Structural and optical characteristics determined by the sputtering deposition conditions of oxide thin films

• Petronela Prepelita,
• Florin Garoi and
• Valentin Craciun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 354–365, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.29

• Petronela Prepelita Florin Garoi Valentin Craciun National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, 409 Atomistilor Street, PO Box MG-36, Magurele 077125, Ilfov, Romania 10.3762/bjnano.12.29 Abstract The influence of film thickness on the structural and optical properties of silicon

• be, later on, integrated into metamaterial structures to improve their functionality. Experimental The VARIAN ER 3119 EletroRava deposition equipment (available at the National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, INFLPR) is provided with a deposition chamber, two magnetrons, and in

• , especially for thicker samples. For ZnO films an increase in the film thickness resulted in an increase in the atomic oxide (from 45.73% to 49.38 %), as a result of plasma chemical processes. The analysis of optical properties, by the absorption of light in the dielectric films of ZnO and SiO2 with various

The patterning toolbox FIB-o-mat: Exploiting the full potential of focused helium ions for nanofabrication

• Victor Deinhart,
• Lisa-Marie Kern,
• Jan N. Kirchhof,
• Sabrina Juergensen,
• Joris Sturm,
• Enno Krauss,
• Thorsten Feichtner,
• Sviatoslav Kovalchuk,
• Michael Schneider,
• Dieter Engel,
• Bastian Pfau,
• Bert Hecht,
• Kirill I. Bolotin,
• Stephanie Reich and
• Katja Höflich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 304–318, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.25

• an oxygen plasma before ion beam machining. Generally, all samples should be introduced into the vacuum system one day in advance to allow possible contaminants to desorb from the samples and be pumped out. While these protocols can improve the technical conditions for the machining with light ions

Doxorubicin-loaded gold nanorods: a multifunctional chemo-photothermal nanoplatform for cancer management

• Uzma Azeem Awan,
• Abida Raza,
• Shaukat Ali,
• Rida Fatima Saeed and
• Nosheen Akhtar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 295–303, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.24

• at 500g for 10 min. Supernatant containing plasma was aspirated and the buffy coat was washed thrice and diluted with normal saline to a 50% packed cell volume (hematocrit) adjusted at pH 7.4 and stored at 4 °C. Different concentrations of PSS-GNRs (100 μL each) were incubated with 100 μL of RBCs

Characterization, bio-uptake and toxicity of polymer-coated silver nanoparticles and their interaction with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells

• Sahar Pourhoseini,
• Reilly T. Enos,
• Angela E. Murphy,
• Bo Cai and
• Jamie R. Lead

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 282–294, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.23

• pristine AgNPs, including dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV–vis spectroscopy (UV–vis), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). DLS gave a Z-average hydrodynamic size of 33.7 ± 0.7 nm (mean ± standard deviation) and a PDI (polydispersity index) of

• -dispersive X-ray spectrometry. The final concentration of the PVP-AgNP batch was measured using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES; Varian 710-ES). PVP-AgNP characterization in RPMI medium without cells was conducted using UV–vis spectrometer (extinction spectra of PVP-AgNPs

• aliquots collected at different time points following suspension in RPMI medium) and STEM. Ag concentration were measured at relevant exposure concentrations of PVP-AgNPs at t = 0 and at t = 24 h using ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry – NexION 350D, Perkin Elmer Inc., Massachusetts, USA

Differences in surface chemistry of iron oxide nanoparticles result in different routes of internalization

• Barbora Svitkova,
• Vlasta Zavisova,
• Veronika Nemethova,
• Martina Koneracka,
• Miroslava Kretova,
• Filip Razga,
• Monika Ursinyova and
• Alena Gabelova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 270–281, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.22

• initiated by the polymerization of clathrin units resulting in the assembly of a basket-like structure (clathrin-coated pit) with a size of 120–150 nm at the inner layer of the plasma membrane [11]. An alternative endocytosis pathway is caveolin-mediated endocytosis (CavME), the second most important route

The nanomorphology of cell surfaces of adhered osteoblasts

• Christian Voelkner,
• Mirco Wendt,
• Regina Lange,
• Max Ulbrich,
• Martina Gruening,
• Susanne Staehlke,
• Barbara Nebe,
• Ingo Barke and
• Sylvia Speller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 242–256, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.20

