Pulsed laser ablation and incubation of nickel, iron and tungsten in liquids and air

Incubation effects in the nanosecond laser ablation of metals exhibit a strong dependence on the thermal and mechanical properties of both the target material and the background gas or liquid. The incubation in air is controlled mainly by thermal properties such as the heat of vaporization. In liquid, the correlation of the incubation and the ultimate tensile stress of the metals suggests that incubation may be related to the mechanical impact on the solid material by the cavitation bubble collapse, causing accumulation of voids and cracks in the subsurface region of the ablation craters. At high ultimate tensile stress, however, the low sensitivity to the environment suggests that the mechanical impact is likely to play a negligible role in the incubation. Finally, the correlation between the incubation and the carbon content of alcoholic liquids may be explained by an absorptivity increase of the cavity surfaces due to carbonaceous deposits generated by laser-induced pyrolysis, or by the mechanical impact of long-living bubbles at higher dynamic viscosity of liquids

(S)TEM structural and compositional nanoanalyses of chemically synthesized glutathione-shelled nanoparticles

This work is focused on the characterization by transmission and scanning–transmission electron microscopy-related techniques of core–shell nanoparticles synthesized via chemical methods. Diferent semiconducting, pure metallic or oxide materials have been utilized as the core (cadmium telluride, gold, magnetite, or magnetite covered with gold) of the nanoparticle, while they have been, in all cases, functionalized by a thin amorphous glutathione layer, with the goal of using the nanoparticles in biomedical applications such as biomarkers, and computerized tomography and image magnetic resonance contrast agents. The results show that it is possible to visualize the glutathione layer using spectroscopic and imaging techniques, associated with electron microscopy (such as energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images), that this layer is present at the surfaces of all observed nanoparticles, and that it is no thicker than a few nanometers. Electron microscopy also revealed that the nanoparticles core is crystalline and, in average, around 5-nm size.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness MAT2015-67354-R (Program “Plan I+D+i”, subprogram “Retos”)Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture Grants ICARO-173873Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture Grants FPU16-0438

Superficial Characteristics and Functionalization Effectiveness of Non-Toxic Glutathione-Capped Magnetic, Fluorescent, Metallic and Hybrid Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

An optimal design of nanoparticles suitable for biomedical applications requires proper functionalization, a key step in the synthesis of such nanoparticles, not only for subsequent crosslinking to biological targets and to avoid cytotoxicity, but also to endow these materials with colloidal stability. In this sense, a reliable characterization of the effectiveness of the functionalization process would, therefore, be crucial for subsequent bioconjugations. In this work, we have analyzed glutathione as a means to functionalize four of the most widely used nanoparticles in biomedicine, one of which is a hybrid gold-magnetic-iron-oxide nanoparticle synthetized by a simple and novel method that we propose in this article. We have analyzed the colloidal characteristics that the glutathione capping provides to the different nanoparticles and, using information on the Z-potential, we have deduced the chemical group used by glutathione to link to the nanoparticle core. We have used electron microscopy for further structural and chemical characterization of the nanoparticles. Finally, we have evaluated nanoparticle cytotoxicity, studying cell viability after incubation with different concentrations of nanoparticles, showing their suitability for biomedical applications

Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Synthesis and Surface Functionalization Strategies

Surface functionalized magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are a kind of novel functional materials, which have been widely used in the biotechnology and catalysis. This review focuses on the recent development and various strategies in preparation, structure, and magnetic properties of naked and surface functionalized iron oxide NPs and their corresponding application briefly. In order to implement the practical application, the particles must have combined properties of high magnetic saturation, stability, biocompatibility, and interactive functions at the surface. Moreover, the surface of iron oxide NPs could be modified by organic materials or inorganic materials, such as polymers, biomolecules, silica, metals, etc. The problems and major challenges, along with the directions for the synthesis and surface functionalization of iron oxide NPs, are considered. Finally, some future trends and prospective in these research areas are also discussed

Síntesis de partículas magnéticas ultrafinas mediante pirólisis láser para su publicación en resonancia magnética de imagen

Tesis Doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Química Inorgánica.Fecha de lectura : 6-2-200

Ex vivo assessment of polyol coated-iron oxide nanoparticles for MRI diagnosis applications: toxicological and MRI contrast enhancement effects

