Optical techniques for cervical neoplasia detection

• Tatiana Novikova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1844–1862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.186

• discriminate between HSIL and LSIL/normal tissues at various imaging depths was confirmed [80][81]. Nanotheranostics The rapid progress of nanotechnology had an important impact on cancer management research. The variety of new nanoscale platforms (gold nanoparticles, quantum dots, nanocages, carbon nanotubes

• unique molecular tumor marker [88]. The contrast agents consisting of a targeting agent conjugated with optically active labels (metal nanoparticles, quantum dots) can be used for in vivo imaging of this biomarker. Sokolov et al [89] reported the use of gold nanoparticles for the molecular targeted

• optical contrast between isolated gold particles and agglomerated gold particles in tumor tissue in both confocal reflectance and confocal fluorescence images of cervical tissue specimens [89]. In recent years many research groups explored the potential of using quantum dots (QDs) as inorganic

Synthesis and functionalization of NaGdF₄:Yb,Er@NaGdF₄ core–shell nanoparticles for possible application as multimodal contrast agents

• Dovile Baziulyte-Paulaviciene,
• Vitalijus Karabanovas,
• Marius Stasys,
• Greta Jarockyte,
• Vilius Poderys,
• Simas Sakirzanovas and
• Ricardas Rotomskis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1815–1824, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.183

• visible light, have been extensively investigated due to the advantages associated with their unique optical properties [1]. Compared with traditional semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) or organic fluorophores, UCNPs show superior features such as sharp emission peaks, low toxicity, high photochemical

• . The similar localization of Tween 80-coated nanoparticles was observed in MCF-7 cells as well. The same results of endocytic NP accumulation in cells was demonstrated in different studies with UCNPs [31], quantum dots [32], magnetic nanomaterials [33] and noble metal nanoparticles [34]. Cell viability

Methionine-mediated synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles and functionalization with gold quantum dots for theranostic applications

• Arūnas Jagminas,
• Agnė Mikalauskaitė,
• Vitalijus Karabanovas and
• Jūrate Vaičiūnienė

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1734–1741, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.174

• magnetic NPs with gold quantum dots (QDs) containing more than 13.5% of Au+. Emphasis is put on the synthesis of magnetic NPs by co-precipitation using the amino acid methionine as NP growth-stabilizing agent capable to later reduce and attach gold species. The surface of these NPs can be further

• spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of as-formed CoFe2O4 NPs before and after decoration with gold QDs were applied. Keywords: functionalization; gold; magnetic nanoparticles; quantum dots; theranostics; Introduction In current

• magnetic resonance and fluorescent imaging, allow for a more rapid and precise screening of the oncological disease sites. This is frequently achieved by covering magnetic NPs with shells containing luminescent quantum dots (QDs) [2][3][4][5][6]. The target molecules can be attached to the surface of

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

Luminescent supramolecular hydrogels from a tripeptide and nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots

• Maria C. Cringoli,
• Slavko Kralj,
• Marina Kurbasic,
• Massimo Urban and
• Silvia Marchesan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1553–1562, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.157

• . Their properties allow them to have an important impact in biological and environmental applications as alternatives to traditional, toxic, semiconductor-based quantum dots (QDs). They can be employed as biosensors in bioimaging, drug delivery, and in the photoreduction of metals, since they have

Calcium fluoride based multifunctional nanoparticles for multimodal imaging

• Marion Straßer,
• Joachim H. X. Schrauth,
• Sofia Dembski,
• Daniel Haddad,
• Bernd Ahrens,
• Stefan Schweizer,
• Bastian Christ,
• Alevtina Cubukova,
• Marco Metzger,
• Heike Walles,
• Peter M. Jakob and
• Gerhard Sextl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1484–1493, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.148

• imaging and diagnosis [2]. One possibility is the synthesis of core/shell-structured NPs. Core and shell materials can be matched individually to specific detection methods. For example, the coating of a magnetic core with silicates or polymer shells doped with organic fluorophores or quantum dots (QDs

