robust cocatalyst to enhance the photocatalytic performance of g-C₃N₅. The ZrO₂/g-C₃N₅ (ZC) composites were formed at different weight ratios (1:2, 1:1, 2:1) using a simple ultrasonication method. The successful formation of the composite was confirmed through various analyses, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), photoluminescence (PL), and ultraviolet–visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-DRS). Notably, the 1:1 ZC composite achieved an impressive 94.2% degradation of ciprofloxacin under solar light for 90 min at pH 5, attributed to the synergistic interaction between the two catalysts. The composite facilitates a type II heterojunction, with superoxides and holes serving as key radicals in the degradation pathway, and the degradation rates followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Moreover, the catalyst demonstrated remarkable stability over four cycles, confirmed by reusability tests and post-degradation analyses, which showed minimal changes in structure or morphology. This proposed composite represents a significant advancement in visible light-mediated ciprofloxacin degradation. By incorporating insulating nano zirconia into the g-C₃N₅ matrix, photocatalytic efficacy was restrained. This approach effectively suppresses charge recombination, and promotes enhanced charge transport, paving the way for more efficient photocatalytic applications.

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The cost-effective and green preparation of electrocatalysts that are highly effective for both the cathode (reduction of oxygen) and anode (methanal oxidation) reactions is crucial for boosting the development of Direct Methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). This article describes a novel designed nitrogen and phosphorous co-doped honeycomb-like electrocatalyst (C_AMN₆P-3), which is derived from a hydrogel network formed with silk protein, polyaniline, and polyacrylamide. Notably, the C_AMN₆P-3 material has a surprisingly high nitrogen content (6.82%) and a high specific surface area (2494.55 m² g⁻¹). A high onset potential (1.11 V) was observed for the C_AMN₆P-3 catalyst, as well as a high limiting current density (5.4 mA.cm⁻²) during ORR. Furthermore, Pt/C_AMN₆P-3 demonstrates considerable catalytic activity as well as electrochemical stability for MOR as a catalyst carrier for Pt nanoparticles (Pt NPs). After long-term stability tests, the current density in the MOR was equivalent to a factor of twenty times that of the catalyst made from Pt/C. This superior performance can be attributed to the special nanostructure, where the honeycomb nanostructure not only provides an efficient channel for electron transfer and exposes more active sites, but also facilitates a high degree of dispersion of the Pt nanoparticles. From the perspective of sustainable development, combined with low-cost materials and the green preparation process, this work has a certain reference value for the development of highly efficient catalysts in the field of clean fuel cells.

It is highly desirable to use non-enzymatic urea sensors in the clinical, biomedical, agricultural, and food industries. Thus, we have utilized polyvinyl-pyrrolidine (PVP) to tune the shape, particle and electrochemical properties of NiCo₂O₄ nanowires during hydrothermal processes. NiCo₂O₄ nanowires were investigated under alkaline conditions 0f 0.1 M NaOH in relation to their electrochemical activity in detecting urea using PVP. NiCo₂O₄ nanowires were analyzed using different analytical techniques to determine their structure, chemical composition, and crystallinity. The PVP has strongly changed the morphology of NiCo₂O₄ from nanorod to thin nanowires with diameter of 150 nm to 250 nm and the grain size was also reduced. A cubic phase crystal system displayed a typical spinel structure in NiCo₂O₄ nanowires. NiCo₂O₄ nanowires prepared with 50 mg of PVP show a wide linear range of urea concentrations between 1 and 16 mM with a limit of detection of 0.01 mM. In addition to this, the stability, selectivity, and reproducibility of the experiment were all satisfactory. Consequently, NiCo₂O₄ nanowires may perform better because they have a smaller particle size, a smaller grain size, are exposed to more catalytic sites, and have a higher electrical conductivity. The newly developed NiCo₂O₄ nanowire-bussed enzyme-free sensor was also examined for practicality.

Paclitaxel (PTX), a chemo-drug widely used in cancer chemotherapy for a variety of tumors, has been still faced with several problems in therapeutic applications due to its poor water solubility, low content in natural sources, expensive multistep processes of synthesis and side effects. In this study, a nanogel system based on the conjugation of Heparin and Pluronic F127 via disulphide bridges was developed for PTX delivery in a redox responsive way to over these mentioned drawbacks. The obtained Hep-F127 system were proved and characterized through H-NMR, zeta potential, DLS, TEM and FT-IR methods. TEM result showed that the nanogel Hep-F127 was spherical, non-agglomerated and relatively uniform with an average particle diameter of 80 nm. PTX was effectively encapsulated into the nanogel thanks to poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) units of F127 molecules with DLE and DLC values of about 92% and 18%, respectively. Meanwhile, the nanogel was stable in physiological condition but broken under reducing condition, leading to a well-controlled release in physiological condition and a fast release in simulating tumor-microenvironmental condition. This contributed to reducing side effects and increasing the effectiveness of treatment of PTX. In addition, cytotoxicity of Hep-F127 and PTX@Hep-F127 was in vitro tested on the L929 cell line. This study suggested that the nanogel Hep-F127 would to be a promising carrier for enhancing the solubility of PTX and release PTX in a redox-responsive way in cancer treatment.

