Formation of pure Cu nanocrystals upon post-growth annealing of Cu–C material obtained from focused electron beam induced deposition: comparison of different methods

• Aleksandra Szkudlarek,
• Alfredo Rodrigues Vaz,
• Yucheng Zhang,
• Andrzej Rudkowski,
• Czesław Kapusta,
• Rolf Erni,
• Stanislav Moshkalev and
• Ivo Utke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1508–1517, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.156

• 150–200 °C all deposits showed the formation of pure Cu nanocrystals at the outer surface of the initial deposit due to the migration of Cu atoms from the carbonaceous matrix containing the elements carbon, oxygen, and fluorine. Post-irradiation of deposits with 200 keV electrons in a transmission

• annealing of Cu–C FEBID material from Cu(II) and Cu(I) precursors with respect to nanostructural changes and conductivity showing the potential of fabricating pure copper nanodots, from the as-grown amorphous Cu–C deposit. The thermal energy input favors the migration of Cu atoms to coalesce to pure Cu

• dropped by four to five orders of magnitude to hundreds of kiloohms. At the current densities, used in the experiments (less than 0.1 MA/cm2) the migration process of Cu atoms is rather slow. Gazzadi and Frabboni [47] reported grain formation and electromigration in Pt–C material at current densities

Atomic force microscopy as analytical tool to study physico-mechanical properties of intestinal cells

• Christa Schimpel,
• Oliver Werzer,
• Eleonore Fröhlich,
• Gerd Leitinger,
• Markus Absenger-Novak,
• Birgit Teubl,
• Andreas Zimmer and
• Eva Roblegg

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1457–1466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.151

• surface of the cellular membrane. The rosette triggers migration and phagocytic processes and shows a 5-fold decreased elasticity compared to podosome-free regions (nuclear area). This is in accordance with our study. Since M cells are also immune cells, it seems that the arrangement of the sparse

Formation of substrate-based gold nanocage chains through dealloying with nitric acid

• Ziren Yan,
• Ying Wu and
• Junwei Di

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1362–1368, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.140

• structure evolution mechanism are not clear. Therefore, the treatment with dilute HNO3 not only removes the residual Ag in the Ag–Au NCs but also initiates the migration of the nanocages. Conclusion In conclusion, Ag–Au NCs were produced through substrate-based galvanic replacement reactions performed on

The Kirkendall effect and nanoscience: hollow nanospheres and nanotubes

• Abdel-Aziz El Mel,
• Ryusuke Nakamura and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1348–1361, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.139

• ]. The Kirkendall effect describes the motion of the boundary between two metals due to a thermally activated, unbalanced diffusion. Upon annealing of two stacked metals, A and B, at a temperature high enough to thermally activate the diffusion of atoms, atomic migration can occur at the interface where

• , vacancies are created and injected at the Co(core)/CoSe(shell) interface. The migration and agglomeration of vacancies result in the formation and merging of the initial voids located at the interface and extended along the Co core (Figure 4a). The increase in size of these voids was found to lead to the

• -diffusion coefficient of Ni (i.e., diffusion of Ni ions in Ni) (Figure 5f). Since this ratio is quite low compared to other metals, they concluded that the generation/migration rate of vacancies is well-balanced [32]. This led to the conclusion that when the generation and the migration rate of vacancies

Structural transitions in electron beam deposited Co–carbonyl suspended nanowires at high electrical current densities

• Gian Carlo Gazzadi and
• Stefano Frabboni

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1298–1305, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.134

• shows graphite planes arranged in a rounded cage structure with a hollow/amorphous-like interior. This carbon structure, strongly resembling the one of carbon-encapsulated metal nanoparticles [29], was probably hosting a Co grain before its migration. From this analysis, the effect of electromigration

Tattoo ink nanoparticles in skin tissue and fibroblasts

• Colin A. Grant,
• Peter C. Twigg,
• Richard Baker and
• Desmond J. Tobin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1183–1191, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.120

• the resultant bleeding to form a clot. Then the skin tissue swells (edema) followed by a migration of immune system cells to the wound site (neutrophils and macrophages) in order to phagocytose foreign substances, cell debris and microbes. Any damaged collagen in the wounded papillary dermis is then

