A separation system for gold nanoparticles was developed using monolithic silica capillary columns with 50 µm i.d., which were prepared via in-situ sol-gel processes. Gold nanoparticles with five different average sizes were synthesized via reduction of tetrachloroauric acid (HAuCl(4)) under different synthesis conditions, and were evaluated by UV-visible spectrophotometry, dynamic light scatte...

Synthetic mesoporous alumina and silica minerals with uniform pore geometries, and their nonporous analogues, were used to test the role of mineral mesopores (2-50 nm diameter) in protecting organic matter from enzymatic degradation in soils and sediments. Dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-DOPA), a model humic compound, was irreversibly sorbed to both mineral types. The surface area-normalized adsorpti...

Polymer nanocomposites show unique properties combining the advantages of the inorganic nanofillers and the organic polymers. The mesoporous silica nanofillers have received much attention due to their ordered structure, high surface area and ease for functionalization of the nanopores. To accommodate macromolecules, the nanopores lead to unusually intimate interactions between the polymer and ...

A myriad of drug delivery systems such as liposomes, micelles, polymers and inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) have been developed for cancer therapy. Very few of them, however, have the ability to integrate multiple functionalities such as specific delivery, high circulation stability, controllable release and good biocompatibility and biodegradability in a single system to improve the therapeutic ...

The surface of spherical, nonporous silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) was modified with gadolinium (Gd) complexes, fluorophores, and cell-penetrating peptides to achieve multifunctionality on a single particle. The Gd surface concentrations were 9-16 μmol/g resulting in nanomaterials with high local longitudinal and transversal relaxivities (~1×10(5) and ~5×10(5) /mm/s/NP, respectively). Rapid ce...

The ‘‘mesopore protection hypothesis’’ [Chem. Geol. 114 (1994) 347; Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58 (1994) 1271] proposes that organic matter (OM) may be protected from enzymatic degradation by sequestration within mineral mesopores (2–50 nm diameter). This hypothesis is a leading, though controversial, theory in explaining both the preservation of some extremely labile OM compounds and observed co...

Casting Silica at Room Temperature Silica cannot be used with traditional molding techniques because of its very high melting temperature. In addition, conventional grinding and polishing processes limit how small and complex the silica micro-optics can be. Geltech overcame these problems by developing methods to cast net-shape (no grinding necessary) silica-glass micro-optics at room temperatu...