Bioinspired nanofilament coatings for scale reduction on steel

• Siad Dahir Ali,
• Mette Heidemann Rasmussen,
• Jacopo Catalano,
• Christian Husum Frederiksen and
• Tobias Weidner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 25–34, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.3

• protrusions that have an overhanging shape and low surface energy can effectively render a surface super-hydrophobic (Figure 1D,F). This texture creates an energy barrier, causing water droplets to rest on the protrusions while trapping air beneath them. In analogy with the texture of Collembola skin, this

• agreement with what has been reported before for super-hydrophobic SNF coatings on polymers [18], glass [23], and textiles [16]. Since the water contact is well above 150° and droplets are highly mobile (please see the videos in the Supporting Information File 1–3) – the definition of super-hydrophobicity

• using an FTA1000 contact angle system (First Ten Angstroms, Inc.) at ambient temperature. The volume of the water droplets was 2.5–3.0 µL. Autoclave stability and decompression/explosion tests The autoclave (Parr series 5521) is based on a 300 mL vessel and reactor controller (4848, Parr). A home-build

Nanotechnological approaches for efficient N2B delivery: from small-molecule drugs to biopharmaceuticals

• Selin Akpinar Adscheid,
• Akif E. Türeli,
• Nazende Günday-Türeli and
• Marc Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1400–1414, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.113

• microfluidics and high-shear-force homogenization [110]. As DDS, nanoemulsions can be reservoirs for encapsulating hydrophobic substances [111]. Moreover, emulsions of emulsions or double emulsions can be prepared by dispersing the droplets of primary emulsion into another liquid phase. Double emulsions can be

Various CVD-grown ZnO nanostructures for nanodevices and interdisciplinary applications

• The-Long Phan,
• Le Viet Cuong,
• Vu Dinh Lam and
• Ngoc Toan Dang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1390–1399, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.112

• surface energy values in the following order: [51]. At temperature and saturated vapour pressure values suitable for referential growth directions, ZnO crystals develop from Zn droplets working as nuclei/seeds, which react with oxygen in order to develop characteristic nanostructures. Following

A biomimetic approach towards a universal slippery liquid infused surface coating

• Ryan A. Faase,
• Madeleine H. Hummel,
• AnneMarie V. Hasbrook,
• Andrew P. Carpenter and
• Joe E. Baio

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1376–1389, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.111

• measurements were conducted with the sessile drop method. Droplets of 5 µL were pipetted onto the surface, and an image was captured. Eight images from two duplicates of each sample type were acquired on a smartphone device and processed in ImageJ (NIH). Atomic force microscopy AFM was conducted on a Veeco di

Effect of wavelength and liquid on formation of Ag, Au, Ag/Au nanoparticles via picosecond laser ablation and SERS-based detection of DMMP

• Sree Satya Bharati Moram,
• Chandu Byram and
• Venugopal Rao Soma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1054–1069, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.86

• with water. The expanding metal/water mixture promotes rapid nucleation and growth of small metal NPs and contributes to forming a cavitation bubble. The hot metal layer also breaks into larger droplets due to instabilities, creating NPs of different sizes within a few nanoseconds of laser exposure [6

Electrospun nanofibers: building blocks for the repair of bone tissue

• Tuğrul Mert Serim,
• Gülin Amasya,
• Tuğba Eren-Böncü,
• Ceyda Tuba Şengel-Türk and
• Ayşe Nurten Özdemir

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 941–953, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.77

• high, beaded nanofibers and many other defects are formed mainly because of more unspun droplets as a result of larger droplet volume and increased bending instabilities [56][58]. Needle tip-to-collector distance Since the distance between needle tip and collector influences the amount of evaporated

Functional fibrillar interfaces: Biological hair as inspiration across scales

• Guillermo J. Amador,
• Brett Klaassen van Oorschot,
• Caiying Liao,
• Jianing Wu and
• Da Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 664–677, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.55

• microscopic pillars. The superhydrophobic surface is self-cleaning since water droplets bead up on the surface, and, when they roll off, they pick up any dirt or other particles and remove them from the leaf’s surface. This phenomenon was termed the “Lotus effect” and has been translated to the development of

Comparative analysis of the ultrastructure and adhesive secretion pathways of different smooth attachment pads of the stick insect Medauroidea extradentata (Phasmatodea)

• Julian Thomas,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Thies H. Büscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 612–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.52

• but mostly contains water-soluble and lipid-soluble substances [31][32][33][34][35] creating lipid droplets in an aqueous fluid [27][36] or hydrophilic nanodroplets embedded in an oily continuous phase [23][37]. Additionally, the tarsal secretion could be a mixture of multiple substances that are

