Spintronique dans des assemblées de nanoparticules

In the last years, the progressive miniaturization of magnetic storage devices has imposed the necessity to understand how the physical properties are modified with respect to the bulk when the dimensions are reduced at the nanometric scale. For this reason an accurate method of preparation and characterization of nanostructures is extremely important. This work focuses on the magnetic and transport properties of cluster-assembled nanostructures, namely cobalt nanoparticles embedded in copper matrices. Our setup allows us to independently control the mean cluster size, the concentration and the chemical composition. The cobalt cluster production is based on magnetron sputtering and gas phase aggregation. The performance of the source permits a wide range of cluster masses, from one to several thousand atoms. As a first step we studied the role of inter-particle interactions in the transport and magnetic properties, increasing the cobalt nanoparticle concentration (from 0.5% to 2.5% and 5%). Our results demonstrate the necessary precautions and constitute a solid basis for further studies of the spintronic properties of granular systems. Finally, in order to describe the intrinsic magnetic properties of cluster-assembled nanostructures, we prepared strongly diluted samples (_0.5%) for different cluster sizes from 1.9 nm to 5.5 nm. We found that the magnetic properties are size-dependent. Using a complete magnetic characterization, sensitive to the change in the effective magnetic anisotropy, we show that the magnetic anisotropy is dominated by the contributions of the surface or of the shape of the nanoparticlesDans les dernières années, la miniaturisation progressive des dispositifs de stockage magnétique a rendu nécessaire de comprendre comment les propriétés physiques sont modifiées par rapport à l'état massif lorsque les dimensions sont réduites à l'échelle nanométrique. Pour cette raison, une méthode précise de préparation et caractérisation de nanostructures est extrêmement importante. Ce travail se concentre sur les propriétés magnétiques et de transport de nanoparticules de cobalt incorporées dans des matrices de cuivre. Notre dispositif expérimental nous permet de contrôler indépendamment la taille moyenne des agrégats, la concentration et la composition chimique. La production des agrégats de cobalt est basée sur la pulvérisation cathodique et l'agrégation dans la phase gazeuse. Cette source permet de produire des agrégats dans une large gamme de taille, de un à plusieurs milliers d'atomes. Dans un premier temps, nous avons étudié le rôle des interactions entre particules dans les propriétés de transport et magnétiques, en augmentant la concentration des nanoparticules de cobalt (à partir de 0.5 % à 2.5 % et 5 %). Nos résultats démontrent les précautions nécessaires et constituent une base solide pour de futures études sur les propriétés spintroniques des systèmes granulaires. Dans le but de décrire les propriétés magnétiques intrinsèques d'agrégats, nous avons préparé des échantillons fortement dilués (_0.5%) pour différents diamètres d'agrégats de 1.9 nm à 5.5 nm. Nous avons constaté que les propriétés magnétiques sont dépendantes de la taille. L'utilisation d'une caractérisation magnétique complète, sensible à la variation de l'anisotropie magnétique efficace, nous montre que l'anisotropie magnétique est dominée par les contributions de la surface ou de la forme des nanoparticule

Size effects of the magnetic anisotropy of fcc cobalt nanoparticles embedded in copper

COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESCobalt nanoparticles embedded in copper matrices show strong size effects in the magnetic anisotropy with a non-monotonous dependence on the particle diameter. In this article we discuss quantitative values of the magnetic anisotropy in the frame of two models: in small clusters the surface anisotropy contribution dominates whereas larger particles (gt;3 nm diameter) have an elliptic shape leading to increased shape anisotropy. The crystalline structure of the particles is shown to be face-centered cubic, justifying that the magneto-crystalline anisotropy can be neglected.711215COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPESCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPES88881.030488/2013-01We thank O. Boisron, C. Albin, C. Clavier and N. Blanchard for technical support. This work was performed using the Lyon Cluster Research Platform PLYRA and the Lyon Center for Magnetometry CML. This study was funded by the Science Without Borders "Special Visiting Scientist" program (grant number 88881.030488/2013-01) and through a "Chaire Francaise dans l'Etat de São Paulo" for M.H. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest

Size effects of the magnetic anisotropy of fcc cobalt nanoparticles embedded in copper

