Reactive and pharmaceutical-grade heparins were used as biologically compatible reducing and stabilizing agents to photochemically synthesize colloidal gold nanoparticles. Aggregates and anisotropic shapes were obtained photochemically under UV black-light lamp irradiation (λ = 366 nm). Heparin-functionalized gold nanoparticles were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy and UV-Vis spect...

We demonstrate the use of centrifugation for efficient separation of colloidal gold nanorods from a mixture of nanorods and nanospheres. We elucidate the hydrodynamic behavior of nanoparticles of various shapes and illustrate that the shape-dependent drag causes particles to have shape-dependent sedimentation behavior. During centrifugation, nanoparticles undergo Brownian motion under an extern...

Nanoparticles of the [Fe(NH(2)trz)(3)](tosylate)(2) spin crossover complex of 3-4 nm size were synthesized and dispersed in a nonionic surfactant. This colloidal system exhibits thermal spin crossover phenomena associated with a virtually first order transition. By thermal treatment the colloidal suspension can be transformed into a fibrous structure forming a gel.

In this paper we investigate the possibility to apply the concepts of non-specific intermolecular interactions and dispersive local field effect approach for study of the influence of interactions of metal nanoparticles with matrix molecules on the spectral characteristics of composites. The effect of intermolecular (interparticle) interactions and the influence of the dielectric environment on...

A new microfluidic approach to preparing anisotropic colloidal photonic crystal microparticles is developed and the self-assembly kinetics of colloidal nanoparticles is discussed. Based on the “coffee ring” effect in the self-assembly process of colloidal silica particle in strong solvent extraction environment, we successfully prepared anisotropic photonic crystal microparticles with different...

This study illustrates the directed self-assembly of mesoporous TiO2 with magnetic properties due to its colloidal crystal structure with Fe3O4. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles were synthesized using co-precipitation techniques to a size of 28.2 nm and a magnetic saturation of 66.9 emu g(-1). Meanwhile, mesoporous titania nanoparticles (MTNs) with a particle diameter of 373 nm, a specific surface area ...

Attempts to produce colloidal platinum nanoparticles by using steady absorption spectra with various chemical-based reduction methods often resulted in the fast disappearance of the absorption maxima leaving reduced platinum nanoparticles with little information on their optical properties. We synthesized colloidal platinum nanoparticles in an aqueous solution of polyvinyl pyrrolidone by gamma ...

To shed light on the origin of colloidal stability in ionic liquids,we focus on a model colloidal system (maghemite nanoparticles) in which surface charge and counterion nature can be controlled at will. We thus evidence the crucial role of interfacial features on dispersion quality in a standard ionic liquid, ethylammonium nitrate.

An attempt was made to control the surface charge of colloidal silica nanoparticles with 20 nm and 100 nm diameters. Untreated silica nanoparticles were determined to be highly negatively charged and have stable hydrodynamic sizes in a wide pH range. To change the surface to a positively charged form, various coating agents, such as amine containing molecules, multivalent metal cation, or amino...

The color of colloidal dispersions of gold particles in a fluid, typically water, varies from red to blue, depending upon the shape and size of particles. The color and optical properties of gold nanoparticles originate from localized surface plasmons, and are sensitive to their local dielectric environment. Unlike nanospheres, the optical properties, hydrodynamic behavior as well as phase beha...