Magnetic properties of iron cluster/chromium matrix nanocomposites

• Arne Fischer,
• Robert Kruk,
• Di Wang and
• Horst Hahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1158–1163, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.117

• resolution depends on the cluster size and can be estimated to be better than 1/10 for the utilized clusters. Prior to deposition the clusters are decelerated to 50 eV and then soft-landed on a silicon substrate with a native oxide layer (still conducting). To avoid migration and agglomeration of the

Electrical characterization of single molecule and Langmuir–Blodgett monomolecular films of a pyridine-terminated oligo(phenylene-ethynylene) derivative

• Henrry M. Osorio,
• Santiago Martín,
• María Carmen López,
• Santiago Marqués-González,
• Simon J. Higgins,
• Richard J. Nichols,
• Paul J. Low and
• Pilar Cea

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1145–1157, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.116

• molecular junctions [37][38], exciton migration control [39], top-contact metallization [24][40][41], optical and opto-electronic applications [42][43], modulation of the electrical properties of the junction [24], inclusion of a metal atom in the organic structure of a molecular wire [44], and electrical

Electronic interaction in composites of a conjugated polymer and carbon nanotubes: first-principles calculation and photophysical approaches

• Florian Massuyeau,
• Jany Wéry,
• Jean-Luc Duvail,
• Serge Lefrant,
• Abu Yaya,
• Chris Ewels and
• Eric Faulques

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1138–1144, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.115

• green-yellow range, and photoconduction under UV or blue light excitation. In this report we present an investigation of the photoexcitation and exciton migration processes in composites of PPV and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) by means of time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) and

• photoconductivity measurements. These techniques are appropriate tools to understand the energy transfer mechanisms involved by the introduction of SWNTs into the PPV polymer matrix. In particular, time-resolved PL measurements give crucial information about the nature of photogenerated charges and their migration

• bandgap depending of their chirality. This fundamental physical difference will have tremendous importance as concerns the electronic coupling, the energy transfer and the migration of excitons between the semi-conducting polymer and the nanotubes [15]. Therefore, the results are compared with original

Characterization of nanostructured ZnO thin films deposited through vacuum evaporation

• Jose Alberto Alvarado,
• Arturo Maldonado,
• Héctor Juarez,
• Mauricio Pacio and
• Rene Perez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 971–975, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.100

• films. The peaks correspond directly to the hexagonal structure of the ZnO. This is due the nature of the source material, and it is assumed that only nanoparticles migration from the source to the substrate takes place. Morphology of the films Figure 2 shows the HRSEM pictures for a) un-annealed films

• , and films annealed at b) 200 °C, c) 400 °C, d) 600°C with a zoom in on the thin film, e) 800 °C and f) 1000 °C. From Figure 2a, it can be seen that there is a migration from the source to the substrate. It is hypothesized that the nanoparticles only decompose into particles small enough to cross the

• distance between the boat and glass substrate, this is supposed because the temperature in the resistor is not enough to decompose ZnO into ions. This decomposition takes place at 1500 °C and the resistor only reaches 800 °C. At these temperatures only migration takes place. However, this deposit is a mesh

Electrical response of liquid crystal cells doped with multi-walled carbon nanotubes

• Amanda García-García,
• Ricardo Vergaz,
• José F. Algorri,
• Xabier Quintana and
• José M. Otón

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 396–403, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.39

• linear. If the study includes the effect of external electric fields, as in this case, the AC signal probe should be set on a bias (offset) DC voltage. However DC voltage leads to electrolytic degeneration of the LC cell by ion generation and migration, and eventual adsorption of the charges onto the

Hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells: polymeric nanoparticle uptake and lineage differentiation

• Ivonne Brüstle,
• Thomas Simmet,
• Gerd Ulrich Nienhaus,
• Katharina Landfester and
• Volker Mailänder

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 383–395, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.38

• ex vivo and are therefore amenable to further treatment. Here, nanomaterials could provide a means of manipulating the fate of the stem cells, for example, by influencing migration in vivo by (over-)expression of homing receptors or influencing stem cell differentiation by providing the cells with an

• combination of nanoparticles with these two stem cell types derived from the bone marrow is very promising not only for labelling to monitor biodistribution and migration of stem cells but also to establish the “pharmacokinetics” of such cellular therapeutics. Furthermore, such nanoparticles can be

