This review is devoted to the most recent developments (2000–2005) of sol–gel materials at the interface with biology. In the context of bioencapsulation in mineral hosts, novel synthetic approaches have been designed, allowing the immobilization of numerous proteins, enzymes and immune molecules as well as poly-saccharides, phospholipids and nucleic acids. These efforts have led to the develop...

In this paper, we report the synthesis, the characterization and the scintillation properties of sol-gel derived Lu 2 SiO 5 (LSO) powders. Ce 3+ , Eu 3+ and Tb 3+ doped LSO powders have been synthesized by an original sol-gel process. The purity of the materials has been checked by X-Ray diffraction, confirming the elaboration of monophasic powders even for doped samples. Finally, the scintilla...

The sol-gel technique is earning the worldwide attention of researchers in the field of material science, due to its versatility in synthesizing inorganic ceramic materials at mild conditions. High purity, homogeneity, controlled porosity, stable temperature and nanoscale structuring are the most remarkable features offered by this method for generating highly sensitive and selective matrices t...

A flow cell has been designed for use with an electrochemical enzyme biosensor, based on low-cost carbon-film electrodes. Three types of mediators were used: cobalt and copper hexacyanoferrates and poly(neutral red) (PNR), covered with glucose oxidase (GOx) immobilised by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde in the presence of bovine serum albumin or inside a oxysilane sol-gel network. Mixtures of...

BACKGROUND Why are metal nanoparticles sol-gel entrapped in ORMOSIL so active and stable? In other words, why ORMOSIL-entrapped metal nanoparticles are more active and selective than many heterogenized counterparts, including silica-entrapped noble metals? RESULTS Unveiling specific interactions between MNPs and the molecular structure of ORMOSIL, this work investigates subtle structural aspe...

In this paper, we report results obtained from a biosensor comprised of a monolithic silica sol–gel entrapping glucose oxidase (GOD) as sensing element coupled to a fibre-optic transducer element. GOD intrinsic fluorescence spectra were analysed in the UV and visible region in presence of different glucose concentrations, and the corresponding calibration curves were obtained. In addition, time...

TiO2 nanoparticles with attractive physicochemical properties have synthesized by means of the sol-gel method and acid hydrolysis. The obtained nanoparticles have characterized by the XRD-Rietveld refinement, BET and TEM techniques, and tested in the photodecomposition of acetaldehyde. The degree of decomposition of acetaldehyde by the sol-gel TiO2 nanoparticles was directly proportional to the...

Sol–gel materials may found plenty of applications, e.g., as carriers for various substances, which can be exploited for sensing purposes or as drug releasing carriers. In this work, the fluorescence properties of two photosensitizers immobilized in silica based sol–gel materials were examined. The sol–gel materials were produced from silica precursor TEOS and 96% ethyl alcohol as solvent. Mate...