Combinational chemotherapeutics gained attention in 1950s, when a sharp reduction in mortality of cancer patients was observed with simultaneous usage of selected anticancer drugs with diverse mechanisms of action. However, later toxicity concerns slowed their wider adoption. Hitches, like multidrug resistance further account for the inactivity of many of the anticancer drugs for numerous cancers, rang another alarm. In such situations, the treatment itself becomes a matter of concern for patients and clinicians. Nanotechnology emerged as a refuge to counter the threat of resistance and toxicities apprehension and at the same time elevates the efficacy as compared to non-nanotherapy counterparts. Subsequently, breakthroughs in biotherapeutics, theranostics, and targeting ligands changed the paradigm of nanoparticulate combinational therapy. Careful selection of drug cocktail into the single architecture of nanoparticles helps to co-deliver the drugs of different natures, to the same target simultaneously without any haywire distribution menace. With the everlasting necessity for nanotherapeutic co-delivery in cancer, it is of utmost importance to understand how far we have reached and why we are still lagging on the clinical front. The present review aims to bring updated information in the area of nanoparticle-based co-delivered therapeutics. Additionally, current progress and challenges have been reviewed in depth to present a holistic overview.

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Microbial-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a common mineralization phenomenon in nature, which has the advantages of green and environmental protection. In this paper, Bacillus mucilaginosus and Bacillus alcalophilus were selected to study the dynamic process of MICP in alkaline solution through the changes of Ca²⁺ concentration, pH value, calcification rate, and Zeta potential, and then the control factors affecting the generation of biological CaCO₃ were revealed. Subsequently, various characterization methods were used to explore the effects of different microbial species on the morphology, crystal polymorph, crystalline size, reflectivity, specific surface area, pore volume, and porosity of biological CaCO₃, and the formation mechanism of biological CaCO₃ was also analyzed carefully. The experimental results showed that microbial mineralization was the control step affecting the formation of biological CaCO₃. Due to the different microbial mineralization mechanisms, the properties of biological CaCO₃ were also different. Compared with the reference CaCO₃, the CaCO₃ induced by Bacillus mucilaginosus was mainly calcite with uniformly dispersed oblique hexahedron shape, while the CaCO₃ induced by Bacillus alcalophilus was mainly vaterite with uniform spherical shape. Meanwhile, the mechanism of MICP showed that Bacillus mucilaginosus mainly promoted the production of biological CaCO₃ through the microbial enzymatic action (carbonic anhydrase), while Bacillus alcalophilus mainly controlled CaCO₃ precipitation through the microbial metabolic decomposition. Generally, the paper reveals the diversity of biomineralization by studying the properties and mechanisms of CaCO₃ induced by different microbial species, which provides the theoretical basis for the application of MICP.

All-inorganic cesium tin-germanium tri-iodide (CsSnGeI₃) emerges as a potential light harvesting material for lead-free perovskite solar cells. The exploration of CsSnGeI₃ has not yet been perceived owing to the conceivable challenges of imperfections in device fabrication, unoptimized alignment of the charge transport layers, and inappropriate device configuration. In this manuscript, we have elucidated the influence of BaSnO₃ as an electron transport layer on the performance of Pb-free, all-inorganic cesium tin-germanium tri-iodide (CsSn_0.5Ge_0.5I₃)-based perovskite solar cell using SCAPS-1D software. In our initial simulated results, the presented device achieves the best efficiency of 22.09% with J_SC = 24.41 mAcm⁻², V_OC = 1.0655 V, and FF = 84.92%. Subsequently, we have analyzed the impact of thickness and defect density on the recombination rate of charge carriers in the Sn-Ge amalgamated perovskite absorber layer, diffusion length, and other performance parameters. From these results, we have optimized the suitable value of thickness (900 nm) and defect density (N_t ≈ 1×10¹¹ cm⁻³) of Sn-Ge combination perovskite layer for efficient PVSCs devices. Furthermore, we have optimized the thickness, electron affinity, and carrier concentration of charge transport layers, and their optimized values have been obtained for the design of efficient device. Using the optimized values, proposed device yields the high performance in terms of best power conversion efficiency of 28.21% with J_SC = 27.18 mAcm⁻², V_OC = 1.2427 V, and FF = 83.50%, without any hysteresis loss. Thus, this extensive simulation approach paves a formative research route for the practical fabrication of efficient Pb-free CsSnGeI₃ perovskite-based solar cells.

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