Mechanical properties of MDCK II cells exposed to gold nanorods

• Anna Pietuch,
• Bastian Rouven Brückner,
• David Schneider,
• Marco Tarantola,
• Christina Rosman,
• Carsten Sönnichsen and
• Andreas Janshoff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 223–231, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.21

• migration, proliferation and tissue formation [19][20]. Mechanical behavior of living cells can be monitored spatially resolved in a concentration and time dependent manner using scanning probe techniques. It is possible to investigate local cellular elastic properties under physiological conditions using

• signaling, for both CTAB spheres and rods, we found within 24 h after treatment a reduction of mitochondrial activity (by MTS or LDH) as well as the activation of reactive oxygen species [13][25]. Cellular mechanics plays an important role in many biological processes comprising cell adhesion, migration

Kelvin probe force microscopy in liquid using electrochemical force microscopy

• Liam Collins,
• Stephen Jesse,
• Jason I. Kilpatrick,
• Alexander Tselev,
• M. Baris Okatan,
• Sergei V. Kalinin and
• Brian J. Rodriguez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 201–214, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.19

• local concentration of ions through migration (field-driven ion transport) and diffusion (concentration-gradient-driven transport) both to and from the solid–liquid interface as well as electron transfer reactions across the interface, resulting in a broad spectrum of charge relaxation timescales (ns–s

• presence of diffuse ion dynamics, precluding the use of KPFM. The observed hysteretic response can be explained as a combination of tip–sample interactions caused by field-driven migration and concentration-gradient-driven diffusion of ions in the bulk electrolyte, as well as possible steric effects

Increasing throughput of AFM-based single cell adhesion measurements through multisubstrate surfaces

• Miao Yu,
• Nico Strohmeyer,
• Jinghe Wang,
• Daniel J. Müller and
• Jonne Helenius

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 157–166, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.15

• force spectroscopy; Introduction The regulated adhesion of mammalian cells with the extracellular matrix (ECM) and surrounding cells is crucial in biological processes such as cell migration, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. Since impaired cell adhesion causes a wide range of diseases

• available equivalents are commonly expensive. The masks described herein require a mold, which can be easily produced in workshop, and the PDMS components. The usage of the mask is not limited to AFM-based SCFS, as the four-well mask is only one of many possible dimensions and forms. For example, migration

Functionalization of α-synuclein fibrils

• Simona Povilonienė,
• Vida Časaitė,
• Virginijus Bukauskas,
• Arūnas Šetkus,
• Juozas Staniulis and
• Rolandas Meškys

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 124–133, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.12

• similar to those of α-Syn. The theoretical molecular mass of α-SynC141 (14.46 kDa) was confirmed by mass spectrometry. However, a band corresponding to about 18 kDa was observed in SDS-PAGE (Figure 1). Assuming that a very acidic C-terminus of α-Syn weakly interacts with SDS, the electrophoretic migration

Materials and characterization techniques for high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

• Roswitha Zeis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 68–83, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.8

• the catalyst layer. As shown in Figure 8, the PTFE content controls the acid migration from the doped membrane to the catalyst layer and has therefore a significant effect on the cell performance. In case of MEAs employing fumapem® AM (AB-PBI·5H3PO4), the optimal PTFE content for HT-PEMFC electrodes

Mammalian cell growth on gold nanoparticle-decorated substrates is influenced by the nanoparticle coating

• Christina Rosman,
• Sebastien Pierrat,
• Marco Tarantola,
• David Schneider,
• Eva Sunnick,
• Andreas Janshoff and
• Carsten Sönnichsen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2479–2488, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.257

• cell migration and no significant particle internalization occurred. Concerning cell adhesion and spreading as compared to cell growth on bare substrates after 3 days of incubation, a reduction by 45% and 95%, respectively, for the surfactant particle coating was observed, whereas the amino-terminated

• nanoparticle infiltration into a tissue lesion or by insertion of nanoparticle patterned implants. This can potentially influence cell migration, which has implications in wound healing [13]. Recently, a study by Yang et al. tracked the migration behavior of prostate carcinoma cells (PC3, epithelial) and human

