Interaction of colloidal nanoparticles with their local environment: the (ionic) nanoenvironment around nanoparticles is different from bulk and determines the physico-chemical properties of the nanoparticles

Kinetic enhancement of the diffusion-limited enzyme beta-galactosidase when displayed with quantum dots

Schematic of a tetrameric β-galactosidase enzyme attached to and displaying 625 nm emitting QDs coated with a CL4 ligand via each of the 4 pendent His₆ tags.

Cation-size-dependent DNA adsorption kinetics and packing density on gold nanoparticles: an opposite trend

The property of DNA is strongly influenced by counterions. Packing a dense layer of DNA onto a gold nanoparticle (AuNP) generates an interesting colloidal system with many novel physical properties such as a sharp melting transition, protection of DNA against nucleases, and enhanced complementary DNA binding affinity. In this work, the effect of monovalent cation size is studied. First, for free AuNPs without DNA, larger group 1A cations are more efficient in inducing their aggregation. The same trend is observed with group 2A metals using AuNPs capped by various self-assembled monolayers. After establishing the salt range to maintain AuNP stability, the DNA adsorption kinetics is also found to be faster with the larger Cs(+) compared to the smaller Li(+). This is attributed to the easier dehydration of Cs(+), and dehydrated Cs(+) might condense on the AuNP surface to reduce the electrostatic repulsion effectively. However, after a long incubation time with a high salt concentration, Li(+) allows ∼30% more DNA packing compared to Cs(+). Therefore, Li(+) is more effective in reducing the charge repulsion among DNA, and Cs(+) is more effective in screening the AuNP surface charge. This work suggests that physicochemical information at the bio/nanointerface can be obtained by using counterions as probes.

Current state of laser synthesis of metal and alloy nanoparticles as ligand-free reference materials for nano-toxicological assays

Due to the abundance of nanomaterials in medical devices and everyday products, toxicological effects related to nanoparticles released from these materials, e.g., by mechanical wear, are a growing matter of concern. Unfortunately, appropriate nanoparticles required for systematic toxicological evaluation of these materials are still lacking. Here, the ubiquitous presence of surface ligands, remaining from chemical synthesis are a major drawback as these organic residues may cause cross-contaminations in toxicological studies. Nanoparticles synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in liquid are a promising alternative as this synthesis route provides totally ligand-free nanoparticles. The first part of this article reviews recent methods that allow the size control of laser-fabricated nanoparticles, focusing on laser post irradiation, delayed bioconjugation and in situ size quenching by low salinity electrolytes. Subsequent or parallel applications of these methods enable precise tuning of the particle diameters in a regime from 4-400 nm without utilization of any artificial surface ligands. The second paragraph of this article highlights the recent progress concerning the synthesis of composition controlled alloy nanoparticles by laser ablation in liquids. Here, binary and ternary alloy nanoparticles with totally homogeneous elemental distribution could be fabricated and the composition of these particles closely resembled bulk implant material. Finally, the model AuAg was used to systematically evaluate composition related toxicological effects of alloy nanoparticles. Here Ag(+) ion release is identified as the most probable mechanism of toxicity when recent toxicological studies with gametes, mammalian cells and bacteria are considered.