A novel and convenient synthetic strategy for the preparation of magnetically responsive silica nanospheres decorated with mixed ligand protected gold nanoparticles is described. Gold nanoparticles are attached to the silica surface via stable amide bond formation. The hierarchical nanospheres show promising results as reusable and efficient catalysts for esterification reactions and they can b...

We introduce biodegradable hollow silica nanocapsules embedding arrays of 3 nm gold nanoparticles. The silica shell degrades in full serum in a few hours, potentially allowing the clearance of the capsules and their contents by the efficient renal pathway, and thereby overcoming accumulation issues typical of metal nanoparticles.

BACKGROUND AND METHODS Nanoparticles engineered to carry both a chemotherapeutic drug and a sensitive imaging probe are valid tools for early detection of cancer cells and to monitor the cytotoxic effects of anticancer treatment simultaneously. Here we report on the effect of size (10-30 nm versus 50 nm), type of material (mesoporous silica versus polystyrene), and surface charge functionalizat...

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 ...

Metal nanostructures have attracted great attention in various fields due to their tunable properties through precisely tailored sizes, compositions and structures. Using mesoporous silica (mSiO2) as the inorganic capping agent and encapsulated Pt nanoparticles as the seeds, we developed a robust seeded growth method to prepare uniform bimetallic nanoparticles encapsulated in mesoporous silica ...

Silica nanoparticles were synthesized by chemical methods from tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), polyethylene glycol 5% and hydrochloric acid 0.001 N. The sol-gel process was applied for the preparation of nano silica gel. This method is hydrolysis and condensation reactions of TEOS as precursor of silica. The optimal synthesis conditions for the preparation of silica nanoparticles were obtained ...

Silica nanoparticles equipped with an artificial imine reductase display remarkable activity towards cyclic imine- and NAD(+) reduction. The method, based on immobilization and protection of streptavidin on silica nanoparticles, shields the biotinylated metal cofactor against deactivation yielding over 46 000 turnovers in pure samples and 4000 turnovers in crude cellular extracts.

Fluorescent silica nanoparticles deposited with highly monodisperse gold nanoparticles (1-2 nm) were synthesized via the W/O method and intensive ultrasound irradiation. A large surface area of gold-doped fluorescent silica nanoparticle serves as a platform to immobilize a specific binding protein for biomolecules interaction in bioimaging applications.

Cucurbit[6]uril-based reversible bistable [2]pseudorotaxanes were designed, synthesized and installed on the surface of mesoporous silica nanoparticles as supramolecular nanovalves. The assembled mechanized silica nanoparticles realize the multistage pH-controlled release of benzotriazole and the potential for reutilization.

the silica supported platinum nanoparticles was synthesized by using the sol-gel method. the possibility of using diamminedinitro platinum (ii) as pt precursor and effect of metal precursor concentration on the final pt nanoparticle size was investigated. a stable silica sol was prepared via hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate (teos) as a metal alcoxide and condensation reaction. subsequentl...