No abstract

The interest in nanodiamond applications in biology and medicine is on the rise over recent years. This is due to the unique combination of properties that nanodiamond provides. Small size (∼5 nm), low cost, scalable production, negligible toxicity, chemical inertness of diamond core and rich chemistry of nanodiamond surface, as well as bright and robust fluorescence resistant to photobleaching are the distinct parameters that render nanodiamond superior to any other nanomaterial when it comes to biomedical applications. The most exciting recent results have been related to the use of nanodiamonds for drug delivery and diagnostics—two components of a quickly growing area of biomedical research dubbed theranostics. However, nanodiamond offers much more in addition: it can be used to produce biodegradable bone surgery devices, tissue engineering scaffolds, kill drug resistant microbes, help us to fight viruses, and deliver genetic material into cell nucleus. All these exciting opportunities require an in-depth understanding of nanodiamond. This review covers the recent progress as well as general trends in biomedical applications of nanodiamond, and underlines the importance of purification, characterization, and rational modification of this nanomaterial when designing nanodiamond based theranostic platforms.

No abstract

Li‐halide hydroxides (Li2OHX) and Li‐oxyhalides (Li3OX) have emerged as new classes of low‐cost, lightweight solid state electrolytes (SSE) showing promising Li‐ion conductivities. The similarity in the lattice parameters between them, careless synthesis, and insufficient rigor in characterization often lead to erroneous interpretations of their compositions. Finally, moisture remaining in the synthesis or cell assembling environment and variability in the equivalent circuit models additionally contribute to significant errors in their properties. Thus, there remains a controversy about the real values of Li‐ion conductivities in such SSEs. Here an ultra‐fast synthesis and comprehensive material characterization is utilized to report on the ionic conductivities of contaminant‐free Li2+xOH1−xCl (x=0‐0.7), and Li2OHBr not exceeding 10‐4 S cm‐1 at 110 °C. Using powerful combination of experimental and numerical approaches, it is demonstrated that the presence of H in these SSEs yields significantly higher Li+ ‐ionic conductivity. Born‐Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations show excellent agreement with experimental results and reveal an unexpected mechanism for faster Li+ transport. It involves rotation of a short OH‐group in SSEs, which opens lower‐energy pathways for the formation of Frenkel defects and highly‐correlated Li+ jumps. These findings will reduce the existing confusions and show new avenues for tuning SSE compositions for further improved Li‐ion conductivities.

No abstract

The synthesis of multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles (MF-MPs) is one of the most active research areas in advanced materials as their multifunctional surfaces allow conjugation of biological and chemical molecules, thus making it possible to achieve target-specific diagnostic in parallel to therapeutics. We report here a simple strategy to integrate in a one-step reaction several reactive sites onto the particles. The preparation of MF-MPs is based on their simultaneous modification with differently functionalized dopamine derivatives using simple solution chemistry. The formed MF-MPs show comparable magnetic properties to those of naked nanoparticles with almost unaltered particle size of around 25 nm. The different termini, amine, azide and maleimide functions, enable further functionalization of MF-MPs by the grafting-on approach. Michael addition, Cu(i) catalyzed « click » chemistry and amidation reactions are performed on the MF-MPs integrating subsequently 6-(ferrocenyl)-hexanethiol, horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and mannose.

The synthesis of superparamagnetic nanostructures, especially iron-oxide based nanoparticles (IONPs), with appropriate surface functional groups has been intensively researched for many high-technological applications, including high density data storage, biosensing and biomedicine. In medicine, IONPs are nowadays widely used as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in hyperthermia therapy, but are also exploited for drug and gene delivery, detoxification of biological fluids or immunoassays, as they are relatively non-toxic. The use of magnetic particles in vivo requires IONPs to have high magnetization values, diameters below 100 nm with overall narrow size distribution and long time stability in biological fluids. Due to the high surface energies of IONPs agglomeration over time is often encountered. It is thus of prime importance to modify their surface to prevent aggregation and to limit non-specific adsorption of biomolecules onto their surface. Such chemical modifications result in IONPs being well-dispersed and biocompatible, and allow for targeted delivery and specific interactions. The chemical nature of IONPs thus determines not only the overall size of the colloid, but also plays a significant role for in vivo and in vitro applications. This review discusses the different concepts currently used for the surface functionalization and coating of iron oxide nanoparticles. The diverse strategies for the covalent linking of drugs, proteins, enzymes, antibodies, and nucleotides will be discussed and the chemically relevant steps will be explained in detail.

The selective photothermal destruction of E. coli is shown.