There is an increased interest in understanding the toxicity and rational design of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) for biomedical applications in recent years. Such efforts warrant reliable, viable, and biofriendly synthetic methodology for GNPs with homogeneous sizes and shapes, particularly sizes above 30 nm, which is currently challenging. In the present study, an environmentally benign, biofrien...

Cellular and viral S-adenosylmethionine-dependent methyltransferases are involved in many regulated processes such as metabolism, detoxification, signal transduction, chromatin remodeling, nucleic acid processing, and mRNA capping. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus nsp16 protein is a S-adenosylmethionine-dependent (nucleoside-2'-O)-methyltransferase only active in the presence o...

Controlled shape and size with tuneable band gap (1.92-2.41 eV), nickel sulphide NPs was achieved in presence of thiourea or thioacetamide as sulphur sources with the variations of temperature and capping agents. Synthesized NPs were fully characterized by powder XRD, IR, UV-vis, DRS, FE-SEM, TEM, EDX, XPS, TGA and BET. Capping agent, temperature and sulphur sources have significant role in con...

This feature article introduces our recent work on understanding the roles played by citrate and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as capping agents in seed-mediated syntheses of Ag nanocrystals with controlled shapes. We have demonstrated that citrate and PVP selectively bind to Ag(111) and Ag(100) surfaces, respectively, and thus favor the formation of Ag nanocrystals enclosed preferentially by {...

Capping agents (organic ligands, polymers, surfactants, etc.) are a basic component in the synthesis of metal nanoparticles with controlled size and well-defined shape. However, their influence on the performances of nanoparticle-based catalysts is multifaceted and controversial. Indeed, capping agent can act as a “poison”, limiting the accessibility of active sites, as well as a “promoter”, pr...

Water-soluble upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) were prepared by a one-pot procedure in a two-phase reacting system. Four kinds of surfactants were tested in the synthesis process as capping agent to tune size and morphology of nanocrystals. Nanoparticles (approximately 70 nm) and rods (400 nm and 2.5 μm) were synthesized, respectively. Then, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis co...

The relationshio between Con A-receptor mobility and Con A-induced agglutination of Novikoff hepatoma and normal rat liver cells was investigated. Novikoff cells, incubated with fluorescein-labelled Con A at 3 degrees C displayed uniform, ring-like surface fluorescence. Increasing the temperature of the cells to 37 degrees C caused capping of Con A receptors in approximately 65% of the cells, a...

RNA triphosphatase is an essential mRNA processing enzyme that catalyzes the first step in cap formation. The 2.05 A crystal structure of yeast RNA triphosphatase Cet1p reveals a novel active site fold whereby an eight-stranded beta barrel forms a topologically closed triphosphate tunnel. Interactions of a sulfate in the center of the tunnel with a divalent cation and basic amino acids projecti...