• capability of apical membrane features and fluctuation dynamics in aiding the assessment of adhesion and migration properties on a single-cell basis. Keywords: cell adhesion; membrane fluctuations; osteoblast; plasma membrane nanomorphology; scanning ion conductance microscopy (SICM); Introduction

• apical plasma membrane surface. Several other morphological and dynamic parameters are evaluated, for example, cell edge heights, membrane surface roughness, and membrane fluctuations, and discussed with respect to cellular functions. Results and Discussion In Figure 1 we show a typical overview SICM

• former unsuccessful spreading or deliberate lamellipodia loosening, for instance, for the purpose of resumption of migration [15]. Having a look at the substrate-specific data, cells with extremely large adhesion interface areas (more than 2600 µm2) are only found on plasma-polymerized allylamine (PPAAm

Paper-based triboelectric nanogenerators and their applications: a review

• Jing Han,
• Nuo Xu,
• Yuchen Liang,
• Mei Ding,
• Junyi Zhai,
• Qijun Sun and
• Zhong Lin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 151–171, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.12

• motions, such as stretching, pressing, and twisting due to the thin cutting film design. The schematic structure of K-TENGs and related photographs are illustrated in Figure 7b. The prepared FEP film with a rectangular kirigami pattern was treated by inductively coupled plasma, in which the parameters of

A review on the green and sustainable synthesis of silver nanoparticles and one-dimensional silver nanostructures

• Sina Kaabipour and
• Shohreh Hemmati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 102–136, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.9

• anode, and an electron exchange takes place in the plasma region where silver ions are reduced [129]. In the case of silver electrodes, silver will be melted and vaporized from the electrode ends, and as a result, nanoparticles are formed from the silver condensates [131]. Tien et al. [227] synthesized

Effect of different silica coatings on the toxicity of upconversion nanoparticles on RAW 264.7 macrophage cells

• Cynthia Kembuan,
• Helena Oliveira and
• Christina Graf

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 35–48, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.3

• ± 3 nm. Subsequently, the negatively charged particles were functionalized with N-(6-aminohexyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (AHAPS), which provide a positive charge to the nanoparticle surface. Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) measurements revealed that, over the

• inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Before the cell experiments, the stability of the particles in cell culture media was investigated via DLS and ELS. The cytotoxicity of the UCNPs was determined by MTT assays and cell cycle analysis. The UCNP uptake potential was evaluated by

Piezotronic effect in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterojunction nanowires used as a flexible strain sensor

• Jianqi Dong,
• Liang Chen,
• Yuqing Yang and
• Xingfu Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1847–1853, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.166

• , AlGaN/AlN/GaN NWs with high electron mobility, carrier density, and mechanical flexibility have become good candidates for highly sensitive and flexible strain sensors. In this work, we use a top-down two-step process, including inductively coupled plasma (ICP) dry etching and selective electrochemical

Electron beam-induced deposition of platinum from Pt(CO)₂Cl₂ and Pt(CO)₂Br₂

• Aya Mahgoub,
• Hang Lu,
• Rachel M. Thorman,
• Konstantin Preradovic,
• Titel Jurca,
• Lisa McElwee-White,
• Howard Fairbrother and
• Cornelis W. Hagen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1789–1800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.161

• current during EDX was 5 nA and the sample was mounted at a working distance of 7.5 mm and tilted by 35° to maximise the EDX signal. The system was plasma cleaned before the EDX measurements were taken to minimize carbon contamination. UHV deposition The UHV deposition experiments were performed by

• , deposition was done in the SEM after plasma cleaning the chamber. EDX spectra of deposits made after plasma cleaning are shown in Supporting Information File 1 (Figure S2). The composition of all SEM deposits, made before and after plasma cleaning, and the UHV deposits, as determined from EDX, are summarized

• the Pt Mα1 peak [32]. The Pt Mα1 peak is at 2.2 keV and the N peak detected is at about 0.46 keV as shown in Figures S1 and S2 in Supporting Information File 1. Only the composition of the deposits from Pt(CO)2Cl2 are affected by plasma cleaning, increasing the platinum content by 6 atom % and

PEG/PEI-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes as delivery carriers for doxorubicin: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro evaluation

• Shuoye Yang,
• Zhenwei Wang,
• Yahong Ping,
• Yuying Miao,
• Yongmei Xiao,
• Lingbo Qu,
• Lu Zhang,
• Yuansen Hu and
• Jinshui Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1728–1741, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.155

