What Does Nanoparticle Stability Mean?

The term "nanoparticle stability" is widely used to describe the preservation of a particular nanostructure property ranging from aggregation, composition, crystallinity, shape, size, and surface chemistry. As a result, this catch-all term has various meanings, which depend on the specific nanoparticle property of interest and/or application. In this feature article, we provide an answer to the question, "What does nanoparticle stability mean?". Broadly speaking, the definition of nanoparticle stability depends on the targeted size dependent property that is exploited and can only exist for a finite period of time given all nanostructures are inherently thermodynamically and energetically unfavorable relative to bulk states. To answer this question specifically, however, the relationship between nanoparticle stability and the physical/chemical properties of metal/metal oxide nanoparticles are discussed. Specific definitions are explored in terms of aggregation state, core composition, shape, size, and surface chemistry. Next, mechanisms of promoting nanoparticle stability are defined and related to these same nanoparticle properties. Metrics involving both kinetics and thermodynamics are considered. Methods that provide quantitative metrics for measuring and modeling nanoparticle stability in terms of core composition, shape, size, and surface chemistry are outlined. The stability of solution-phase nanoparticles are also impacted by aggregation state. Thus, collision and DLVO theories are discussed. Finally, challenges and opportunities in understanding what nanoparticle stability means are addressed to facilitate further studies with this important class of materials.

Development of an electrophoretic method based on nanostructured materials for HbA1c determination

Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) detection is performed routinely in hospitals as it is the most widespread confirmatory diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Here we present a novel CE method for measuring HbA1c by introducing silica nanoparticles (NPs) modified with a boronic acid derivative (sugar loadings of 51 ± 2 μg/mg) as pseudo-stationary phase. Before the sample injection, SiO₂ NP─B(OH)₂ were introduced via pressure. Electrophoretic separation was explored through variation of the buffer pH and separation voltage, being the best separation, resolution and shorter separation time achieved with a 25 mM phosphate buffer pH 6.5. The calibration curve obtained was expressed as Area = 182.05%^-1 × HbA1c - 377.02; R²  = 0.9826, using a UV/VIS absorbance detector at 415 nm (diode array). No interferences were observed from carbamylated or acetylated hemoglobin and the method shows a noteworthy stability. A paired t-test was applied to compare the developed CE method with a commercial HbA1c test and no significant variations have been observed at a 90% significance level.

Improvement of heat dissipation in agarose gel electrophoresis by metal oxide nanoparticles

Joule heating is a primary limitation in slab gel electrophoresis which is a gold standard method in biochemistry and biotechnology.

Carbon nanotubes in capillary electrophoresis, capillary electrochromatography and microchip electrophoresis

Carbon nanotubes are among the plethora of novel nanostructures developed since the 1980s. Nanotubes have attracted considerable interest by the scientific community thanks to their extraordinary physical and chemical properties. Research areas have flourished in recent years and now include the nano-electronic, (bio)sensor and analytical field along with many others. This review covers applications of carbon nanotubes in capillary electrophoresis, capillary electrochromatography and microchip electrophoresis. First, carbon nanotubes and a range of electrophoretic techniques are briefly introduced and key references are mentioned. Next, a comprehensive survey of achievements in the field is presented and critically assessed. The merits and downsides of carbon nanotube addition to the various capillary electrophoretic modes are addressed. The different schemes for fabricating electrochromatographic stationary phases based on carbon nanotubes are discussed. Finally, some future perspectives are offered.

Anionic functionalized gold nanoparticle continuous full filling separations: importance of sample concentration

Electrically driven separations which contain nanoparticles offer detection and separation advantages but are often difficult to reproduce. To address possible sources of separation inconsistencies, anionic functionalized gold nanoparticles are thoroughly characterized and subsequently included in continuous full filling capillary electrophoresis separations of varying concentrations of three small molecules. Citrate stabilized gold nanospheres are functionalized with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid, 6-mercaptohexanoic acid, or thioctic acid self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and characterized using dynamic light scattering, extinction spectroscopy, zeta potential, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy prior to use in capillary electrophoresis. Several important trends are noted. First, the stability of these anionic nanoparticles in the capillary improves with increased ligand packing density as indicated by a ratio of absorbance collected at 520 to 600 nm. Second, increasing nanoparticle concentration from 0 to 2 nM (0-0.002(5)%, w/w) minimally impacts analyte migration times; however, when higher nanoparticle concentrations are included within the capillary, nanoparticle aggregation occurs which induces separation inconsistencies. Third, analyte peak areas are most significantly impacted as their concentration decreases. These trends are attributed to both sample enrichment and electrostatic interactions between the anionic carboxylic acid functionalized gold nanoparticles and sample. These important findings suggest that sample concentration-induced conductivity differences between the sample matrix and separation buffer as well as SAM packing density are important parameters to both characterize and consider when nanoparticles are used during continuous full filling separations and their subsequent use to enhance spectroscopic signals to improve in-capillary analyte detection limits.

Varying nanoparticle pseudostationary phase plug length during capillary electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis based separations of the hypothesized Parkinson's disease biomarkers dopamine, epinephrine, pyrocatechol, L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), glutathione, and uric acid are performed in the presence of a 1 nM 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid functionalized gold (Au@MUA) nanoparticle pseudostationary phase plug. Au@MUA nanoparticles are monitored in the capillary and remain stable in the presence of electrically-driven flow. Migration times, peak areas, and relative velocity changes (vs. no pseudostationary) are monitored upon varying (1) the Au@MUA nanoparticle pseudostationary phase plug length at a fixed separation voltage and (2) the separation voltage for a fixed Au@MUA nanoparticle pseudostationary phase plug length. For instance, the migration times of positively charged dopamine and epinephrine increase slightly as the nanoparticle pseudostationary phase plug length increases with concomitant decreases in peak areas and relative velocities as a result of attractive forces between the positively charged analytes and the negatively charged nanoparticles. Migration times for neutral pyrocatechol and slightly negative L-DOPA did not exhibit significant changes with increasing nanoparticle pseudostationary plug length; however, reduction in peak areas for these two molecules were evident and attributed to non-specific interactions (i.e. hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions) between the biomarkers and nanoparticles. Moreover, negatively charged uric acid and glutathione displayed progressively decreasing migration times and peak areas and as a result, increased relative velocities with increasing nanoparticle pseudostationary phase plug length. These trends are attributed to partitioning and exchanging with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid on nanoparticle surfaces for uric acid and glutathione, respectively. Similar trends are observed when the separation voltage decreased thereby suggesting that nanoparticle-biomarker interaction time dictates these trends. Understanding these analyte migration time, peak area, and velocity trends will expand our insight for incorporating nanoparticles in separations.