Cationic PEGylated polycaprolactone nanoparticles carrying post-operation docetaxel for glioma treatment

• Cem Varan and
• Erem Bilensoy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1446–1456, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.144

• -time and also enhanced the concentration of BCNU in the brain tumor area [27]. In addition to drug delivery, core–shell nanoparticles such as magnetic nanoparticles [28], quantum dots [29], nanodiamonds [30], nanocrystals [31] and iron oxide nanoparticles [32] are studied as imaging and detection

Bright fluorescent silica-nanoparticle probes for high-resolution STED and confocal microscopy

• Isabella Tavernaro,
• Christian Cavelius,
• Henrike Peuschel and
• Annette Kraegeloh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1283–1296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.130

• nanoparticles [24][25], silica nanoparticles [26] or quantum dots [27][28]. These fluorescent nanoparticles fulfil some of the specific requirements and overcome disadvantages of common organic fluorescent dyes [29]. Especially silica nanoparticles have proven useful, since silicon chemistry provides a

• low tendency to agglomerate, which makes them suitable for biological nanoparticle uptake experiments. Not only allows the presented synthesis method for the embedding of different kinds of fluorophores (proteins, quantum dots or metallic nanoclusters), but the method also provide the option to gain

Evaluation of quantum dot conjugated antibodies for immunofluorescent labelling of cellular targets

• Jennifer E. Francis,
• David Mason and
• Raphaël Lévy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1238–1249, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.125

• , United Kingdom 10.3762/bjnano.8.125 Abstract Semiconductor quantum dots (Qdots) have been utilised as probes in fluorescence microscopy and provide an alternative to fluorescent dyes and fluorescent proteins due to their brightness, photostability, and the possibility to excite different Qdots with a

• targets in the cytosol and could not reach the nucleus, even after extensive cell permeabilisation. Keywords: imaging; immunofluorescence; microscopy; nanoparticles; quantum dots; Introduction Quantum dots (Qdots) are nanometre-sized semiconductor nanocrystals that typically consist of a metallic core

Nano-engineered skin mesenchymal stem cells: potential vehicles for tumour-targeted quantum-dot delivery

• Liga Saulite,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Simona Steponkiene,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1218–1230, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.123

• quantum dots QD655 were studied in human skin MSCs. The effect of QD on MSCs was examined using a cell viability assay, Ki67 expression analysis, and tri-lineage differentiation assay. The optimal conditions for QD uptake in MSCs were determined using flow cytometry. The QD uptake route in MSCs was

• suggest that QD-labelled MSCs could be used for targeted drug delivery studies. Keywords: endocytosis; mesenchymal stem cells; quantum dots; stem cell differentiation; Introduction Despite remarkable advances in targeted therapies of various human malignancies, cancer is one of the leading causes of

• , quantum dots (QDs) have demonstrated extensive application capabilities. High photostability and brightness, broad excitation and narrow fluorescence-emission spectra are some of the main properties required for the generation of new fluorescent nano-agents. The unique optical and electronic properties of

AgCl-doped CdSe quantum dots with near-IR photoluminescence

• Pavel A. Kotin,
• Sergey S. Bubenov,
• Natalia E. Mordvinova and
• Sergey G. Dorofeev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1156–1166, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.117

• Abstract We report the synthesis of colloidal CdSe quantum dots doped with a novel Ag precursor: AgCl. The addition of AgCl causes dramatic changes in the morphology of synthesized nanocrystals from spherical nanoparticles to tetrapods and finally to large ellipsoidal nanoparticles. Ellipsoidal

• nanoparticles possess an intensive near-IR photoluminescence ranging up to 0.9 eV (ca. 1400 nm). In this article, we explain the reasons for the formation of the ellipsoidal nanoparticles as well as the peculiarities of the process. The structure, Ag content, and optical properties of quantum dots are also

