Synthesis and functionalization of NaGdF₄:Yb,Er@NaGdF₄ core–shell nanoparticles for possible application as multimodal contrast agents

• Dovile Baziulyte-Paulaviciene,
• Vitalijus Karabanovas,
• Marius Stasys,
• Greta Jarockyte,
• Vilius Poderys,
• Simas Sakirzanovas and
• Ricardas Rotomskis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1815–1824, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.183

• stability, high resistance to photobleaching, and long emission lifetime [2][3]. As a unique class of luminescent phosphors, UCNPs show great promise in a broad range of applications ranging from bioimaging, biosensors, drug delivery, to photodynamic therapy [4][5][6][7][8]. Through combination with

Near-infrared-responsive, superparamagnetic Au@Co nanochains

• Varadee Vittur,
• Arati G. Kolhatkar,
• Shreya Shah,
• Irene Rusakova,
• Dmitri Litvinov and
• T. Randall Lee

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1680–1687, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.168

• unique properties of magnetic nanoparticles have led to diverse applications in the fields of magnetic data storage, catalysis, magnetic fluids, biosensors, drug delivery, and magnetic imaging [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Considerable efforts have been taken to tailor the magnetic properties to suit specific

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

• ], biosensors [25], molecular imaging [26], fuel cells [27] and catalysis [28]. The non-toxicity, abundance and the environmentally benign nature of these carbon-based materials makes them a remarkable class of materials with unique electrical and optical properties for diverse applications. In recent times

Luminescent supramolecular hydrogels from a tripeptide and nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots

• Maria C. Cringoli,
• Slavko Kralj,
• Marina Kurbasic,
• Massimo Urban and
• Silvia Marchesan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1553–1562, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.157

• . Their properties allow them to have an important impact in biological and environmental applications as alternatives to traditional, toxic, semiconductor-based quantum dots (QDs). They can be employed as biosensors in bioimaging, drug delivery, and in the photoreduction of metals, since they have

Nanostructures for sensors, electronics, energy and environment III

• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1530–1531, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.154

• Nunzio Motta School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering and Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George St., Brisbane 4001, Australia 10.3762/bjnano.8.154 Keywords: biosensors; electronics; energy; environment; gas sensors; solar cells; This

A biofunctionalizable ink platform composed of catechol-modified chitosan and reduced graphene oxide/platinum nanocomposite

• Peter Sobolewski,
• Agata Goszczyńska,
• Małgorzata Aleksandrzak,
• Karolina Urbaś,
• Joanna Derkowska,
• Agnieszka Bartoszewska,
• Jacek Podolski,
• Ewa Mijowska and
• Mirosława El Fray

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1508–1514, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.151

• , Szczecin, Poland 10.3762/bjnano.8.151 Abstract We present an ink platform for a printable polymer–graphene nanocomposite that is intended for the development of modular biosensors. The ink consists of catechol-modified chitosan and reduced graphene oxide decorated with platinum nanoparticles (rGO–Pt). We

• ; catechol; chitosan; graphene; piezoelectric printing; Introduction Biosensors are a key enabling technology for the paradigm shift towards decentralized, personalized and targeted medicine. They offer the potential to utilize the wealth of information provided by modern molecular biology (genomics and

• proteomics, in particular) during the crucial process of diagnosis. Importantly, an ideal biosensor platform needs to not only be sensitive and specific, but also flexible and affordable [1]. The past ten years have seen the growth of several technologies that hold much promise for the field of biosensors

Oxidative chemical vapor deposition of polyaniline thin films

• Yuriy Y. Smolin,
• Masoud Soroush and
• Kenneth K. S. Lau

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1266–1276, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.128

• in recent years for their use in solar cells [1][2][3][4][5][6], batteries [7], supercapacitors [8][9][10][11][12], sensors [13], biosensors [14], and microelectronics [15][16]. As devices continue to decrease in size, the integration of conducting polymers within nanomaterials using conventional

A top-down approach for fabricating three-dimensional closed hollow nanostructures with permeable thin metal walls