• (i.e., the marking of cell movement by the voids created on a nanoparticle carpet) was used already in 1977 to visualize cell migration [15]. Because nanoparticles are so prevalently used to coat surfaces (for instance, to create biofilm resistance on implants [16], to enhance stability or to create a

Synthesis of Pt nanoparticles and their burrowing into Si due to synergistic effects of ion beam energy losses

• Pravin Kumar,
• Udai Bhan Singh,
• Kedar Mal,
• Sunil Ojha,
• Indra Sulania,
• Dinakar Kanjilal,
• Dinesh Singh and
• Vidya Nand Singh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1864–1872, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.197

• coupling. The melting of materials along the ion trajectory generates a surface tension gradient due to an imbalance of the surface and the interface energies, which further gives rise to mass transport through capillary action. The migration of metallic atoms and subsequent agglomeration can result in the

Formation of Cu_xAu_1−x phases by cold homogenization of Au/Cu nanocrystalline thin films

• Alona Tynkova,
• Gabor L. Katona,
• Gabor A. Langer,
• Sergey I. Sidorenko,
• Svetlana M. Voloshko and
• Dezso L. Beke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1491–1500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.162

• , an extensive intermixing had taken place, accompanied by grain boundary migration, grain growth, and formation of CuPd and Cu3Pd phases. Similar results were obtained in Cu/Pd [23] Ni2Si/Si [24] and Fe/Pt [9] systems. In [10] these results were summarized and an interpretation based on the grain

Influence of the PDMS substrate stiffness on the adhesion of Acanthamoeba castellanii

• Sören B. Gutekunst,
• Carsten Grabosch,
• Alexander Kovalev,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Christine Selhuber-Unkel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1393–1398, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.152

• environments. Cells can even adapt their direction of migration on materials with gradually changing stiffness, a phenomenon known as mechanotaxis [4][5]. This adaptation is presumably due to an active probing of the cellular microenvironment by nanobiomechanical mechanisms in cells, allowing them to reorient

Mimicking exposures to acute and lifetime concentrations of inhaled silver nanoparticles by two different in vitro approaches

• Fabian Herzog,
• Kateryna Loza,
• Sandor Balog,
• Martin J. D. Clift,
• Matthias Epple,
• Peter Gehr,
• Alke Petri-Fink and
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1357–1370, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.149

• proliferation and migration (chemotaxis) both decreased, and the release of cytokines was affected. Increased IL-8 and decreased IL-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were detected at high Ag NP concentrations [65]. These studies however, were obtained with human mesenchymal stem cells

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

• mobility. This was attributed to the strong coulombic interactions with BH4− resulting from the small cage size. They proposed that increasing the cage size, by partial substitution of BH4− with the larger AlH4−, may enable magnesium ion migration, however, this was not experimentally demonstrated. Another

Self-organization of mesoscopic silver wires by electrochemical deposition

• Sheng Zhong,
• Thomas Koch,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Harald Rösner,
• Eberhard Nold,
• Aaron Kobler,
• Torsten Scherer,
• Di Wang,
• Christian Kübel,
• Mu Wang,
• Horst Hahn and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1285–1290, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.142

• realized easily because of convection and migration of the ions in the electric field. Our thin film electrodeposition system is closer to an ideal two-dimensional growth system, which helps to explain the low diameters of the silver wires. The growth mechanism of the silver wires can be explained in the

Model systems for studying cell adhesion and biomimetic actin networks

• Dorothea Brüggemann,
• Johannes P. Frohnmayer and
• Joachim P. Spatz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1193–1202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.131

• 10.3762/bjnano.5.131 Abstract Many cellular processes, such as migration, proliferation, wound healing and tumor progression are based on cell adhesion. Amongst different cell adhesion molecules, the integrin receptors play a very significant role. Over the past decades the function and signalling of

• shape and for maintaining cell viability, migration, and tissue integrity [3]. Cell–cell and cell–substrate adhesion are mediated by different proteins, the cell adhesion molecules (CAMs). A very important group of CAMs is the integrin family, which functions both as cell–substrate and cell–cell

• proteins like integrin is important for cell shape and migration. The actin-based motility of cells is driven by myosin, a molecular motor, which converts chemical energy in the form of ATP to mechanical energy, thus generating force and movement [20]. When integrins have created a cell–ECM contact they