• investigated. The optimal conditions for maximizing both the reaction yield and IR photoluminescence quantum yield are found. Keywords: Ag doping; CdSe quantum dots; doped semiconductor nanocrystals; IR photoluminescence; tetrapods; Introduction Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) have attracted considerable

ZnO nanoparticles sensitized by CuInZn_xS_2+x quantum dots as highly efficient solar light driven photocatalysts

• Florian Donat,
• Serge Corbel,
• Halima Alem,
• Steve Pontvianne,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Ghouti Medjahdi and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1080–1093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.110

• (IJL), UMR CNRS 7198, BP 70239, 54506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex, France Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse (IS2M), CNRS UMR 7361, 15 rue Jean Starcky, 68093 Mulhouse, France 10.3762/bjnano.8.110 Abstract Alloyed CuInZnxS2+x (ZCIS) quantum dots (QDs) were successfully associated to ZnO

• . The activity of the ZnO/ZCIS composite is retained at over 90% of its original value after ten successive photocatalytic runs, indicating its high stability and its potential for practical photocatalytic applications. Keywords: heterojunction; photocatalysis; quantum dots; reactive oxygen species

• ; singlet oxygen; ZCIS quantum dots; ZnO; Introduction Over the last twenty years, the field of photocatalysis has attracted wide attention due to the environmental and energy crisis. Photocatalysis is considered to be a green technology, allowing the degradation of numerous contaminants both in water and

Needs and challenges for assessing the environmental impacts of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs)

• Michelle Romero-Franco,
• Hilary A. Godwin,
• Muhammad Bilal and
• Yoram Cohen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 989–1014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.101

• nanoparticles in human volunteers and quantum dots ‘QDs’ in rat skin) and cause irritation (e.g., nano ZnO in zebrafish models) [10]. Oral exposure to ENMs can result in subsequent absorption in the GI tract and organ damage (e.g., nano Cu in mice via oral gavage damaged liver, spleen and kidneys, and nano ZnO

• product/system while RA provides an assessment a particular substance or component of a complex material. Hischier et al. [40] reviewed LCA case studies of several ENMs (e.g., CNTs, single walled CNTs, fullerenes, quantum dots and TiO2) and nano-enabled products (e.g., dye containing nano-TiO2 and carbon

Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

α-((4-Cyanobenzoyl)oxy)-ω-methyl poly(ethylene glycol): a new stabilizer for silver nanoparticles

• Jana Lutze,
• Miguel A. Bañares,
• Marcos Pita,
• Andrea Haase,
• Andreas Luch and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 627–635, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.67

• , Zhang et al. [25] demonstrated the passivating effect of a PEG/silica hybrid coating on CdSe quantum dots. Thus, there is a growing interest in PEG-based stabilizers for a large variety of applications including catalysis, diagnostics, biology or biomedicine. There are numerous examples in which the

Modeling of the growth of GaAs–AlGaAs core–shell nanowires

• Qian Zhang,
• Peter W. Voorhees and
• Stephen H. Davis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 506–513, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.54

• along certain crystallographic directions and quantum dots near the apexes of the shell are observed in AlGaAs shells. Controlling the formation of these core–shell heterostructures remains challenging. A two-dimensional model valid on the wire cross section, that accounts for capillarity in the faceted

• and Al-poor quantum dots) in the nanowire shell. There are two issues that need to be understood. One is the mechanism responsible for the morphological evolution of the shells. Analysis and simulation results suggest that deposition introduces facets not present on the equilibrium Wulff shapes. A

• the attachment rate of Al atoms is smaller there. Keywords: core–shell nanowires; heterostructures; mechanisms; quantum dots; Findings Core–shell nanowires with heterostructures hold great promise in photonic and electronic applications because of their high sensitivity to electronic and magnetic

Study of the surface properties of ZnO nanocolumns used for thin-film solar cells

• Neda Neykova,
• Jiri Stuchlik,
• Karel Hruska,
• Ales Poruba,
• Zdenek Remes and
• Ognen Pop-Georgievski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 446–451, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.48

