It is well established that angiogenesis is the process of formation of new capillaries from pre-existing blood vessels. It is a complex process, involving both pro- and anti-angiogenic factors, and plays a significant role in physiological and pathophysiological processes such as embryonic development, atherosclerosis, post-ischemic vascularization of the myocardium, tumor growth and metastasis, rheumatoid arthritis etc. This is the first report of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoflowers that show significant pro-angiogenic properties (formation of new capillaries from pre-existing blood vessels), observed by in vitro and in vivo angiogenesis assays. The egg yolk angiogenesis assay using ZnO nanoflowers indicates the presence of matured blood vessels formation. Additionally, it helps to promote endothelial cell (EA.hy926 cells) migration in wound healing assays. Formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), especially hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-a redox signaling molecule, might be the plausible mechanism for nanoflower-based angiogenesis. Angiogenesis by nanoflowers may provide the basis for the future development of new alternative therapeutic treatment strategies for cardiovascular and ischemic diseases, where angiogenesis plays a significant role.
A bioinspired mineralization route to prepare self-cleaning cotton fabrics by functionalizing their surface with nanostructured Ag@ZnO is demonstrated herein. In a polyamine-mediated mineralization process, while the nucleation, organization and coating of ZnO is done directly from water-soluble zinc salts under mild conditions, the entrapped polyamine in the ZnO matrix acts as reducing agent to generate Ag(0) from Ag(I) at room temperature. The Ag@ZnO coated cotton fabrics are characterized by FESEM, HRTEM, XRD, and UV-vis-DRS to confirm the formation and coating of Ag@ZnO particles on individual threads of the fabric. The presence of Ag nanoparticles not only enables the ZnO-coated fabrics exhibiting improved photocatalytic property but also allows for visible-light-driven activities. Furthermore, it exhibits efficient antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Therefore, besides these multifunctional properties, the polyamine-mediated bioinspired approach is expected to pave way for functionalization of flexible substrates under mild conditions as desirable for the development and fabrication of smart, lightweight, and wearable devices for various niche applications.
Herein, we present an environmentally benign method capable of mineralization and deposition of nanomaterials to introduce antibacterial functionalities into cotton fabrics under mild conditions. Similar to the way in which many naturally occurring biominerals evolve around the living organism under ambient conditions, this technique enables flexible substrates like the cotton fabric to be coated with inorganic-based functional materials. Specifically, our strategy involves the use of long-chain polyamines known to be responsible in certain biomineralization processes, to nucleate, organize, and deposit nanostructured ZnO on cotton bandage in an aqueous solution under mild conditions of room temperature and neutral pH. The ZnO-coated cotton bandages as characterized by SEM, confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy, XRD, UV-DRS, and fluorescence microscopy demonstrate the importance of polyamine in generating a stable and uniform coating of spindle-shaped ZnO particles on individual threads of the fabric. As the coating process requires only mild conditions, it avoids any adverse effect on the thermal and mechanical properties of the substrate. Furthermore, the ZnO particles on cotton fabric show efficient antibacterial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negetive bacteria. Therefore, the developed polyamine mediated bioinspired coating method provides not only a facile and "green" synthesis for coating on flexible substrate but also the fabrication of antibacterial enabled materials for healthcare applications.
Development of effective platforms for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensing has mostly focused on fabrication of colloidal metal surfaces and tuning of their surface morphologies, designed to create "hot spots" in which plasmonic fields yield enhanced SERS signals. We fabricated distinctive SERS-active flexible films comprising polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) embedding carbon dots (C-dots) and coated with silver nano-particles (Ag NPs). We show that the polymer-associated Ag NPs and C-dots intimately affected the physical properties of each other. In particular, the C-dot-Ag-NP-polymer films exhibited SERS properties upon deposition of versatile targets, both conventional SERS-active dyes as well as bacterial samples. We show that the SERS response was correlated to the formation C-dots within the polymer film and the physical proximity between the C-dots and Ag NPs, indicating that coupling between the plasmonic fields of the Ag NPs and C-dots' excitons constituted a prominent factor in the SERS properties.
A bio-inspired approach for the fabrication of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) embedded ZnO nanostructure has been attempted to address issues pertaining to charge recombination and photocorrosion in ZnO for application as an effective photocatalyst. Herein we demonstrate the synthesis of rGO-ZnO nanostructures in a single step using polyamines, which simultaneously aid in the mineralization of ZnO nanostructures from zinc nitrate, reduction of graphene oxide (GO), and finally their assembly to form rGO-ZnO composite structures under environmentally benign conditions. The interspersed nanocomponents in the assembled heterostructures result in enhanced photocatalytic activity under UV light, indicating an effective charge separation of the excited electrons. Furthermore, the composite structure provides stability against photocorrosion for efficient recyclability of the catalyst.
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