• , especially in Phasmatodea. Recent investigations of the ultrastructure and material properties of the smooth tarsal attachment pads of phasmids complement our information on the morphology of the droplets [38], biomechanics of their attachment performance [28][46][47][48][49][50][51], and the complementarity

Development and characterization of potential larvicidal nanoemulsions against Aedes aegypti

• Jonatas L. Duarte,
• Leonardo Delello Di Filippo,
• Anna Eliza Maciel de Faria Mota Oliveira,
• Rafael Miguel Sábio,
• Gabriel Davi Marena,
• Tais Maria Bauab,
• Cristiane Duque,
• Vincent Corbel and
• Marlus Chorilli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 104–114, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.10

• volatility, make their formulation a true challenge. In this regard, nanoemulsions (NEs), which are dispersions of two immiscible liquids with one of them dispersed as small droplets [11][12], stand out as new delivery vehicles for these bioactive compounds. They are especially important to enhance the water

• , leading to the generation of dispersed material on a nanoscale [15]. The low-energy methods are characterized by the use and control of the chemical energy of the system in the formation of droplets on the nanoscale. A crucial point is that these systems can be obtained at low cost and with eco-friendly

• maturation, a very important mechanism when it comes to the instability of NEs. It is related to the difference between the droplet sizes in the formulation, with the smaller droplets having greater chemical potential and, thus, diffusing to the larger ones [26]. Formulations with HLB values of 14 and 15

Fluorescent bioinspired albumin/polydopamine nanoparticles and their interactions with Escherichia coli cells

• Eloïse Equy,
• Jordana Hirtzel,
• Sophie Hellé,
• Béatrice Heurtault,
• Eric Mathieu,
• Morgane Rabineau,
• Vincent Ball and
• Lydie Ploux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1208–1224, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.100

• concentration for further experiments. During the freeze-drying process, BSA/PDA NPs acted as surfactant and were located around water droplets when the water was rapidly sublimated, which resulted in the formation of a foam (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S1a). After freeze-drying, the foam could be

Spatial variations of conductivity of self-assembled monolayers of dodecanethiol on Au/mica and Au/Si substrates

• Julian Skolaut,
• Jędrzej Tepper,
• Federica Galli,
• Wulf Wulfhekel and
• Jan M. van Ruitenbeek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1169–1177, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.97

• . This was avoided in later experiments by using eutectic GaIn (eGaIn) droplets [8][9][10][11]. These are much more viscous, to the point that they are almost solid. This reduces the amount of leak currents significantly and makes studies on the conductivity of SAMs much more reliable. A more widely

• characteristics. Moreover, the probes used in CAFM are significantly sharper compared to, for example, mercury droplets or eGaIn, which makes it possible to avoid short circuits to the metallic surface relatively easily. In previous studies, CAFM has been used to investigate the conductivity of surfaces and SAMs

A multi-resistance wide-range calibration sample for conductive probe atomic force microscopy measurements

• François Piquemal,
• Khaled Kaja,
• Pascal Chrétien,
• José Morán-Meza,
• Frédéric Houzé,
• Christian Ulysse and
• Abdelmounaim Harouri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1141–1148, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.94

• droplets (F42240, lead-free solder paste – class 5, CIF, France). The fused silica substrate was placed on a heating plate set to 270 °C, which required around 3 min to reach the melting temperature of the solder droplets (217 °C), as observed under an optical microscope. Upon cooling, 16 SMD resistors

Upscaling the urea method synthesis of CoAl layered double hydroxides

• Camilo Jaramillo-Hernández,
• Víctor Oestreicher,
• Martín Mizrahi and
• Gonzalo Abellán

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 927–938, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.76

• spin-coated on a Si wafer (3000 rpm, 40 s), washed with ethanol and dried afterward. For AFM, the samples were diluted in ethanol and drop-cast on a Si/SiO2 wafer. Si/SiO2 wafers were washed by spin-coating ten droplets of acetone and ten droplets of isopropanol prior to sample deposition. Scanning

Silver-based SERS substrates fabricated using a 3D printed microfluidic device

• Phommachith Sonexai,
• Minh Van Nguyen,
• Bui The Huy and
• Yong-Ill Lee

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 793–803, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.65

• tool for detecting ultralow concentrations of chemical compounds and biomolecules. We present a reproducible method for producing Ag nanoparticles that can be used to create highly sensitive SERS substrates. A microfluidic device was employed to confine the precursor reagents within the droplets

• various scientific and technological applications. The Ag NPs were synthesized using a droplet-based microfluidic device and a stereolithographic 3D printing method. The microfluidic device was optimized to produce uniform droplets, within which silver nitrate was reduced by sodium borohydride. This