• preferred treatment for the preparation of thin-film solar cells based on ZnO NCs. The reported ZnO nanocolumns layer with a proper spacing could be used as a 3-D scaffold not only for amorphous silicon solar cells, but also for other absorbers with a short lifetime such as CuO, CuO2, FeS2, quantum dots or

Performance of colloidal CdS sensitized solar cells with ZnO nanorods/nanoparticles

• Anurag Roy,
• Partha Pratim Das,
• Mukta Tathavadekar,
• Sumita Das and
• Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 210–221, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.23

• − electrolyte with a costly Pt-based electrode. Reports on the synthesis of nanoscale CdS by using organic capping agents, polymers, surfactants, or enzymes reveal that they are not very user friendly techniques [17][18][19][20][21][22][23]. Therefore, rather taking a conventional path to synthesizing quantum

• dots (QDs) we followed a bioinspired strategy to synthesize such systems. In this work, bovine serum albumin (BSA) is selected as a biotemplating agent. BSA is a ubiquitous protein mainly present in blood and is a commonly used reagent in biological studies. Here, we have synthesized functionalized

Laser irradiation in water for the novel, scalable synthesis of black TiO_x photocatalyst for environmental remediation

• Massimo Zimbone,
• Giuseppe Cacciato,
• Mohamed Boutinguiza,
• Vittorio Privitera and
• Maria Grazia Grimaldi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 196–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.21

• readily employed for water decontamination. In order to enhance the photocatalytic performance of TiO2 under visible (solar) irradiation, many efforts have been made in the last years, ranging from doping with N, C and transition metals [7][8][9], to coupling with narrow band gap semiconductor quantum

• dots [10], to the use of metal grafting [11][12][13][14] or plasmonic metal nanostructures [15][16][17][18][19] and the preparation of oxygen-deficient and/or hydrogen-rich TiOx [20][21][22]. We are interested, in particular, in this last approach. Hydrogenated black TiO2 has attracted attention due to

Obtaining and doping of InAs-QD/GaAs(001) nanostructures by ion beam sputtering

• Sergei N. Chebotarev,
• Alexander S. Pashchenko,
• Leonid S. Lunin,
• Elena N. Zhivotova,
• Georgy A. Erimeev and
• Marina L. Lunina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 12–20, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.2

• and Solar Energy, Southern Scientific Center of Russian Academy of Sciences, 344006, 41, Chekhov Avenue, Rostov-on-Don, Russia 10.3762/bjnano.8.2 Abstract The features of InAs quantum dots obtained on GaAs(001) single-crystal substrates by ion-beam sputtering were investigated. It has been shown that

• in the range of ion energies of 150 to 200 eV at a temperature of 500 °C and a beam current of 120 µA InAs quantum dots with average dimensions below 15 nm and a surface density of 1011 cm−2 are formed. The technique of controlled doping of InAs/GaAs nanostructures using a SnTe solid-state source was

• barrier layer increases the intensity of photoluminescence peaks of the ground state and the first excited state of the InAs quantum dots. Keywords: 3D growth; doping; ion-beam sputtering; photoluminescence; quantum dots; Introduction Main interests of inorganic nanotechnology science are the study of

Zigzag phosphorene nanoribbons: one-dimensional resonant channels in two-dimensional atomic crystals

• Carlos. J. Páez,
• Dario. A. Bahamon,
• Ana L. C. Pereira and
• Peter. A. Schulz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1983–1990, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.189

• materials; constrictions; edge states; phosphorene nanoribbons; quantum dots; Introduction Low-dimensional systems have attracted attention over the past fifty years since the development of semiconductor epitaxial growth and deposition of metallic thin films [1]. The early scenario, back in the 1960s, as

• confinement in quantum dots leads to rich physical phenomena [37]. The correlation among the energy scales involved such as energy-level spacing of the constriction, charging energy and couplings allows us to estimate when charging effects would be important [38]. In the strong-coupling regime the wave