• Carlos Angulo Barrios and
• Víctor Canalejas-Tejero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1231–1237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.124

• flexibility and controllability offered by top-down nanofabrication techniques opens the door to the possibility of massive integration of these hollow 3D nano-objects on a chip for applications such as nanocontainers, nanoreactors, nanofluidics, nano-biosensors and photonic devices. Keywords: nanocages

Selective detection of Mg²⁺ ions via enhanced fluorescence emission using Au–DNA nanocomposites

• Tanushree Basu,
• Khyati Rana,
• Niranjan Das and
• Bonamali Pal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 762–771, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.79

• the change in fluorescence quenching due to the interaction of the DNA–Ag nanocluster with Hg2+ ions in water. Also, Ma and co-workers reported the emission modulation of DNA-templated fluorescent Ag nanocomposites by divalent Mg2+ ions in 2011 [7]. Presently, there are many biosensors which are based

Dispersion of single-wall carbon nanotubes with supramolecular Congo red – properties of the complexes and mechanism of the interaction

• Anna Jagusiak,
• Barbara Piekarska,
• Tomasz Pańczyk,
• Małgorzata Jemioła-Rzemińska,
• Elżbieta Bielańska,
• Barbara Stopa,
• Grzegorz Zemanek,
• Janina Rybarska,
• Irena Roterman and
• Leszek Konieczny

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 636–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.68

• ; Introduction Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) present enormous application potential in many areas of chemistry, technology and medicine and are currently one of the most intensely studied nanomaterials. Biomedical use of CNTs includes biosensors [1], bioimaging [2][3], drug delivery [4][5][6][7][8][9] and tissue

Fabrication of black-gold coatings by glancing angle deposition with sputtering

• Alan Vitrey,
• Rafael Alvarez,
• Alberto Palmero,
• María Ujué González and
• José Miguel García-Martín

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 434–439, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.46

• , separators to avoid cross effects in optical devices, thermal light emitters and electrodes of sensor or biosensors. In particular, gold is frequently used due to its high resistance to oxidation. As the spectrum of the solar radiation exhibits maximum irradiance in the visible range, finding a suitable

Comparison of four methods for the biofunctionalization of gold nanorods by the introduction of sulfhydryl groups to antibodies

• Xuefeng Wang,
• Zhong Mei,
• Yanyan Wang and
• Liang Tang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 372–380, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.39

• GNR biofunctionalization developed in this work. They can be extended to other Au nanostructures (e.g., spheres, cages) to develop new protein-based applications for biosensors and multiplexed biosensing by immobilization of different-sized nanorods. Experimental Materials Hydrogen tetrachloroaurate

Tailoring bifunctional hybrid organic–inorganic nanoadsorbents by the choice of functional layer composition probed by adsorption of Cu²⁺ ions

• Veronika V. Tomina,
• Inna V. Melnyk,
• Yuriy L. Zub,
• Aivaras Kareiva,
• Miroslava Vaclavikova,
• Gulaim A. Seisenbaeva and
• Vadim G. Kessler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 334–347, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.36

• promising materials for the application in a wide range of areas (chromatography, controlled drug delivery, bioseparation, chemo- and biosensors, biocatalysis). Naturally, there arose a question about the possibility of synthesis for such particles with bi- and multi-functional surface layers. The synthesis

Functionalized TiO₂ nanoparticles by single-step hydrothermal synthesis: the role of the silane coupling agents

• Antoine R. M. Dalod,
• Lars Henriksen,
• Tor Grande and
• Mari-Ann Einarsrud

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 304–312, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.33

• –shell structures or grafted nanoparticles [8], has resulted in new applications such as nanofiller for polymer nanocomposites [9][10], coatings [11], and biosensors [3][12]. Classical synthesis routes for surface-functionalized particles are following two steps: particles synthesis followed by a post

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering of self-assembled thiol monolayers and supported lipid membranes on thin anodic porous alumina

• Marco Salerno,
• Amirreza Shayganpour,
• Barbara Salis and
• Silvia Dante

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 74–81, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.8

