Nanoparticle interactions with live cells: Quantitative fluorescence microscopy of nanoparticle size effects

• Li Shang,
• Karin Nienhaus,
• Xiue Jiang,
• Linxiao Yang,
• Katharina Landfester,
• Volker Mailänder,
• Thomas Simmet and
• G. Ulrich Nienhaus

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2388–2397, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.248

• clearly show that NP size plays an important role in their interactions with cells during the endocytosis process. However, size should not be discussed uncoupled from the surface functionalization. In fact, an NP can be considered as a scaffold carrying ligands that interact (or avoid the interaction

Biopolymer colloids for controlling and templating inorganic synthesis

• Laura C. Preiss,
• Katharina Landfester and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2129–2138, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.222

• presence of a heterophase system, but probably the example could have been included as well in the next subsection, as the silver precipitation takes place within the polymer scaffold. As an extension of the metallization examples presented in Section B1, structures formed by DNA or proteins can also be

• network generated by the polymer and not on the surface or edges (as it is the case of the “supports” of the previous subsection), we label this type of templating as “scaffold”, being aware that the term is also used in a more general way – almost as a simple synonym for “template” – by other authors

• phosphate/chitosan composite films were shown to influence the behavior of human mesenchymal stem cells. Lee et al. [79] studied the scaffold–cell interaction by changing the crystallinity and ratio of the calcium phosphate. Alginate is another of the gelling biopolymers used as a scaffold. An alginate

Carbon-based smart nanomaterials in biomedicine and neuroengineering

• Antonina M. Monaco and
• Michele Giugliano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1849–1863, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.196

• Computer Science, University of Sheffield, S1 4DP Sheffield, UK 10.3762/bjnano.5.196 Abstract The search for advanced biomimetic materials that are capable of offering a scaffold for biological tissues during regeneration or of electrically connecting artificial devices with cellular structures to restore

• nanogrids, further enhanced by means of a repeated photo stimulation. Li and co-workers [146] designed a three-dimensional graphene foam scaffold for neural stem cells. This scaffold allowed the formation of a three-dimensional neural network, resulting in an excellent substrate for cell adhesion and

• proliferation by up-regulating Ki-67 protein expression (Figure 6). To test whether such a scaffold could be used as a neural stimulation electrode, its electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, the results showing that electrical stimulation via a capacitive charge injection was

Growth and structural discrimination of cortical neurons on randomly oriented and vertically aligned dense carbon nanotube networks

• Christoph Nick,
• Sandeep Yadav,
• Ravi Joshi,
• Christiane Thielemann and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1575–1579, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.169

• . These neuron cells attach preferentially on the CNT sidewalls of the vertically aligned CNT architecture instead than onto the tips of the individual CNT pillars. Keywords: carbon nanotube; chemical vapour deposition; interface; neuron; scaffold; Findings Biochemically functionalised carbon nanotubes

Ionic liquid-assisted formation of cellulose/calcium phosphate hybrid materials

• Ahmed Salama,
• Mike Neumann,
• Christina Günter and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1553–1568, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.167

• chitin, has therefore been used as an alternative scaffold for calcium phosphate mineralization [16][17]. Among others, chitosan/HAP scaffolds show good osteoconductivity and biodegradability, as has been shown for some synthetic composites in rats [18]. Chiono et al. developed a photochemical approach

Nano-rings with a handle – Synthesis of substituted cycloparaphenylenes

• Anne-Florence Tran-Van and
• Hermann A. Wegner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1320–1333, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.145

• . (Scheme 3) [49]. Initially, it was planned to utilize the [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction to build the CPP scaffold by taking advantage of the aromaticity gained in the process to overcome the ring strain. However, studies on a model system revealed that under the conditions of the [2 + 2 + 2

Magnesium batteries: Current state of the art, issues and future perspectives

• Rana Mohtadi and
• Fuminori Mizuno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1291–1311, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.143

• effects of the carborane scaffold. The cation was found to be the Mg2Cl3+ observed before for other systems (see section 2.1.5). This was the first time to show that electrolytes with a wide electrochemical window could be prepared beyond known approaches that use Lewis base, Lewis acid systems. This work