• method limits the amount of precursor chemicals and enables the sequential flow of droplets, resulting in silver nanoparticles of uniform shape and size. We investigated the effects of different synthesis conditions on the size distribution, dispersity, and LSPR wavelength of the silver nanoparticles

Humidity-dependent electrical performance of CuO nanowire networks studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

• Jelena Kosmaca,
• Juris Katkevics,
• Jana Andzane,
• Raitis Sondors,
• Liga Jasulaneca,
• Raimonds Meija,
• Kiryl Niherysh,
• Yelyzaveta Rublova and
• Donats Erts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 683–691, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.54

• water droplets condensed on the surface at very high RH levels (e.g., near and above 90%). This is supported by the Bode plot data of the CuO nanowire interconnects taken for RH 95%, which showed a decreasing phase angle at frequencies below 1000 Hz (Figure 2d). This indicates that the condensed water

Nanoarchitectonics to entrap living cells in silica-based systems: encapsulations with yolk–shell and sepiolite nanomaterials

• Celia Martín-Morales,
• Jorge Fernández-Méndez,
• Pilar Aranda and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 522–534, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.43

• –biopolymer were assayed. In the case of sepiolite–alginate beads, after homogeneous dispersion, the mixture was introduced into a syringe and slowly introduced dropwise into a calcium bath (CaCl2·2H2O, 6% w/v) to form small alginate droplets that hardened via crosslinking the alginate chains with the calcium

Polymer nanoparticles from low-energy nanoemulsions for biomedical applications

• Santiago Grijalvo and
• Carlos Rodriguez-Abreu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 339–350, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.29

• research on the fabrication of polymer nanoparticles from low-energy nanoemulsions, focusing on phase inversion composition. We particularly emphasize their biomedical applications as drug carriers. 2 Nanoemulsions Nanoemulsions are constituted by nanoscale droplets (20–200 nm) dispersed in a continuous

• liquid phase. They are out-of-equilibrium nanocolloids in which phase separation is expected from thermodynamics, but is delayed by the presence of surfactants adsorbed on the droplets surface. Accordingly, nanoemulsion formation depends on the way the sample is prepared, for example, on the order of

• . Nanoemulsions can be formulated to contain oily (hydrophobic) droplets in a continuous aqueous phase, that is, as in oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsions or aqueous droplets in a continuous oily (hydrophobic) phase as in water-in-oil (W/O) nanoemulsions. To form an emulsion, the liquid to be dispersed should be

A novel approach to pulsed laser deposition of platinum catalyst on carbon particles for use in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

• Bogusław Budner,
• Wojciech Tokarz,
• Sławomir Dyjak,
• Andrzej Czerwiński,
• Bartosz Bartosewicz and
• Bartłomiej Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 190–204, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.19

• the catalytic and diffusion layers. The microscopic water droplets must leave the MEA and the cell, but in some cases, they are temporarily trapped in the diffusion layer or the flow fields. The presence of water results in a temporary decrease of the current due to the transport resistance increase

Batch preparation of nanofibers containing nanoparticles by an electrospinning device with multiple air inlets

• Dong Wei,
• Chengwei Ye,
• Adnan Ahmed and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 141–150, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.15

• excessive air flow, a large number of bubbles were generated on the solution surface, and many droplets appeared on the receiving drum, which greatly affected the spinning effect. When the air flow rate was 100 m3/h (Figure 2b), there were still many bubbles on the solution surface and some droplets on the

• receiving drum, illustrating that the air flow was still too large. When the air flow rate was 50 m3/h (Figure 2c), the whole solution surface became convex, and no obvious droplets appeared between the nanofibers on the receiving drum. When there was no air flow (0 m3/h) (Figure 2d), the number of jets

Formation of nanoflowers: Au and Ni silicide cores surrounded by SiO_x branches

• Feitao Li,
• Siyao Wan,
• Dong Wang and
• Peter Schaaf

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 133–140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.14

• drop inside and get in contact with the exposed Si substrate, as marked in Figure 4c. The outer SiOx NWs can be decomposed by the Si substrate, and the core particle consisting of Au and Ni can get in direct contact with the substrate. Thus, Au–Si droplets and Ni silicide can form due to the easy

Atmospheric water harvesting using functionalized carbon nanocones

• Fernanda R. Leivas and
• Marcia C. Barbosa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1–10, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.1

• water. The cactus for example has spikes where droplets move from the tip to the base, or from the higher to the lower Laplace area. One mechanism developed by nature to capture liquid water from water vapor is present in the Namibian desert beetle, which collects water from morning steam in the desert

