Nanoparticles, Proteins, and Nucleic Acids: Biotechnology Meets Materials Science

Synthesis, Functionalization, and Bioconjugation of Monodisperse, Silica-Coated Gold Nanoparticles: Robust Bioprobes

“…[1] Their unique optical, electronic, and magnetic properties can be preserved permanently when the energetically favored aggregation tendency of nanoparticles is strictly suppressed by very strong, hermetic, surface encapsulation. [2] Since the pioneering research for the compact, silica-encapsulation of gold nanoparticles by Mulvaney and co-workers in 1996, [3] various silica-coated functional nanoparticles, including other noble-metal nanoparticles and luminescent quantum dots, have also been extensively studied, with a view to enhancing their colloidal stability in a wide range of solvents, from very polar to apolar.…”

Mesoscopic Assembly and Other Properties of Metal and Semiconductor Nanocrystals

“…Hence, in addition to controlling the size and the shape of the nanocrystals it is also necessary to tailor its surface with the right capping agent. In addition to traditional capping agents that include ions, surfactants and polymers, a new breed of ligands: dendrimers, hydrogen bonding fragments of protein, DNA and dyes, with pendent thiol groups, as well as silica layers have been used as capping agents [84][85][86]. In some cases, a layer of a noble metal is used as a buffer between the core nanocrystal and the ligand shell [87].…”

“…The change in the electronic structure of the nanocrystal manifests itself in many ways, one example being reactivity [166,167]. The fluorescent properties of semiconductor nanocrystals have drawn wide attention because of their potential use as labels in fluorescence bio-assays [25,26,84,[168][169][170]. When compared to dyes currently in use, the emission from fluorescent nanocrystals is brighter and sharper.…”

Colloidal Nanoreactors and Nanocontainers

“…The Natural Approach Although many naturally available nanocontainers are not suitable for technical applications, much interesting research work has been published that describes the use of various natural systems within nanomaterial science [3]. Especially in the field of biomineralization, significant progress has been made with so-called bio-nanoreactors [4±7].…”