• of the use of tAPA–Au substrates as a platform for the development of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) biosensors on living cells. In the future, these tAPA–Au-SLB substrates will be investigated also for drug delivery of bioactive agents from the APA pores. Keywords: anodic porous alumina

• surface roughness [3][4], the latter of which can play an important role in the adhesion and proliferation of cells [5][6][7]. The self-ordered nano-structured APA, also demonstrated recently as a possible nanolithographic mask [8][9] and for chemical sensors and biosensors [10], after coating with noble

• confirmed on quartz-Au by QCM-D technique. The present results point to the possible future use of the tAPA–Au surfaces as disposable substrates for assessing the cell functionality in biosensors/bioassays. SEM images (20,000× magnification, scale bar 1 µm) of tAPA substrates (thickness ≈500 nm), a) as

Streptavidin-coated gold nanoparticles: critical role of oligonucleotides on stability and fractal aggregation

• Roberta D'Agata,
• Pasquale Palladino and
• Giuseppe Spoto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1–11, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.1

• thorough understanding of the fundamental properties of bioconjugated AuNPs is of great importance for the design of highly sensitive and reliable functionalized AuNP-based assays. Keywords: biosensors; DNA; gold nanoparticles; nanoparticles aggregation; plasmonics; streptavidin; Introduction Gold

A novel electrochemical nanobiosensor for the ultrasensitive and specific detection of femtomolar-level gastric cancer biomarker miRNA-106a

• Maryam Daneshpour,
• Kobra Omidfar and
• Hossein Ghanbarian

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2023–2036, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.193

• method for sensitive, specific and non-invasive miRNA detections in early cancer diagnosis [8]. Biosensors are commonly defined as devices composed of recognition elements interfaced with a transducer, which finally transform a capture process into a detectable output signal. This signal, which is almost

• always the result of a specific bio-interaction, could be received as an evident change in color, pH value, or electrochemical properties of the microenvironment [17][18]. Among all types of biosensors, electrochemical sensors have been of great interest particularly because they are simple, portable

• been recently employed to improve the detection sensitivity and also the stability of the electrochemical biosensors. It has been shown that these approaches can strongly amplify the signal, extend the linear detection range, and lower the detection limit of the assay [19]. Nowadays, electrochemical

Layered composites of PEDOT/PSS/nanoparticles and PEDOT/PSS/phthalocyanines as electron mediators for sensors and biosensors

• Celia García-Hernández,
• Cristina García-Cabezón,
• Fernando Martín-Pedrosa,
• José Antonio De Saja and
• María Luz Rodríguez-Méndez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1948–1959, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.186

• biosensors containing tyrosinase and laccase, and they combine the recognition and biocatalytic properties of biomolecules with the unique catalytic features of composite materials. The observed increase in the intensity of the responses allowed detection limits of 1 × 10−7 mol·L−1 to be attained. Keywords

• character which is an intrinsic semiconductor) [9][16][17][18]. On the other hand, enzymatic electrochemical biosensors based on phenol oxidases are a good alternative to analyze phenols due to their high sensitivity and selectivity. Tyrosinase oxidizes monophenols and o-diphenols to the corresponding

• electron mediators to facilitate the transfer of electrons from the enzyme to the electrode [20]. PEDOT/PSS is becoming popular as an electron mediator in biosensing [21][22]. Gold nanoparticles and phthalocyanines have also been positively demonstrated as electron mediators in tyrosinase biosensors [16

Low temperature co-fired ceramic packaging of CMOS capacitive sensor chip towards cell viability monitoring

• Niina Halonen,
• Joni Kilpijärvi,
• Maciej Sobocinski,
• Timir Datta-Chaudhuri,
• Antti Hassinen,
• Someshekar B. Prakash,
• Peter Möller,
• Pamela Abshire,
• Sakari Kellokumpu and
• Anita Lloyd Spetz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1871–1877, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.179

