Silicon/zinc oxide (Si/ZnO) core-shell nanowires (NWs) were prepared on a p-type Si(111) substrate using a two-step growth process. First, indium seed-coated Si NWs (In/Si NWs) were synthesized using a plasma-assisted hot-wire chemical vapor deposition technique. This was then followed by the growth of a ZnO nanostructure shell layer using a vapor transport and condensation method. By varying t...

This paper reports two new indium tin oxide (ITO)-based nanostructures, namely ITO@carbon core-shell nanowire and jagged ITO nanowire. The ITO@carbon core-shell nanowires (~50 nm in diameter, 1-5 μm in length,) were prepared by a chemical vapor deposition process from commercial ITO nanoparticles. A carbon overlayer (~5-10 in thickness) was observed around ITO nanowire core, which was in situ f...

Engineering compact imaging probes with highly integrated modalities is a key focus in bionanotechnology and will have profound impact on molecular diagnostics, imaging and therapeutics. However, combining multiple components on a nanometre scale to create new imaging modalities unavailable from individual components has proven to be challenging. In this paper, we demonstrate iron oxide and gol...

This study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of oyster shell extract on the production of pro-inflammatory factors [NO, reactive oxygen species (ROS), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2)] and pro-inflammatory cytokines [Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and TNF-α] in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-sti...

Herein we report the rational design of new phosphopeptides for control of nucleation, growth and aggregation of water-soluble, superparamagnetic iron-iron oxide core-shell nanoparticles. The use of the designed peptides enables a one-pot synthesis that avoids utilizing unstable or toxic iron precursors, organic solvents, and the need for exchange of capping agent after synthesis of the NPs.

In the past decades, there is a growing interest in the design and synthesis of composite microspheres with a dielectric solid sphere (e.g., silica, polystyrene) covered by metallic and their corresponding metal oxides shell, such as copper[1], gold[2], silver[3,4], iron oxide[5], zinc oxide[6,7], titanium oxide[8,9] and zirconium dioxide[10]. Such materials may exhibit a few unique electrical,...

The formation of mixed shell-by-shell (SbS) systems with tunable shell compositions is demonstrated by using molecular self-assembly driven chemical recognition motifs. Aluminum oxide nanoparticles (AlOx-NPs) act as template surface for a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) either partially fluorinated fluoroalkyl or alkyl chained phosphonic acid derivatives defined stoichiometric mixtures those. By...

A new mechanism for fast reaction of Al nanoparticles covered by a thin oxide shell during fast heating is proposed and justified theoretically and experimentally. For nanoparticles, the melting of Al occurs before oxide fracture. The volume change due to melting induces pressures of 1–2 GPa and causes dynamic spallation of the shell. The unbalanced pressure between the Al core and the exposed ...

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have shown great promise in biomedical applications. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the design and fabrication of core-shell and hetero-structured SPIONs and further outline some exciting developments and progresses of these multifunctional SPIONs for diagnosis, multimodality imaging, therapy, and biophotonics.