We describe a novel multicomponent graphene nanostructured system that is biocompatible, and has strong NIR optical absorbance and superparamagnetic properties. The fabrication of the multicomponent nanostructure system involves the covalent attachment of 3 components; Fe(3)O(4)(Fe) nanoparticles, PAMAM-G4-NH(2) (G4) dendrimer and Cy5 (Cy) on a graphene oxide (GO) surface to synthesize a biologically relevant multifunctional system. The resultant GO-G4-Fe-Cy nanosystem exhibits high dispersion in an aqueous medium, and is magnetically responsive and fluorescent. In vitro experiments provide a clear indication of successful uptake of the GO-G4-Fe-Cy nanosystem by MCF-7 breast cancer cells, and it is seen to behave as a bright and stable fluorescent marker. The study also reveals varied cellular distribution kinetics profile for the GO nanostructured system compared to free Cy. Furthermore, the newly developed GO nanostructured system is observed to be non-toxic to MDA-MB-231 cell growth, in striking contrast to free G4 dendrimer and GO-G4 conjugate. The GO-G4-Fe-Cy nanostructured system characterized by multifunctionality suggests the merits of graphene for cellular bioimaging and the delivery of bioactives.

A solid silver-ligand complex, μ-oxolato-bis(ethylenediaminesilver(I)), was developed for formulating particle-free conductive metal-organic decomposition (MOD) inkjet inks. The complex comprises both a high molar silver content and solubility in inkjet compatible polar solvents. An aqueous ink formulation with 29.5 wt % silver content was developed and inkjet printed onto glass, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyimide substrates. A new hybrid thermal-photonic curing approach resulting in substantially improved electrical properties and substrate adhesion is presented. Silver conductive traces were measured to have bulk resistivity of 4.26 × 10 Ω m, which is 2.7 times that of bulk silver. One-pot complex synthesis yielded an easily isolated, and stable, solid product that can be formulated when needed thereby improving shelf life.

Here, we report a non-invasive strategy for isolating cancer cells by autonomously propelled carbon nanotube (CNT) microrockets. H2O2-driven oxygen (O2) bubble-propelled microrockets were synthesized using CNT and Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the inner surface and covalently conjugating transferrin on the outer surface. Results show that self-propellant microrockets can specifically capture cancer cells.

A pH‐responsive dendrimer templated polymer‐calcium phosphate core shell nanostructure is developed. Upon exposure to cellular lysosomal pH, a guest anticancer drug is released from the nanocapsule by dissolution of the CaP shell. Such a stimuli responsive carrier enables on‐demand controlled release of drugs in acidic organelles.

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Advanced delivery systems, such as nano/micro carriers have not been studied significantly for their molecular interactions with serum proteins and other biologically relevant macromolecules. Here, we investigated the effect of surface chemistry of iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles on molecular interactions with human insulin by fluorescence, XRD and FTIR spectroscopy. Nanoparticles of Fe3O4 were chemically modified as Fe3O4-glutathione (GSH) and Fe3O4-GSH-polyamidoamine generation 4 (PAMAM G4) dendrimer. Our results demonstrate that, Fe3O4 and its conjugates such as Fe3O4-GSH, Fe3O4-GSH-G4 quenched insulin fluorescence, indicating strong interactions between insulin protein molecule and Fe3O4. The fluorescence quenching constants Ksv were obtained as 0.0367 x 10(3), 0.0303 x 10(3) and 0.0131 x 10(3) M and the binding constant K were found to be 27.095, 8.404 and 6.026 mM for Fe3O4, Fe3O4-GSH and Fe3O4-GSH-PAMAM G4, respectively. Both the Ksv and K (binding constant) values revealed that the interaction of Fe3O4 with insulin to be stronger over to dendrimer conjugates. In addition, the FTIR spectra suggested that the presence of nanoparticles results in secondary structure alteration in the insulin conformation. The study implies the critical evaluation of new delivery systems in establishing the biocompatibility, especially when delivered by systemic route.