Presented here is a simple preparation of metallic iron nanoparticles, supported on polyaniline nanofibers at room temperature. The preparation is based on polymerization of interconnected nanofibers by rapid mixing of the aniline monomer with Fe(III) chloride as the oxidant, followed by reductive deposition of Fe⁰ nanoparticles, using the polymerization by-products as the Fe precursor. The morphology and other physico-chemical properties of the resulting composite were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and vibrating-sample magnetometry. The composite fibers were 80–150nm in diameter and exhibited the expected ferromagnetic behavior. The composite rapidly and efficiently removed As(V), Cr(VI), and also Congo red dye, from aqueous solutions suggesting their usefulness for removal of toxic materials from wastewater. The composite fibers have high capacity for toxin removal: 42.37mg/g of As(V), 434.78mg/g of Cr(VI), and 243.9mg/g of Congo red. The fibers are easily recovered from fluids by exploiting their ferromagnetic properties.

Nanoemulsions can be fabricated using either high-energy or low-energy methods, with the latter being advantageous because of ease of implementation, lower equipment and operation costs, and higher energy efficiency. In this study, isothermal low-energy methods were used to spontaneously produce nanoemulsions using a model system consisting of oil (hexadecane), non-ionic surfactant (Brij 30) and water. Rate and order of addition of surfactant, oil and water into the final mixture were investigated to identify optimal conditions for producing small droplets. The emulsion phase inversion (EPI) and spontaneous emulsion (SE) methods were found to be the most successful, which both require the surfactant to be mixed with the oil phase prior to production. Order of addition and surfactant-to-oil ratio (SOR) influenced the particle size distribution, while addition rate and stirring speed had a minimal effect. Emulsion stability was strongly influenced by storage temperature, with droplet size increasing rapidly at higher temperatures, which was attributed to coalescence near the phase inversion temperature. Nanoemulsions with a mean particle diameter of approximately 60nm could be produced using both EPI and SE methods at a final composition of 5% hexadecane and 1.9% Brij 30, and were relatively stable to droplet growth at temperatures <25°C.

The electrostatic assembly between a series of differently charged Mo-132-type Keplerates present in the compounds (NH4)42[{(Moⱽᴵ)Moⱽᴵ5O21(H2O)6}12 {Moⱽ2O4(CH3COO)}30].ca. {300 H2O+10 CH3COONH4} (Mo-132a), (NH4)72−n[{(H2O)81−n+(NH4)n} {(Moⱽᴵ)Moⱽᴵ5O21(H2O)6}12 {Moⱽ2O4(SO4)}30].ca. 200 H2O (Mo-132b), and Na10(NH4)62[{(Moⱽᴵ)Moⱽᴵ5O21(H2O)6}12 {Moⱽ2O4(HPO4)}30]. ca. {300H2O+2Na⁺+2NH4⁺+4H2PO4⁻} (Mo-132c) with cationic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was investigated for the first time. The rapid electrostatic assembly from nanoscopic entities to micron scale aggregates was observed upon precipitation, which closely matched the point of aggregate electroneutrality. Successful assembly was demonstrated using UV–vis, DLS, TEM, and zeta-potential analysis. Results indicate that the point at which precipitation occurs is related to charge balance or electroneutrality, and that counterions at both the Mo-132 and AuNP play a significant role in assembly.

Effects of competing counterions with different charge-to-size ratios on potential-determining ion (pdi; H⁺, OH⁻) adsorption at mineral/water interfaces were resolved in mixtures of aqueous solutions of NaCl and NaClO4 solutions. These effects were monitored on two synthetic goethite (α-FeOOH) particle preparations with distinct charge uptake capacities arising from differences in surface roughness. Charge development at these mineral surfaces was chiefly explored by high precision potentiometric titrations at 25°C. These measurements confirmed that the greater charge-to-size ratio chloride ion not only promoted greater surface charge, but also had pronounced effects in perchlorate-dominated solutions. Cryogenic X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic measurements confirmed that perchlorate retains significant loadings at the goethite surface, even in the presence of chloride. Molecular dynamics simulations of the (110) plane of goethite exposed to these mixed solutions showed that chloride compressed the interfacial region containing electrolyte ions. Perchlorate, on the other hand, is not only present over a thicker region of the interface but also promotes an additional outer-sphere sodium species.These findings were used to develop a thermodynamic adsorption model predicting charge development at these mineral surfaces. The model involves a new formulation accounting for coexisting ion-specific regions each with their distinct compact plane capacitance values. The model can predict charge development in any mixtures of NaCl and NaClO4 contacted with goethite particles of contrasting charge uptake capacities without any additional parameters. This model can also be applied to a broader range of material surfaces.

Anatase-modified titanium (Ti) substrates have been found to possess antibacterial properties in the absence of ultraviolet irradiation, but the mechanism is not known. We hypothesize that this is due to the bactericidal effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by the surface anatase.Alkali and heat treatment was used to form anatase on Ti surface. The generation of ROS, and the behavior of bacteria and osteoblasts on the anatase-modified Ti were investigated. Cobalt–chrome (Co–Cr) alloys and stainless steel (SS) were similarly treated with alkali and heat, and their surface properties and effects on bacteria and osteoblasts were compared with the results obtained with Ti.The anatase-functionalized Ti substrates demonstrated significant bactericidal effects and promoted apoptosis in osteoblasts, likely a result of ROS generated by the anatase. The alkali and heat-treated Co–Cr and SS substrates also reduced bacterial adhesion but were not bactericidal. This effect is likely due to an increase in hydrophilicity of the surfaces, and no significant ROS were generated by the alkali and heat-treated Co–Cr and SS substrates. The treated Co–Cr and SS substrates did not induce significant apoptosis in osteoblasts, and thus with these properties, they may be promising for orthopedic applications.

