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This work examines the effect of nanocrystal diameter and surface coating on the reactivity of cerium oxide nanocrystals with H2O2 both in chemical solutions and in cells. Monodisperse nanocrystals were formed in organic solvents from the decomposition of cerium precursors, and subsequently phase transferred into water using amphiphiles as nanoparticle coatings. Quantitative analysis of the antioxidant capacity of CeO2-x using gas chromatography and a luminol test revealed that 2 mol of H2O2 reacted with every mole of cerium(III), suggesting that the reaction proceeds via a Fenton-type mechanism. Smaller diameter nanocrystals containing more cerium(III) were found to be more reactive toward H2O2. Additionally, the presence of a surface coating did not preclude the reaction between the nanocrystal surface cerium(III) and hydrogen peroxide. Taken together, the most reactive nanoparticles were the smallest (e.g., 3.8 nm diameter) with the thinnest surface coating (e.g., oleic acid). Moreover, a benchmark test of their antioxidant capacity revealed these materials were 9 times more reactive than commercial antioxidants such as Trolox. A unique feature of these antioxidant nanocrystals is that they can be applied multiple times: over weeks, cerium(IV) rich particles slowly return to their starting cerium(III) content. In nearly all cases, the particles remain colloidally stable (e.g., nonaggregated) and could be applied multiple times as antioxidants. These chemical properties were also observed in cell culture, where the materials were able to reduce oxidative stress in human dermal fibroblasts exposed to H2O2 with efficiency comparable to their solution phase reactivity. These data suggest that organic coatings on cerium oxide nanocrystals do not limit the antioxidant behavior of the nanocrystals, and that their redox cycling behavior can be preserved even when stabilized.

Spectral energy transfer in a turbulent channel flow is investigated at Reynolds number $Re_{\unicode[STIX]{x1D70F}}\simeq 1700$, based on the wall shear velocity and channel half-height, with a particular emphasis on full visualization of triadic wave interactions involved in turbulent transport. As in previous studies, turbulent production is found to be almost uniform, especially over the logarithmic region, and the related spanwise integral length scale is approximately proportional to the distance from the wall. In the logarithmic and outer regions, the energy balance at the integral length scales is mainly formed between production and nonlinear turbulent transport, the latter of which plays the central role in the energy cascade down to the Kolmogorov microscale. While confirming the classical role of the turbulent transport, the triadic wave interaction analysis unveils two new types of scale interaction processes, highly active in the near-wall and the lower logarithmic regions. First, for relatively small energy-containing motions, part of the energy transfer mechanisms from the integral to the adjacent small length scale in the energy cascade is found to be provided by the interactions between larger energy-containing motions. It is subsequently shown that this is related to involvement of large energy-containing motions in skin-friction generation. Second, there exists a non-negligible amount of energy transfer from small to large integral scales in the process of downward energy transfer to the near-wall region. This type of scale interaction is predominant only for the streamwise and spanwise velocity components, and it plays a central role in the formation of the wall-reaching inactive part of large energy-containing motions. A further analysis reveals that this type of scale interaction leads the wall-reaching inactive part to scale in the inner units, consistent with the recent observation. Finally, it is proposed that turbulence production and pressure–strain spectra support the existence of the self-sustaining process as the main turnover dynamics of all the energy-containing motions.

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Most nanoparticles for biomedical applications originate from the self-assembling of individual constituents through molecular interactions and possess limited geometry control and stability. Here, 1000 × 400 nm discoidal polymeric nanoconstructs (DPNs) are demonstrated by mixing hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers with lipid chains and curing the resulting paste directly within silicon templates. By changing the paste composition, soft- and rigid-DPNs (s- and r-DPNs) are synthesized exhibiting the same geometry, a moderately negative surface electrostatic charge (-14 mV), and different mechanical stiffness (∼1.3 and 15 kPa, respectively). Upon injection in mice bearing nonorthotopic brain or skin cancers, s-DPNs exhibit ∼24 h circulation half-life and accumulate up to ∼20% of the injected dose per gram tumor, detecting malignant masses as small as ∼0.1% the animal weight via PET imaging. This unprecedented behavior is ascribed to the unique combination of geometry, surface properties, and mechanical stiffness which minimizes s-DPN sequestration by the mononuclear phagocyte system. Our results could boost the interest in using less conventional delivery systems for cancer theranosis.

Molecular-based contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are often characterized by insufficient relaxivity, thus requiring the systemic injection of high doses to induce sufficient contrast enhancement at the target site. In this work, gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) nanoplates are produced via a thermal decomposition method. The nanoplates have a core diameter varying from 2 to 22 nm, a thickness of 1 to 2 nm and are coated with either an oleic acid bilayer or an octylamine modified poly(acrylic acid) (PAA-OA) polymer layer. For the smaller nanoplates, longitudinal relaxivities (r1) of 7.96 and 47.2 (mM s)(-1) were measured at 1.41 T for the oleic acid bilayer and PAA-OA coating, respectively. These values moderately reduce as the size of the Gd2O3 nanoplates increases, and are always larger for the PAA-OA coating. Cytotoxicity studies on human dermal fibroblast cells documented no significant toxicity, with 100% cell viability preserved up to 250 μM for the PAA-OA coated Gd2O3 nanoplates. Given the 10 times increase in longitudinal relaxivity over the commercially available Gd-based molecular agents and the favorable toxicity profile, the 2 nm PAA-OA coated Gd2O3 nanoplates could represent a new class of highly effective T1 MRI contrast agents.

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