Nitric oxide (NO)-release in blood serum initiated by gold nanoparticles has been prove to be a reaction between RSNO and the gold nanoparitcles. In this reaction the NO production was catalyzed on the surface of the nanoparticles, and a new bond of Au-thiolate was simultaneously formed.

We report a new approach to produce macroporous ( approximately 110 nm in diameter) ordered siliceous foams (MOSF) by using block copolymers as templates in the absence of any organic cosolvent. The fine three-dimensional honeycomb structure of MOSF was determined by electron tomography. A formation mechanism of MOSF that spans from the atomic to macroscopic scale is proposed, which involves the cooperative self-assembly of unilamellar vesicles followed by the supra-assembly of vesicles. The fusion of soft vesicles finally leads to MOSF with well-ordered and defined honeycomb structures.

Recent advances and progress in redox-responsive polymeric nanosystems for biomedical applications are discussed in this review article.

(K,Na)NbO3 (KNN) particles were successfully prepared by hydrothermal synthesis. The results showed that Na+ reacted more readily with Nb to form NaNbO3 than K+. For the purpose of obtaining KNN particles with K/Na=1, a mixed alkaline solution with K+/Na+ ratios ranging from 3.5/1 to 4/1 was required as a starting solution. The morphology and size of KNN particles synthesized strongly depended on K/Na ratio in the KNN particles. The KNN particles synthesized from the starting alkaline solution with K+/Na+=3.5/1 were the smallest with a pelletlike morphology affected by NaNbO3- and KNbO3-based particles. Surfactants such as sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) and sodium hexametaphosphate (SH) were used to synthesize well dispersed and small KNN particles. Platelike KNN particles with 100 nm thickness and 1.5 µm width were obtained in this study.

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Biodiesel is the fatty acid alkyl esters produced by the transesterification of vegetable, animal or microbial lipids. After ethanol, it accounts for the largest proportion of global biofuel production. Yet, due to the level of polyunsaturation, biodiesel is also oxidatively unstable. When biodiesel oxidizes the viscosity increases, which leads to reduced fuel performance and in extreme cases can lead to engine failure. To aid in understanding the process of this degradation a specialist NMR tube rig was designed to assess the oxidation of biodiesel. The NMR tube rig allowed the in situ 1 H NMR measurement of the sample while air was bubbled through at fixed intervals. The methyl esters of linolenic acid (18:3), linoleic acid (18:2) and oleic acid (18:1) were oxidised at 110 °C over a 24 hour period. The decomposition of biodiesel is complex, and there is more than one mechanism involved in the degradation. Using this rig the onset of oxidation for 18:3 and 18:2 was found to be almost instantaneous. The rate of oxidation was found to be slightly less for 18:2 than 18:3 2 while the maximum rate was observed for 18:3 from the beginning of the oxidation, this was only observed after 280 mins for 18:2. The oxidation of 18:1 started at approximately 500 minutes and, slowly degraded during the remaining reaction time. The formation of a number of secondary oxidation products such as aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and formates were also quantified.