Adsorption of anionic dye – Orange II – in aqueous solution onto hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA)-coated zeolite (HCZ) reached 38.96mg/g compared with 8.13mg/g onto natural zeolite. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) data showed that HDTMA-coated zeolite developed surficial positive charges. The adsorption reaction fits the Freundlich isotherm (R²=0.93) and the value of 1/n was less than unity (=0.81) and suggest a multi-layer physi-sorption process. The kinetics of the adsorption is a pseudo-second-order model. The activation energy (Ea) of the reaction is +35.70kJ/mol to further support a physi-sorption process while the ΔHᵒ (+82.79kJ/mol) is characteristic for an endothermic reaction. The ΔGᵒ values of −2.33, −0.98 and −0.37kJ/mol at 25°C, 30°C and 35°C, respectively implied that the adsorption reaction was feasible and thermodynamically spontaneous. We proposed that both electrostatic interactions and partitioning process are involved in the adsorption mechanisms of Orange II dye onto HCZ.

The adsorption of the antibiotic metronidazole (MNZ) on activated carbon (F400), activated carbon cloth (ACF), mesoporous activated carbon (CMK-3), and carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) was investigated in this work. The effect of the adsorbent–adsorbate interactions as well as the operating conditions (ionic strength, solution pH, temperature, chemical modification of the adsorbents by HNO3 treatment, and water matrix) on the adsorption capacity were analyzed to substantiate the adsorption mechanism. The adsorption capacity markedly varied as function of the carbon material, decreasing in the following order: F400>ACF>F400-HNO3>CMK-3>MWCNT>MWCNT-HNO3, and depended not only on their surface area and pore size distribution, but also on their chemical nature. The adsorption of MNZ was influenced by the solution pH, but was not significantly affected by the ionic strength and temperature. The adsorption of MNZ was enhanced when the MNZ solutions were prepared using wastewater. Therefore, the electrolytes present in the wastewater cooperated rather than competed with the MNZ molecules for the adsorption sites. Desorption equilibrium data of MNZ on all carbon materials demonstrated that the adsorption was reversible corroborating the weakness of the adsorbent–adsorbate interactions.

Capacitive deionization (CDI) removes charged ions from aqueous solutions through entrapment in the electric double layer (EDL) when the porous electrodes are polarized. In this study, three types of activated carbon cloth (ACC) with different pore-size distributions were used to study the effect of pore characteristics on electrosorption during CDI. Removal of seven different monovalent ions was examined for each ACC in batch reactors under 5 different combinations of applied potential and ionic strength. Results show underlying sorption mechanisms in the meso- and micro-pores were different. Electrosorption in the mesopores is influenced by partially-distorted EDL caused by EDL overlapping. Sorption capacity increased with increasing applied potential or ionic strength as overlapping effects were reduced. In contrast, EDL in the microporous regions could be highly distorted resulting in enhanced sorption capacity, which cannot be adequately described using the classic EDL theories. Electrosorption density (i.e., sorption capacity normalized by pore volume) decreased as the mesoporosity-to-microporosity ratio increased. These results are in agreement with those obtained using mathematical modeling by other recent CDI studies. Charge efficiency values were between 20% and 40% and appear to be substantially influenced by Faradaic reactions and ion desorption from the electrode surfaces. These findings suggest that pore-size distribution of electrode materials, especially the meso/microporosity ratio, should be optimized for the removal of targeted ions by CDI and well characterized to conduct more precise CDI modeling.

After a substantial advancement in single drug nanocarrier, nanomedicine now demands an integration of nanotechnology with combination therapy to achieve synergistic therapeutic effects. In this respect, a smart and multiple drug shuttling nanotheranostic system is developed which transport diverse kinds of anticancer drugs to cancer cells in a controlled and responsive manner respectively. Synthetically, a significantly high dose of hydrophobic camptothecin (CPT) is first loaded into the porous structure of quantum dots (CdS) coupled mesoporous silica nanocomposite. Subsequently, fluorescent doxorubicin (DOX) molecules are exclusively anchored onto the surface of CdS; as a result, the fluorescence of both CdS and DOX is quenched. Upon exposing to mildly acidic conditions, the fluorescence of both species is recovered, such fluorescent “on–off” states provides an added opportunity to real time sense drug release. In-vitro cell experiment reveals an excellent anticancer efficacy of drug cocktail, merely 3μg/ml concentration of multiple drugs loaded nanocarrier reduces the cell viability to 30%. Furthermore, confocal imaging indicates a successful release of both therapeutic entities. We visualize that our newly fabricated multifunctional double drug-carrying nanoparticles can be a valuable addition to next generation of materials that simultaneously deliver cocktail of drugs with imaging functionality.

DNA-templated silver nanoclusters (AgNC) are a class of subnanometer sized fluorophores with good photostability and brightness. It has been applied as a diagnostic tool mainly for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) detection. Integration of DNA oligomers to generate AgNCs is interesting as varying DNA sequences can result in different fluorescence spectra. This allows a simple fluorescence shifting effect to occur upon DNA hybridization with the hybridization efficiency being a pronominal factor for successful shifting. The ability to shift the fluorescence spectra as a result of hybridization overcomes the issue of background intensities in most fluorescent based assays. Here we describe an optimized method for the detection of single-stranded and double-stranded synthetic forkhead box P3 (FOXP3) target by hybridization with the DNA fluorescence shift sensor. The system forms a three-way junction by successful hybridization of AgNC, G-rich strand (G-rich) to the target DNA, which generated a shift in fluorescence spectra with a marked increase in fluorescence intensity. The DNA fluorescence shift sensor presents a rapid and specific alternative to conventional DNA detection.