Selective adsorption of PVP on the surface of silver nanoparticles

The use of surfactants to affect the shape evolution of silver nanoparticles is explored. This allows one to fine-tune the morphological evolution and the optical properties of the metal nanoparticles. Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) has been used as a surfactant to control the growth of silver nanoparticles at room temperature. In this paper, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to understand regio-selective adsorption of PVP that leads to the preferential growth of silver nanoparticles in dimethylformamide (DMF). The interaction energies between PVP and Ag(1 1 0), Ag(1 0 0) and Ag(1 1 1) crystal planes were calculated and in addition the length density profile of the surfactant on silver surfaces was also examined. Importantly, it has been demonstrated that the length distribution profiles analysis obtained from the molecular dynamics study fully explained the adsorption of PVP on the surface of silver nanoparticles through the carbonyl group of the PVP ring. The application of molecular dynamics simulation technique is important in understanding the evolution of silver nanoparticles and is vital in choosing the right surfactants

Synthesis, density functional theory, molecular dynamics and electrochemical studies of 3-thiopheneacetic acid-capped gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles capped with a bifunctional ligand, 3-thiopheneacetic acid (3-TAA) were synthesised by borohydride reduction at room temperature. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that the particle aggregates and had semi-linear partial linkages that could be attributed to multi-modal binding of the ligand with various gold nanoparticles through the terminal thiolether (–S–) group and oxygen of the carboxylic (–COOH) group. This bimodal interaction led to limited stability of the resultant nanoparticles when tested using highly electrolytic media. To investigate further, density functional theory (DFT) quantum chemical and molecular dynamic calculations were conducted. The energetically favorable binding modes of the ligand to gold nanoparticle surfaces using the Gaussian program were studied. The DFT results showed kinetic stability of Au–3-TAA–Au interactions leading to inter-particle coupling or aggregation. Electrochemical analysis of the resultant nature of the capping agent revealed that 3-thiopheneacetic acid did not form a polymer during the preparation of Au–3-TAA. The cyclic voltammograms of Au–3-TAA nanoparticles coated glassy carbon electrode showed a typical gold character with the oxidation and reduction peaks at 1.4 V and 0.9 V, respectively

Enzymatic activity of Lipase-Nanoparticle conjugates and the digestion of lipid liquid crystalline assemblies

Variants of lipase were attached to gold nanoparticles (NPs) and their enzymatic activity was studied. The two bioengineered lipase variants have been prepared with biotin groups attached to different residues on the protein outer surface. The biotinylation was evidenced by denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and quantified by the [2-(4'-hydroxyazobenzene)]benzoic acid spectrophotometric test. NPs of 14 ± 1 nm diameter coated with thiolated-polyethylene glycol ligands containing controlled proportions of biotin moieties have been prepared and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, small angle neutron scattering, and elemental analysis. These biotin-functionalized NPs were conjugated to lipase using streptavidin as a linker molecule. Enzyme activity assays on the lipase-nanoparticle conjugates show that the lipase loading and activity of the NPs can be controlled by varying the percentage of biotin groups in the particle protecting coat. The lipase-NP conjugates prepared using one variant display higher activity than those prepared using the other variant, demonstrating orientation-dependent enzyme activity. Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy was used to visualize the enzymatic activity of lipase-NP on well-defined lipid substrates. It was found that lipase-coated NPs are able to digest the substrates in a different manner in comparison to the free lipase