Corrosion‐Protected Hybrid Nanoparticles

Abstract

Nanoparticles composed of functional materials hold great promise for applications due to their unique electronic, optical, magnetic, and catalytic properties. However, a number of functional materials are not only difficult to fabricate at the nanoscale, but are also chemically unstable in solution. Hence, protecting nanoparticles from corrosion is a major challenge for those applications that require stability in aqueous solutions and biological fluids. Here, this study presents a generic scheme to grow hybrid 3D nanoparticles that are completely encapsulated by a nm thick protective shell. The method consists of vacuum‐based growth and protection, and combines oblique physical vapor deposition with atomic layer deposition. It provides wide flexibility in the shape and composition of the nanoparticles, and the environments against which particles are protected. The work demonstrates the approach with multifunctional nanoparticles possessing ferromagnetic, plasmonic, and chiral properties. The present scheme allows nanocolloids, which immediately corrode without protection, to remain functional, at least for a week, in acidic solutions.

Mobile Microrobots for Active Therapeutic Delivery

“…Bacteriobots must be ensured sterile, for example, by genetically engineering these microorganisms so that their proliferation and hazardous toxins are eliminated. For the synthetic designs, the presence of high concentration of salts in the living environment makes them amenable to wear and degradation over time …”

Recent advances in gold nanoparticles for biomedical applications: from hybrid structures to multi-functionality

“…2f). [59][60][61] 2.4.3 Au NP assemblies. Au NP assemblies are ensembles of Au NPs exhibiting collective properties and behaviours that are different from the individual building blocks.…”

“…169 Approval of clinical use of hybrid Au NPs will be even more challenging to obtain, because the combined toxicity from other components is often hard to characterise in the human body. Encapsulating the hybrid Au NPs within an inert shell (including PEG 170 and silica 20 ) might provide an effective solution, 60 but their body clearance mechanism is still not fully elucidated, leaving potential risk of bioaccumulation and chronic toxicity. Nevertheless, hybrid Au NPs could find easier translation in in vitro applications.…”

Chiroptical Sensing: A Conceptual Introduction

“…To reiterate, the best practice is to resort to a multiple chiroptical method in order to increase the confidence level of the assignment [11]. Since chirality can be manifested in many different ways, in this section we group chiroptical systems originating form three different strategies: individual, which is exhibited by helical molecules [16], or polymers [17], or helical nanoparticles [18]; collective, where chirality is originating from the relative orientation of individual molecules [19] or nanoparticles [20]; and induced chirality, were a chiral or achiral molecule undergoes a conformational change to adopt a chiral conformation ( Figure 4) [21]. Other approaches to render chiroptical systems such as integrated photonics [22], are not in the scope of this review.…”