Control of Polymorph Selection in Amorphous Calcium Carbonate Crystallization by Poly(Aspartic Acid): Two Different Mechanisms

Poly(aspartic acid) (pAsp) is known to stabilize amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) and affect its crystallization pathways. However, little is known about the mechanisms behind these phenomena. Here it is shown that ACC is stabilized by pAsp molecules in the solution rather than by the amount of pAsp incorporated into the ACC bulk, and that the effect of pAsp on the polymorph selection is entirely different at low and high concentration of pAsp. At low concentrations, pAsp is more effective in inhibiting the nucleation and growth of vaterite than calcite. At high concentrations, when calcite formation is prevented, the crystallization of vaterite proceeds via a pseudomorphic transformation of ACC nanospheres, where vaterite nucleates on the surface of ACC nanospheres and grows by a local transformation of the bulk ACC phase. These results shed some light on the function of pAsp during an ACC-mediated biomineralization process and provide an explanation for the presence of metastable vaterite at conditions where calcite is thermodynamically favored.

Plasmon-induced photoluminescence immunoassay for tuberculosis monitoring using gold-nanoparticle-decorated graphene

Metal-nanoparticle-functionalized graphene, in particular, graphene sheets containing Au nanoparticles (Au NPs), have generated considerable interest because of their unique optical and electrical characteristics. In this study, we successfully produced graphene sheets decorated with Au NPs (AuGrp) using phytochemicals as reducing agents. During this reaction, Au ions intercalated into the layered graphene flakes and were then reduced into NPs, exfoliating the graphene sheets. The physicochemical properties of the AuGrp nanocomposites were characterized, and the exfoliation process was investigated using a molecular dynamics simulation of Au NPs between graphene sheets. Our proposed technique is advantageous because the phytochemicals are mild reducing agents that preserve the graphene structure during exfoliation and NP decoration. The dispersity of the NPs on the graphene sheets was drastically improved due to the use of metal-ion intercalation. Moreover, the electrical conductivity was 6-30 times higher than that of bare graphene and reduced graphene oxide. Using antibody (Ab) modified AuGrp sheets and quantum dots, a plasmonic-induced photoluminescence immunoassay of tuberculosis (TB) antigen (aG) CFP-10 was demonstrated for a potential application of these materials. The enhancement of photoluminescence (PL) response was monitored depending on the various TB aG concentrations from 5.1 pg/mL to 51 μg/mL, and the detection limit for CFP-10 was 4.5 pg/mL. Furthermore, the selectivity was demonstrated with Ag85 as the other TB aG, and PL enhancement was not observed in this case. Therefore, AuGrp-based immunoassay showed the potential for biosensor application.