•  8B). This is attributed to the fact that PEGylation and amino functionalization could be significant in facilitating the dispersion of nanotubes and decreasing their aggregation, which protects the CNT carriers from interaction with plasma protein components. This enhanced stability will favor

Cardiomyocyte uptake mechanism of a hydroxyapatite nanoparticle mediated gene delivery system

• Hiroaki Komuro,
• Masahiro Yamazoe,
• Kosuke Nozaki,
• Akiko Nagai and
• Tetsuo Sasano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1685–1692, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.150

• can be taken up by cells via passive transport or active transport. Most nanoparticles are taken up by endocytosis (i.e., active transport) and rarely by direct penetration through the plasma membrane (i.e., passive transport). The endocytic pathway is an energy-dependent process; therefore, it can be

Oxidation of Au/Ag films by oxygen plasma: phase separation and generation of nanoporosity

• Abdel-Aziz El Mel,
• Said A. Mansour,
• Mujaheed Pasha,
• Atef Zekri,
• Janarthanan Ponraj,
• Akshath Shetty and
• Yousef Haik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1608–1614, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.143

• Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Texas A & M University-Kingsville, TX 78363, USA 10.3762/bjnano.11.143 Abstract The oxidation of Au/Ag alloy thin films using radio-frequency oxygen plasma was studied in this work. It was demonstrated that there is a phase separation occurring between

• : metal alloys; nanoporous; oxygen plasma; silver; thin films; Introduction Silver corrosion upon exposure to atomic oxygen is a phenomenon that was highly studied in the 1980s. At that time, the main aim was to avoid the degradation of silver interconnects and switches used in satellites navigating in

• originates from their special architecture and porosity, resulting in an extremely high specific surface area, at the nanometer scale, which can be suitable for many applications [10]. Details related to the silver oxidation process using either oxygen plasma or ozone have been previously reported [6][7][8

High-responsivity hybrid α-Ag₂S/Si photodetector prepared by pulsed laser ablation in liquid

• Raid A. Ismail,
• Hanan A. Rawdhan and
• Duha S. Ahmed

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1596–1607, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.142

• vibration and silver material is expelled from the target surface in the form of a plasma plum. Thus, silver ions Ag+ and sulfur ions S2− are produced from silver target and thiourea solution, respectively. They form Ag2S NPs according to the following chemical reaction [21]: Figure 3 shows the XRD patterns

Walking energy harvesting and self-powered tracking system based on triboelectric nanogenerators

• Mingliang Yao,
• Guangzhong Xie,
• Qichen Gong and
• Yuanjie Su

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1590–1595, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.141

• inductively coupled plasma chamber, at corresponding flow rates of 10.0, 30.0, and 15.0 sccm, respectively. The nanowire structure was obtained on the surface by etching the PTFE film for 15 s. The high-density plasma was generated by a 500 W power source while the plasma ions were triggered by another 160 W

• and for low-carbon transportation alternatives. A flexible undulated electrode-based triboelectric nanogenerator. (a) Schematic diagram of the fabricated u-TENG. (b) FESEM image of an inductively coupled plasma-etched PTFE film. (c) Representative picture of the as-prepared undulated electrode. The

Fabrication of nano/microstructures for SERS substrates using an electrochemical method

• Jingran Zhang,
• Tianqi Jia,
• Xiaoping Li,
• Junjie Yang,
• Zhengkai Li,
• Guangfeng Shi,
• Xinming Zhang and
• Zuobin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.139

• for fabricating sensitive three-dimensional SERS substrates. First, by controlling the parameters of plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) treatment, arrayed nanopores were formed on a Mg surface. Then, the nanopore surfaces were coated by incubating them with Au films for different lengths of time. The

Antimicrobial metal-based nanoparticles: a review on their synthesis, types and antimicrobial action

• Matías Guerrero Correa,
• Fernanda B. Martínez,
• Cristian Patiño Vidal,
• Camilo Streitt,
• Juan Escrig and
• Carol Lopez de Dicastillo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1450–1469, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.129

• and 500 µg/mL, respectively) [106]. Kolb et al. (2016) used the atmospheric pressure jet plasma method to deposit Cu NPs over acrylonitrile butadiene styrene substrates, generating potential antibacterial surfaces against S. aureus [104]. On the other hand, metal oxide nanoparticles are inorganic