• in region 1 from Figure 2 condenses into the slab of region 2, forming droplets. These droplets are attracted to the hydrophilic sites of the nanocone, as shown in Figure 4. Eventually, the droplets are moved to the middle and, then, to the tip of the nanocone due to the combination of hydrophilic

• , isolated water molecules pass through, but no droplet is formed. Then, hydrophilic rings were introduced in the nanocone, and different hydrophilic strengths of the rings were explored. Water dynamics in this case is governed by the formation of droplets outside the nanocone, and a combination of regimes

Roll-to-roll fabrication of superhydrophobic pads covered with nanofur for the efficient clean-up of oil spills

• Patrick Weiser,
• Robin Kietz,
• Marc Schneider,
• Matthias Worgull and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1228–1239, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.102

• a significant increase of the contact angle of water droplets. The fractal structure minimizes contact area as well as adhesion forces between surface and water droplet, thereby equipping the surface with self-cleaning properties equivalent to the lotus effect [24]. Additionally, the high increase

• on top of the nanofur are around the super hydrophobicity limit of 150° (see Figure 3b). This makes droplets easily roll off a sample even at minimal tilt (see the video in Supporting Information File 1). Contact angles were measured on a Dataphysics OCA 20 contact angle measurement machine using

• . To a certain extent this can be beneficial because, in general, hairs with high aspect ratio led to high contact angles. However, if the hairs become too long and thin, they might bend under the weight of the water droplets. Furthermore, hair apexes might penetrate water drops. These two effects

Application of nanoarchitectonics in moist-electric generation

• Jia-Cheng Feng and
• Hong Xia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1185–1200, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.99

• the solution and was moved vertically. The electrical output signal was about 60 mV and 4 μA (Figure 2a,b). Yin’s research group also studied the voltage response of graphene layers to moving droplets [34], and the variables in the experiment included the number of graphene layers, droplet size, and

• energy from the movement of water droplets and provides a 3 V, 2 μA instantaneous electrical output. It is designed as a hydrophobic layer plus a polymeric dielectric layer with an electrode layer for electron flow at the bottom [78]. As shown in Figure 6e and f, the effects of different ions on the

• . (c) A liquid droplet is sandwiched between graphene and a SiO2/Si wafer and is drawn at specific velocities by the wafer. (d) A pulse voltage is generated by continuously falling droplets. (e) Voltage induced by three droplets of different solutions. (f) Fitted slope A = V/v (V of voltage, v of

Microneedle-based ocular drug delivery systems – recent advances and challenges

• Piotr Gadziński,
• Anna Froelich,
• Monika Wojtyłko,
• Antoni Białek,
• Julia Krysztofiak and
• Tomasz Osmałek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1167–1184, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.98

• ]. An alternative to methods using UV or heat is the droplet-born air blowing method (DAB). It is suitable for drug molecules that can be inactivated. In this method, polymer droplets are placed between two sheets. As the sheets are pulled apart, the droplets elongate and the resulting needle-shaped

• left to dry afterwards. The drying procedure can be accelerated with the aid of gas-jet drying. Another technique involves spray coating, which is technologically similar to the coating of oral solid dosage forms. Electrohydrodynamic atomisation (EHDA), in which electrically charged droplets are

• deposited on the microneedle surface, has been mentioned. As in piezoelectric inkjet printing, the droplets are released from the nozzle as a result of the application of an electrical field to a piezoelectric crystal, which distorts and pushes the liquid out. The most important techniques applied in

Design of a biomimetic, small-scale artificial leaf surface for the study of environmental interactions

• Miriam Anna Huth,
• Axel Huth,
• Lukas Schreiber and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 944–957, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.83

• the upper and the lower leaf sides. The deposited water droplets appeared spherical (Figure 7a). The CAs of water ranged between 127.5° ± 13.6° and 147.5° ± 11.7°. The deposited droplets rolled off from all leaves at TAs ranging from 10.8° ± 7.3° up to 29.4° ± 15.6°. The CAH values varied from 8.2

• recrystallized wax (148° ± 4.7°) did not differ from those of the wheat leaves (147.5° ± 11.7°) (Figure 8a). As on clean, non-treated glass, the droplets did not roll off the artificial surfaces with small amounts of wax. Therefore, neither TA nor CAH could be measured on these surfaces. On the artificial

• surfaces with the large amount of wax, the droplets only rolled off at higher TA (38.9° ± 14.6°) than on the wheat leaves (15.7° ± 15.1°). The TA of the artificial surfaces covered with the medium wax mass (14.9° ± 13.8°) was the same as on the wheat leaves (Figure 8b). The CAH of artificial surfaces with