Cobalt nanoparticles embedded in copper matrices show strong size effects in the magnetic anisotropy with a non-monotonous dependence on the particle diameter. In this article we discuss quantitative values of the magnetic anisotropy in the frame of two models: in small clusters the surface anisotropy contribution dominates whereas larger particles ( >3 nm diameter) have an elliptic shape leading to increased shape anisotropy. The crystalline structure of the particles is shown to be face-centered cubic, justifying that the magneto-crystalline anisotropy can be neglected

Soluble Free, Esterified and Insoluble-Bound Phenolic Antioxidants from Chickpeas Prevent Cytotoxicity in Human Hepatoma HuH-7 Cells Induced by Peroxyl Radicals

Chickpeas are rich sources of bioactive compounds such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, and isoflavonoids. However, the contribution of insoluble-bound phenolics to their antioxidant properties remains unclear. Four varieties of chickpeas were evaluated for the presence of soluble (free and esterified) and insoluble-bound phenolics as well as their antiradical activity, reducing power and inhibition of peroxyl-induced cytotoxicity in human HuH-7 cells. In general, the insoluble-bound fraction showed a higher total phenolic content. Phenolic acids, flavonoids, and isoflavonoids were identified and quantified by UPLC-MS/MS. Taxifolin was identified for the first time in chickpeas. However, m-hydroxybenzoic acid, taxifolin, and biochanin A were the main phenolics found. Biochanin A was mostly found in the free fraction, while m-hydroxybenzoic acid was present mainly in the insoluble-bound form. The insoluble-bound fraction made a significant contribution to the reducing power and antiradical activity towards peroxyl radical. Furthermore, all extracts decreased the oxidative damage of human HuH-7 cells induced by peroxyl radicals, thus indicating their hepatoprotective potential. This study demonstrates that the antioxidant properties and bioactive potential of insoluble-bound phenolics of chickpeas should not be neglected

Functionalization of stable fluorescent nanodiamonds towards reliable detection of biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Stable and non-toxic fluorescent markers are gaining attention in molecular diagnostics as powerful tools for enabling long and reliable biological studies. Such markers should not only have a long half-life under several assay conditions showing no photo bleaching or blinking but also, they must allow for their conjugation or functionalization as a crucial step for numerous applications such as cellular tracking, biomarker detection and drug delivery. Results: We report the functionalization of stable fluorescent markers based on nanodiamonds (NDs) with a bifunctional peptide. This peptide is made of a cell penetrating peptide and a six amino acids long β-sheet breaker peptide that is able to recognize amyloid β (Aβ) aggregates, a biomarker for the Alzheimer disease. Our results indicate that functionalized NDs (fNDs) are not cytotoxic and can be internalized by the cells. The fNDs allow ultrasensitive detection (at picomolar concentrations of NDs) o

Encapsulation of gold nanostructures and oil-in-water nanocarriers in microgels with biomedical potential

Here we report the incorporation of gold nanostructures (nanospheres or nanorods, functionalized with carboxylate-end PEG) and curcumin oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsions (CurNem) into alginate microgels using the dripping technique. While gold nanostructures are promising nanomaterials for photothermal therapy applications, CurNem possess important pharmacological activities as reported here. In this sense, we evaluated the effect of CurNem on cell viability of both cancerous and non-cancerous cell lines (AGS and HEK293T, respectively), demonstrating preferential toxicity in cancer cells and safety for the non-cancerous cells. After incorporating gold nanostructures and CurNem together into the microgels, microstructures with diameters of 220 and 540 mu m were obtained. When stimulating microgels with a laser, the plasmon effect promoted a significant rise in the temperature of the medium; the temperature increase was higher for those containing gold nanorods (11-12 degrees C) than nanospheres (1-2 degrees C). Interestingly, the incorporation of both nanosystems in the microgels maintains the photothermal properties of the gold nanostructures unmodified and retains with high efficiency the curcumin nanocarriers. We conclude that these results will be of interest to design hydrogel formulations with therapeutic applications.This research was funded by FONDECYT 1161450, 1150744, 11130494 and 1170929, FONDEQUIP EQM160157, EQM170111, CONICYT-FONDAP 15130011, and CONICYT PhD Scholarship 21141137