Facile fabrication of luminescent organic dots by thermolysis of citric acid in urea melt, and their use for cell staining and polyelectrolyte microcapsule labelling

• Nadezhda M. Zholobak,
• Anton L. Popov,
• Alexander B. Shcherbakov,
• Nelly R. Popova,
• Mykhailo M. Guzyk,
• Valeriy P. Antonovich,
• Alla V. Yegorova,
• Yuliya V. Scrypynets,
• Inna I. Leonenko,
• Alexander Ye. Baranchikov and
• Vladimir K. Ivanov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1905–1917, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.182

• crystals (quantum dots, Q-dots) are a good alternative to common fluorescent dyes in a variety of biomedical applications, mainly due to their high photostability and relatively large Stokes shift [1][2][3], but Q-dots typically contain heavy metals (lead, cadmium) and chalcogens (selenium, tellurium

• properties of low toxicity, being environmentally friendly, offering simple synthetic routes and low cost, as well as having comparable optical properties to traditional quantum dots and organic dyes [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Photoluminescent C-dots are superior in terms of

• nitric acid oxidation of carbon soot reduced the viability of HepG2 cells by 20%, at concentrations higher than 100 μg/mL [49]. The graphene quantum dots prepared with graphene oxide as starting material were markedly toxic for MCF-7 and MGC-803 (human gastric cancer) cells at concentrations higher than

Precise in situ etch depth control of multilayered III−V semiconductor samples with reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) equipment

• Ann-Kathrin Kleinschmidt,
• Lars Barzen,
• Johannes Strassner,
• Christoph Doering,
• Henning Fouckhardt,
• Wolfgang Bock,
• Michael Wahl and
• Michael Kopnarski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1783–1793, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.171

• sequence of a semiconductor laser, mainly consisting of several layers of Ga(As)Sb quantum dots (QD) (as active material) embedded in GaAs, surrounded by n- and p-doped layers of Al0.5Ga0.5As (for the diode and waveguide structure), has been grown on an n-doped GaAs substrate (called sample type B, for

• ), the active area with eight layers of Ga(As)Sb quantum dots (QD) between 50 nm thick GaAs barriers (B3), the lower n-Al0.5Ga0.5As cladding (B2) and, finally, the n-GaAs buffer and substrate (B1). The different properties of the layers during etching become particularly obvious, when taking a look at

Multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids as MRI contrast agents

• Nikodem Kuźnik and
• Mateusz M. Tomczyk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1086–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.102

• PAH-covered oMWCNT, followed by the introduction of CdTe quantum dots leading to CdTe-SPIO-oMWCNT#Chen nanohybrids. Finally, we showed that oxidized nanotubes are attractive for hard Lewis acids, e.g., Fe3+ ions, and form stable nanomolecular complexes, namely Fe-oMWCNT#Kuźnik [41]. Further covalent

• therefore increasing the resulting relaxivity [36]. On the other hand, superparamagnetic nanoparticles, both in the most common SPIO and in others (e.g., CoFe2O4, CdTe quantum dots), anchored on the nanotube net require an extension of the SBM theory [13][14]. Moreover, the hypothesis of CNT as a conducting

Photocurrent generation in carbon nanotube/cubic-phase HfO₂ nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposites

• Protima Rauwel,
• Augustinas Galeckas,
• Martin Salumaa,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Erwan Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1075–1085, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.101

• conduction via the CNT. To date, numerous studies have been reported on the decoration of CNTs with metal oxides including TiO2 [7][8] and ZnO [9] for solar cell applications and SnO2 for gas sensors. Reports on the fabrication of an all carbon nanocomposite combining CNTs, graphene and carbon quantum dots

• range along with the plasmonic effect of the CNTs, which also serves to conduct charges from the surface states of the nanoparticles to an external load. To put the present work into perspective, we note that fabrication of all-carbon nanocomposites by replacing HfO2 by carbon quantum dots (CQDs) might