Biocalcite, a multifunctional inorganic polymer: Building block for calcareous sponge spicules and bioseed for the synthesis of calcium phosphate-based bone

• Xiaohong Wang,
• Heinz C. Schröder and
• Werner E. G. Müller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 610–621, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.72

• . They can be used as osteoconductive implant materials. They also may show osteointegrative properties. However, these implants lack any osteoinductivity and must be functionalized to become biologically active (for a review, see [68]). The prerequisite for any scaffold applicable for bone tissue

• scaffold must possess the inorganic/organic 3D structure of bone and an appropriate porosity [69] that allows the ingrowth of cells and an efficient transport of cytokines, growth factors, and nutrients. To avoid necrosis within larger implants, a suitable scaffold must also allow an efficient

• for bioprinting and construction of bioartificial tissues or organs. In a first step we have encapsulated separately bone-forming (SaOS-2) and bone-degrading (RAW 264.7) cells to develop a biomimetic synthetic scaffold suitable for tissue engineering [75]. In the alginate matrix applied the SaOS-2

Mesoporous cerium oxide nanospheres for the visible-light driven photocatalytic degradation of dyes

• Subas K. Muduli,
• Songling Wang,
• Shi Chen,
• Chin Fan Ng,
• Cheng Hon Alfred Huan,
• Tze Chien Sum and
• Han Sen Soo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 517–523, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.60

• the active species in RhB degradation. This new material is a promising candidate as a robust, earth-abundant, visible-light absorbing metal oxide scaffold to be used in DSPECs and other sustainable energy applications. (a) Powder XRD pattern of cerium oxide nanospheres. (b) Wide-scan XPS survey

The softening of human bladder cancer cells happens at an early stage of the malignancy process

• Jorge R. Ramos,
• Joanna Pabijan,
• Ricardo Garcia and
• Malgorzata Lekka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 447–457, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.52

• , cancer progression changes its role by using it as a tool to alter cell growth, stiffness, movement and invasiveness [26]. The actin cytoskeleton serves as a scaffold for signaling, as a connection to the extracellular environment, and as a mechanosensor. However, there is no general evidence that

Exploring the complex mechanical properties of xanthan scaffolds by AFM-based force spectroscopy

• Hao Liang,
• Guanghong Zeng,
• Yinli Li,
• Shuai Zhang,
• Huiling Zhao,
• Lijun Guo,
• Bo Liu and
• Mingdong Dong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 365–373, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.42

• 10.3762/bjnano.5.42 Abstract The polysaccharide xanthan has been extensively studied owing to its potential application in tissue engineering. In this paper, xanthan scaffold structures were investigated by atomic force microscope (AFM) in liquid, and the mechanical properties of the complex xanthan

• structures were investigated by using AFM-based force spectroscopy (FS). In this work, three types of structures in the xanthan scaffold were identified based on three types of FS stretching events. The fact that the complex force responses are the combinations of different types of stretching events

• suggests complicated intermolecular interactions among xanthan fibrils. The results provide crucial information to understand the structures and mechanical properties of the xanthan scaffold. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); force spectroscopy (FS); mechanical properties; xanthan scaffold

Controlled synthesis and tunable properties of ultrathin silica nanotubes through spontaneous polycondensation on polyamine fibrils

• Jian-Jun Yuan,
• Pei-Xin Zhu,
• Daisuke Noda and
• Ren-Hua Jin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 793–804, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.90

• crystalline nanofilament itself acts as a template that directs the silica morphology as well as a scaffold for the deposition of silica, and as a highly efficient catalyst for promoting the formation of silica. This leads to the facile formation of the one-dimensional LPEI@silica hybrid nanostructure

• template/scaffold/catalysts for the controlled silicification that afforded LPEI@silica hybrid nanotubes, which can be subsequently changed into pure silica nanotubes by removing the organic LPEI. Moreover, we also addressed the possibility to synthesize silica–carbon composite nanotubes by exploiting

• ) indicating the existence of hollow structure. SEM images demonstrated that the nanotubes synthesized from 5 min, 60 min and 240 min have similar mat morphology (Figure S1 in Supporting Information File 1). Obviously, LPEI fibrils exhibited the high-efficient ability as template/scaffold/catalyst for rapid

Apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy of sparsely labeled tobacco mosaic viruses and the intermediate filament desmin

