Dansyl-Labelled Ag@SiO2 Core-Shell Nanostructures-Synthesis, Characterization, and Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence

The Optimization of the One-Pot Synthesis of Au@SiO2Core-Shell Nanostructures: Modification with Dansyl Group and Their Fluorescent Properties

This work describes the optimization of the one-pot synthesis of fine core-shell nanostructures based on nanogold (Au NPs) and silica (SiO2). The obtained core-shell nanomaterials were characterized by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM and by the method of spectroscopes such as UV-Vis Spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). In addition, the measurement of the zeta potential and size of the obtained particles helped present a full characterization of Au@SiO2 nanostructures. The results show that the influence of reagents acting as reducers, stabilizers, or precursors of the silica shell affects the morphology of the obtained material. By controlling the effect of the added silica precursor, the thickness of the shell can be manipulated, the reducer has an effect on the shape and variety, and then the stabilizer affects their agglomeration. This work provides also a new approach for Au@SiO2core-shell nanostructure preparation by further modification with dansyl chloride (DNS-Cl). The results show that, by tuning the silica shell thickness, the intensity of the fluorescence spectrum of Au@SiO2-(CH2)3-NH-DNS nanocomposite is about 12 times higher than that of DNS-Cl.

Novelty Cosmetic Filters Based on Nanomaterials Composed of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles

The following work describes the synthesis of new physical filters based on TiO₂/SiO₂ and TiO₂/Ag nanostructures. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs) were applied as control material and a popular physical UV filter. The advantage of using materials on the nanometer scale is the elimination of the skin whitening effect that occurs when using photoprotective cosmetics containing titanium dioxide on a macro scale. In addition, the silica coating makes the material less harmful, and the silver coating enriches the material with antibacterial properties. Nanoparticles and nanostructures have been characterized by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX), the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) methods. Due to the use of physical filters in anti-radiation protection cosmetics, water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion has been prepared. All cosmetic formulations have been tested for stability. The sun protection research with the Sun Protection Diagnostic SP37 was carried out. These studies made it possible to determine the natural sun protection time and to compare the synthesized materials. Furthermore, one of the most important parameters when describing this type of cosmetic is water resistance, which has also been measured. The results show that the new type of material of TiO₂/Ag used as a new physical filter in emulsion W/O shows the best sun protection compared with other obtained nanomaterials. It is most likely due to the improved optical properties of the combination of noble metals, for example, silver with TiO₂.

Ag NPs/PMMA nanocomposite as an efficient platform for fluorescence regulation of riboflavin

The fluorescence detection platform has broad application in many fields. In this paper, we report a simple and efficient fluorescence detection platform based on the synergistic effects of Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Ag NPs were introduced to realize the plasmon enhancement fluorescence and a thin PMMA layer was used to adjust the distance between Ag NPs and riboflavin. The thin PMMA layer not only enhances the fluorescence by enhancing adhesion of substrate, but also optimizes the plasmon enhancement fluorescence effect by serving as the spacer. The fluorescence enhancement factor based on this platform shows a trend of increasing with the decrease of the concentration of riboflavin, and the detection of riboflavin is realized based on this feature, the lowest detectable concentration is as low as 0.27 µM. In addition to the detection based on plasmon enhancement fluorescence, the detection of riboflavin at low concentrations can also be realized by the shift and broadening of the fluorescence peak due to the Ag NPs. The combination of the two ways of plasmon enhancement fluorescence and shift of the fluorescence spectra is used for the detection of riboflavin. These results show that the platform has great potential applications in the field of detection and sensing.

Single-Stranded DNA Recognition over Fluorescent Gold-Aryl Nanoparticles

Fluorescence labeling of gold-aryl nanoparticles, AuNPs-COOH, was achieved by the covalent derivatization with dansyl chloride (DNS-Cl) reagent (5-naphthalene-1-sulfonyl chloride) for potential ssDNA recognition. The fluorescent gold nanoparticles of AuNPs-C6H4-4-COO-dansyl (AuNPs-DNS) of spherical shape and a size of 19.3 ± 8.3 nm were synthesized in a carbonate-bicarbonate buffer (pH = 10.6) at 37 °C. The fluorescence emission at 475 nm was acquired using fluorescence spectroscopy and investigated using time-resolved photoluminescence. The conjugation of ssDNA to AuNPs-DNS using the freeze-thaw and salt-aging methods was confirmed by fluorescence emission quenching, gel electrophoresis separation, and lifetime decrease. Conjugated ssDNA to AuNPs-DNS using the freeze-thaw method was more efficient than the salt-aging method. The purity of ssDNA upon conjugation was measured with optical density, and the obtained A260/A280 ratio was in the range of 1.7–2.0. This research can be applied to other nucleotide recognition and theranostics.