• Eitel reported a LTCC material as a substrate for biosensors that is regarded as biocompatible [22]. Also, from our experience, cell growth, at least over 24 h, seems to be fully compatible with the LTCC material [23]. We suggest that the previous statement about LTCC material being non-biocompatible

Surface-enhanced infrared absorption studies towards a new optical biosensor

• Lothar Leidner,
• Julia Stäb,
• Jennifer T. Adam and
• Günter Gauglitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1736–1742, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.166

• -enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA); Introduction Optical biosensors play an important role in the detection and quantification of analytes. Among others, some applications include point-of-care testing (POCT), the monitoring of blood, urine, sudor and respiratory air, and the search for metabolites and

• markers for many diseases. Optical biosensors are used in basic research and life science, for example, to study protein–protein interactions [1][2]. A subfield of optical biosensors are those operated through direct optical detection. Direct optical sensing relates to the detection of analyte molecules

• many optical biosensors operating in the visible or near-infrared wavelength regimes with great success. Shifting the detection window to the mid-infrared (MIR) region has some advantages, but also creates many new problems to be solved. In his review article, Mizaikoff [5] asks the rhetorical question

Graphene-enhanced plasmonic nanohole arrays for environmental sensing in aqueous samples

• Christa Genslein,
• Peter Hausler,
• Eva-Maria Kirchner,
• Rudolf Bierl,
• Antje J. Baeumner and
• Thomas Hirsch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1564–1573, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.150

• Christa Genslein Peter Hausler Eva-Maria Kirchner Rudolf Bierl Antje J. Baeumner Thomas Hirsch Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Chemo and Biosensors, University of Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg, Germany Sensorik-ApplikationsZentrum, OTH Regensburg, Franz-Mayer-Str. 1, 93053 Regensburg, Germany

• detection limits in the environmental interesting concentration is important for water safety and direly needed. Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR) is a widely-used technique for quantifying and characterizing biomolecular interactions in biosensors for medical diagnostics, food safety and

Nanostructured germanium deposited on heated substrates with enhanced photoelectric properties

• Ionel Stavarache,
• Valentin Adrian Maraloiu,
• Petronela Prepelita and
• Gheorghe Iordache

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1492–1500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.142

• [18] and biosensors [19]. To produce high-quality Ge particles packed into different matrices, various approaches are reported in scientific papers such as pulsed laser deposition [20][21], sol–gel [22], evaporation under vacuum [23], chemical vapor deposition [24], microwave-assisted heating [25

Straightforward and robust synthesis of monodisperse surface-functionalized gold nanoclusters

• Silvia Varela-Aramburu,
• Richard Wirth,
• Chian-Hui Lai,
• Guillermo Orts-Gil and
• Peter H. Seeberger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1278–1283, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.118

• prepared under reflux using 1-thioglucose as reducing and stabilizing agent [24] but the resulting nanoparticles are too unstable to be used as biosensors [25]. In an effort to create monodisperse, stable and surface-functionalized gold nanoclusters, we explored 1-thioglucose as a stabilizing and reducing

Large-scale fabrication of achiral plasmonic metamaterials with giant chiroptical response

• Morten Slyngborg,
• Yao-Chung Tsao and
• Peter Fojan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 914–925, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.83

• implementations in various fields such as optics [1], improved photovoltaic devices [2], electronics [3], surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy [4], Raman spectroscopy [5] and biosensors [6]. Planar chiral metamaterials (PCMs) have also attracted attention because of their negative refractive index [7][8] and

Microwave solvothermal synthesis and characterization of manganese-doped ZnO nanoparticles

• Jacek Wojnarowicz,
• Roman Mukhovskyi,
• Elzbieta Pietrzykowska,
• Sylwia Kusnieruk,
• Jan Mizeracki and
• Witold Lojkowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 721–732, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.64

• , varistors, TFT display windows and laser technology [5][6][7]. ZnO displays pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties, thanks to which it is used in electroacoustic devices [8]. It is a biocompatible material used for producing biosensors and in drug delivery applications [9]. Thanks to antibacterial