Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) was used to prepare polymer brushes grafted onto silica nanoparticles. Novel RAFT-silane agents were prepared that contained both an active RAFT moiety and a silane coupling agent. RAFT agents were anchored to silica nanoparticles by the functionalization of colloidal silica with the RAFT-silane agents. RAFT polymerizations ...

An attempt has been made to determine whether the diffusion chamber technique can be used to decide the validity of the silica solubility theory of the pathogenesis of silicosis. Small chambers were constructed from membranes of a pore size which allowed free passage of colloidal silicic acid and tissue fluids but which prevented the entry of host cells and the exit of the larger silica particl...

In this work, we demonstrate high-throughput fabrication of periodic metallic nanohole arrays in an almost centimeter square area through simple metal deposition and peeling off processes, called template stripping [1]. A thin silica layer is used to protect the template-stripped Ag nanoholes from unwanted oxidation and also to provide a robust surface on which lipid membranes can be formed. We...

We demonstrate that Au-silica-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA) trilayer composite particles with controllable thickness of PNIPA out-layer can be developed via free radical polymerization using Au-silica core-shell particles as seed. The presence of Au-silica particles does not influence of thermosensitivity of PNIPA shell, which exhibits a similar swelling behavior as pure PNIPA microgels. ...

We report herein a straightforward and label-free approach to prepare luminescent mesoporous silica nanoparticles. We found that calcination at 400 °C can grant mesoporous organosilica nanoparticles with strong fluorescence of great photo- and chemical stability. The luminescence is found to originate from the carbon dots generated from the calcination, rather than the defects in the silica mat...

The use of colloidal silica as a substratum for primary cultures of differentiated cells has significant advantages over classic tissue culture polystyrene. In this report, the growth and the level of expression of differentiated function of primary rabbit renal proximal tubule (RPT) cell cultures on colloidal silica is examined, using hormonally defined serum-free medium. Primary RPT cells gre...

Adsorption of water on a thin silica film grown on a Mo(112) single crystal was studied by temperatureprogrammed desorption, infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, and photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation. Water does not dissociate on the defect-free oxygen-terminated silica surface. In contrast to adsorption at 100 K, where water follows a zero-order desorption kinetics...

Room-temperature phosphorescence has been observed and studied on metal-activator-free mesoporous silica. The mesoporous silica was prepared using a nonionic triblock copolymer as the mesostructure-directing agent. The as-calcined products have a well-ordered porous structure and exhibit strong phosphorescence under ultraviolet light excitation. The luminescence spectra are featured with severa...

The morphogenesis of the silica cell walls (called frustules) of unicellular algae known as diatoms is one of the most intriguing mysteries of the diatoms. To study frustule morphogenesis, optical, electron and atomic force microscopy has been extensively used to reveal the frustule morphology. However, since silica frustules are opaque, past observations were limited to outer and fracture surf...