et al.Polyol synthesis is a promising method to obtain directly pharmaceutical grade colloidal dispersion of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). Here, we study the biocompatibility and performance as T2-MRI contrast agents (CAs) of high quality magnetic colloidal dispersions (average hydrodynamic aggregate diameter of 16-27 nm) consisting of polyol-synthesized SPIONs (5 nm in mean particle size) coated with triethylene glycol (TEG) chains (TEG-SPIONs), which were subsequently functionalized to carboxyl-terminated meso-2-3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) coated-iron oxide nanoparticles (DMSA-SPIONs). Standard MTT assays on HeLa, U87MG, and HepG2 cells revealed that colloidal dispersions of TEG-coated iron oxide nanoparticles did not induce any loss of cell viability after 3 days incubation with dose concentrations below 50 μg Fe/ml. However, after these nanoparticles were functionalized with DMSA molecules, an increase on their cytotoxicity was observed, so that particles bearing free terminal carboxyl groups on their surface were not cytotoxic only at low concentrations (<10 μg Fe/ml). Moreover, cell uptake assays on HeLa and U87MG and hemolysis tests have demonstrated that TEG-SPIONs and DMSA-SPIONs were well internalized by the cells and did not induce any adverse effect on the red blood cells at the tested concentrations. Finally, in vitro relaxivity measurements and post mortem MRI studies in mice indicated that both types of coated-iron oxide nanoparticles produced higher negative T2-MRI contrast enhancement than that measured for a similar commercial T2-MRI CAs consisting in dextran-coated ultra-small iron oxide nanoparticles (Ferumoxtran-10). In conclusion, the above attributes make both types of as synthesized coated-iron oxide nanoparticles, but especially DMSA-SPIONs, promising candidates as T2-MRI CAs for nanoparticle-enhanced MRI diagnosis applications. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media.This research was supported by ARAID Foundation (Regional Government of Aragon), and ‘‘Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red—Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina’’ (CIBER-BBN), through the intramural research projects IMAFEN (2008–2009) NANOMAG (2008–2009), PROGLIO (2010–2011), and PROGLIO2 (2012–2013). OBM thanks the financial support from the ‘‘Ramón y Cajal Program’’ of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO). AGR would like to thank the funding of Spanish Ministerio de Educación, through Programa Nacional de Movilidad de Recursos Humanos 2011.Peer Reviewe

A facile synthetic route for the preparation of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanorods and nanorices with tunable surface functionality

A study was conducted to demonstrate a facile synthetic route for the preparation of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanorods and nanorices with tunable surface functionalities, comprising inorganic coating of different types. Some of the different coatings used in the study, include alumina and zirconia. The study demonstrated that alumina is a suitable coating for studying the dependence of the cellular uptake of nanoparticles, as a function of the surface charge. It was found that alumina has an isoelectric point around 9 and is positively charged at physiological pH. It was also observed that the ;preferential uptake of particles, with positively charged surfaces by negatively charged membranes occurs, as a result of alumina being positively charged at physiological pH.Peer Reviewe

Laser pyrolysis preparation of SiO2-coated magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Proceedings of the Joint European Magnetic Symposia (JEMS' 04)The encapsulation of magnetic particles into silica has been achieved efficiently in a single and continuous process by laser-induced pyrolysis of ferrocene and TEOS aerosols. This process results in rather homogeneous iron/magnetite particles smaller than 10 nm in diameter surrounded by a SiO2 coating of about 20 nm. Interactions between the metal core and the passivation layer dominates the coercivity at low temperature in these systems

Laser‐assisted synthesis of colloidal FeWxOy and Fe/FexOy nanoparticles in wWater and ethanol

Homogeneous polycrystalline FexOy nanoparticles were generated by ablation of iron targets in water by nanosecond laser pulses at 532 nm. In ethanol, crystalline core‐shell Fe/FexOy structures with size medians around 20 nm were produced. The ablation of FeWxOy targets in water resulted in crystalline hollow shells and homogeneous FeWxOy nanoparticles. In contrast, amorphous core‐shell FeWxOy nanoparticles with a median size of 17 nm were produced in ethanol. The size distribution of both the FexOy and the FeWxOy particles showed a slight dependence on fluence and pulse number. This may be related to primary and secondary ablation and modification mechanisms.Partial financial support by the H2020 Action MSCA‐IF 656908‐NIMBLIS‐ESR is acknowledged. Further partial funding came from the National Science Foundation through Grant CMMI‐1301298, and the MAT2015‐67354‐R project of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO).Peer reviewe

Core-shell iron-iron oxide nanoparticles synthesized by laser-induced pyrolysis

Passivated iron nanoparticles (10-30 nm) have been synthesized by laser pyrolysis of a mixture of iron pentacarbonyl and ethylene vapors followed by controlled oxidation. The nanoparticles show a well-constructed iron-iron oxide core-shell structure, in which the thickness and nature (structure similar to maghemite, γ-Fe2O3) of the shell is found to be independent of the initial conditions. On the other hand, the composition of the core is found to change with the particle size from the α-Fe structure to a highly disordered Fe phase (probably containing C atoms in its structure). The dependence of the magnetic properties on the particle size, iron oxide fraction, and temperature was also investigated. In the case of smaller particles, the magnetic data indicate the existence at low temperature of a large exchange anisotropy field, the magnitude of which increases with decreasing temperature in correspondence with the freezing of magnetic moments in the oxide shell. © 2006 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.Peer Reviewe