New Core-Shell Nanostructures for FRET Studies: Synthesis, Characterization, and Quantitative Analysis

This work describes the synthesis and characterization of new core-shell material designed for Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) studies. Synthesis, structural and optical properties of core-shell nanostructures with a large number of two kinds of fluorophores bound to the shell are presented. As fluorophores, strongly fluorescent rhodamine 101 and rhodamine 110 chloride were selected. The dyes exhibit significant spectral overlap between acceptor absorption and donor emission spectra, which enables effective FRET. Core-shell nanoparticles strongly differing in the ratio of donors to acceptor numbers were prepared. This leads to two different interesting cases: typical single-step FRET or multistep energy migration preceding FRET. The single-step FRET model that was designed and presented by some of us recently for core-shell nanoparticles is herein experimentally verified. Very good agreement between the analytical expression for donor fluorescence intensity decay and experimental data was obtained, which confirmed the correctness of the model. Multistep energy migration between donors preceding the final transfer to the acceptor can also be successfully described. In this case, however, experimental data are compared with the results of Monte Carlo simulations, as there is no respective analytical expression. Excellent agreement in this more general case evidences the usefulness of this numerical method in the design and prediction of the properties of the synthesized core-shell nanoparticles labelled with multiple and chemically different fluorophores.

Characterization and Cytotoxicity Comparison of Silver- and Silica-Based Nanostructures

Core-shell structures are the most common type of composite material nanostructures due to their multifunctional properties. Silver nanoparticles show broad antimicrobial activity, but the safety of their utilization still remains an issue to tackle. In many applications, the silver core is coated with inorganic shell to reduce the metal toxicity. This article presents the synthesis of various materials based on silver and silica nanoparticles, including SiO2@Ag, Ag@SiO2, and sandwich nanostructures-Ag@SiO2@Ag-and the morphology of these nanomaterials based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV-Vis spectroscopy, and FT-IR spectroscopy. Moreover, we conducted the angle measurements due to the strong relationship between the level of surface wettability and cell adhesion efficiency. The main aim of the study was to determine the cytotoxicity of the obtained materials against two types of human skin cells-keratinocytes (HaCaT) and fibroblasts (HDF). We found that among all the obtained structures, SiO2@Ag and Ag@SiO2 showed the lowest cell toxicity and very high half-maximal inhibitory concentration. Moreover, the measurements of the contact angle showed that Ag@SiO2 nanostructures were different from other materials due to their superhydrophilic nature. The novel approach presented here shows the promise of implementing core-shell type nanomaterials in skin-applied cosmetic or medical products.

Good Choice of Electrode Material as the Key to Creating Electrochemical Sensors-Characteristics of Carbon Materials and Transparent Conductive Oxides (TCO)

The search for new electrode materials has become one of the goals of modern electrochemistry. Obtaining electrodes with optimal properties gives a product with a wide application potential, both in analytics and various industries. The aim of this study was to select, from among the presented electrode materials (carbon and oxide), the one whose parameters will be optimal in the context of using them to create sensors. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry techniques were used to determine the electrochemical properties of the materials. On the other hand, properties such as hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity and their topological structure were determined using contact angle measurements and confocal microscopy, respectively. Based on the research carried out on a wide group of electrode materials, it was found that transparent conductive oxides of the FTO (fluorine doped tin oxide) type exhibit optimal electrochemical parameters and offer great modification possibilities. These electrodes are characterized by a wide range of work and high chemical stability. In addition, the presence of a transparent oxide layer allows for the preservation of valuable optoelectronic properties. An important feature is also the high sensitivity of these electrodes compared to other tested materials. The combination of these properties made FTO electrodes selected for further research.

Adhesion as a component of retention force of overdenture prostheses-study on selected Au based dental materials used for telescopic crowns using atomic force microscopy and contact angle techniques

Contemporary prosthetic materials are characterized by highly specific preparation for a given application. This means that at the stage of their creation, not only their function is taken into account, but also the long-term behavior of this material during use. In the case of telescopic crowns, an important factor not yet appearing in the research is the aspect of adhesion force and its dependence on the type of biomaterial, but also the properties of human saliva. The use of artificial saliva, which creates a lubricating layer, reduces the wear on the surface of the telescopic crowns by reducing friction. The impact of artificial saliva on the formation of chemical bonds between prosthetic elements, thus contributing to the so-called retention force has not yet been studied. In this work, two types of measurements of gold telescopic crown materials in the aspect of the adhesion process are presented. Obtained results allowed to fully characterize this phenomenon. We modeled the load force between the microcircuit and the surface under study to suit the conditions between the primary and secondary crowns in the patient's mouth.