• Alexander Harder,
• Mareike Dieding,
• Volker Walhorn,
• Sven Degenhard,
• Andreas Brodehl,
• Christina Wege,
• Hendrik Milting and
• Dario Anselmetti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 510–516, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.60

• channel [25]. Apart from plant research, TMV is also important for nanotechnology applications of virus-derived biotemplates [26][27][28][29]. The self-assembly of the capsid components and the homogeneous nucleoprotein tube diameter make TMV an attractive scaffold for nanotechnological applications such

Micro- and nanoscale electrical characterization of large-area graphene transferred to functional substrates

• Gabriele Fisichella,
• Salvatore Di Franco,
• Patrick Fiorenza,
• Raffaella Lo Nigro,
• Fabrizio Roccaforte,
• Cristina Tudisco,
• Guido G. Condorelli,
• Nicolò Piluso,
• Noemi Spartà,
• Stella Lo Verso,
• Corrado Accardi,
• Cristina Tringali,
• Sebastiano Ravesi and
• Filippo Giannazzo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 234–242, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.24

• foil. After the etching process, the graphene membrane attached to the resist scaffold is mechanically attached to the target substrate and the resist is eliminated. There are two crucial points in this transfer technique: (i) promoting the adhesion of graphene onto the target substrate; and (ii

A facile approach to nanoarchitectured three-dimensional graphene-based Li–Mn–O composite as high-power cathodes for Li-ion batteries

• Wenyu Zhang,
• Yi Zeng,
• Chen Xu,
• Ni Xiao,
• Yiben Gao,
• Lain-Jong Li,
• Xiaodong Chen,
• Huey Hoon Hng and
• Qingyu Yan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 513–523, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.59

• to improve the power density and cyclability of LIBs [17][18]. Basically, such a strategy is based on the design of a nanostructured, metal current collector, by using Cu or Al nanorods to form a 3D conducting scaffold, to improve the kinetics of Li diffusion and electron transfer in the electrode

• materials involve high-temperature reactions that may destroy the graphene structure. Although a graphene-based cathode may be difficult to prepare, the conducting scaffold formed by graphene sheets is ideal for the formation of 3D architectured cathodes to improve the performance of LIB further, especially

• the conducting scaffold of graphene sheets improves the kinetics of Li ion diffusion and electron transfer. The voltage profiles of the LMO/G (ILMO:G = 1.22) electrode under various discharge currents are presented in Figure 6c, which shows that the discharge voltages are maintained at >3.3 V even at

Surface functionalization of aluminosilicate nanotubes with organic molecules

• Wei Ma,
• Weng On Yah,
• Hideyuki Otsuka and
• Atsushi Takahara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 82–100, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.10

• inorganic nanostructures instead of flat surfaces has been demonstrated to be an effective process for preparing various previously untested functional organic/inorganic nanohybrids. The organic parts generally provide functional groups for the nanohybrids, while the inorganic parts act as the scaffold for

• ratios and ability to form network structures. It is no doubt that nanotubes with reactive surfaces and a reliable supply are preferred for the application as scaffold of organic molecules. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) play an important role in the nanotube family. However, the surface of CNTs is inert for

• adsorption and assembly of organic molecules on the imogolite surface is expected to produce interesting results. Imogolite may act as a one-dimensional scaffold for functional molecules. Moreover, the surface energy of imogolite nanotubes can be lowered by the organic layer, and this can greatly improve the

Self-organizing bioinspired oligothiophene–oligopeptide hybrids

• Alexey K. Shaytan,
• Eva-Kathrin Schillinger,
• Elena Mena-Osteritz,
• Sylvia Schmid,
• Pavel G. Khalatur,
• Peter Bäuerle and
• Alexei R. Khokhlov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 525–544, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.57

• a common self-assembly mechanism, as discussed previously, it is natural to assume that similar peptide–peptide interactions play the structure-determining role during the aggregation of our hybrid compound and form the scaffold of the fibrils. Relying on the basic ideas and our current

• molecules preserved their relative positions in the aggregates with respect to their neighbors, however, certain conformational rearrangements both at the molecular level and at the nanoscale were observed. In all the cases, the β-sheet organization dominated the structure and remained the main scaffold for