• can affect the expression of the ribosomal subunit that interacts with sulfur- and phosphorus-containing groups of proteins, even in the cell wall and plasma membrane bacteria [165][166]. Cui et al. (2012) showed that Au NPs prevented the combination of a ribosomal subunit with tRNA and collapsed the

One-step synthesis of carbon-supported electrocatalysts

• Sebastian Tigges,
• Nicolas Wöhrl,
• Ivan Radev,
• Ulrich Hagemann,
• Markus Heidelmann,
• Thai Binh Nguyen,
• Stanislav Gorelkov,
• Stephan Schulz and
• Axel Lorke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1419–1431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.126

• Abstract Cost-efficiency, durability, and reliability of catalysts, as well as their operational lifetime, are the main challenges in chemical energy conversion. Here, we present a novel, one-step approach for the synthesis of Pt/C hybrid material by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD). The

• acetylacetonate precursors. Keywords: electrocatalyst; fuel cells; hybrid nanomaterial; long-term stability; nanoparticle embedding; one-step synthesis; plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD); Introduction The global fuel cell market reached a value of $4.5 billion USD in 2018 and is projected to

• as solvothermal and hydrothermal synthesis [9]. In these processes, long ultrasonication as well as reduction/heating procedures are required [6][10], both of which will impede industrial production. In contrast, physical approaches for the synthesis of electrocatalysts (such as plasma-assisted

Superconductor–insulator transition in capacitively coupled superconducting nanowires

• Alex Latyshev,
• Andrew G. Semenov and
• Andrei D. Zaikin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1402–1408, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.124

• proliferating quantum phase slips. We derive a set of coupled Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless-like renormalization group equations demonstrating that interaction between quantum phase slips in one of the wires gets modified due to the effect of plasma modes propagating in another wire. As a result, the

• example, for possible realization of superconducting qubits [13]. Such effects were investigated theoretically [14] and observed experimentally [15][16]. Each quantum phase slip generates sound-like plasma modes [17] which propagate along the wire and interact with other QPSs. The exchange of such Mooij

• segments. Conclusion We have analyzed the effect of quantum fluctuations in capacitively coupled superconducting nanowires. We have demonstrated that plasma modes propagating in one such nanowire play the role of an effective quantum environment for another one, modifying the logarithmic interaction

Transient coating of γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with glutamate for its delivery to and removal from brain nerve terminals

• Konstantin Paliienko,
• Artem Pastukhov,
• Michal Babič,
• Daniel Horák,
• Olga Vasylchenko and
• Tatiana Borisova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1381–1393, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.122

• , that is, 4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) and NaH2PO4, decreased the ability of γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles to form a glutamate biocoating by about 50% and 90%, respectively. Only 15% of the amount of glutamate biocoating obtained in water was obtained in blood plasma. Albumin did

• transient glutamate biocoating can be useful for multifunctional theranostics. Keywords: blood plasma; brain nerve terminals; glutamate biocoating; maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles; protein biocorona; Introduction Glutamate is a main fast excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Normal

• [1]. Each synapse presumably has a definite individual glutamate concentration in the synaptic cleft, which varies between 1 and 20 µM under normal physiological conditions depending on the method of measurements [1][2]. Glutamate uptake by the neurons and glial cells via high-affinity plasma

Structural and electronic properties of SnO₂ doped with non-metal elements

• Jianyuan Yu,
• Yingeng Wang,
• Yan Huang,
• Xiuwen Wang,
• Jing Guo,
• Jingkai Yang and
• Hongli Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1321–1328, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.116

• -emissivity glass. The most important property of low-emissivity is the reflectivity in the infrared region. According to the reflectance spectrum of the material, a good adiabatic behavior of the material requires the plasma frequency to be close to the visible region. Plasma is a system in which the

• dielectric constant is εr = 0, the concentration of positive and negative charges is the same, and positive and negative charges are free to move. When the probability of collision of free electrons in a solid is 0, the dielectric function is where ωp is the plasma frequency. ωp is the intrinsic

• characteristic frequency of the material. The plasma oscillation frequencies vary for different crystal materials. In general, it is proportional to the concentration of free electrons. When the vibration frequency of the incident light is greater than the plasma oscillation frequency, the crystal material is

Thermophoretic tweezers for single nanoparticle manipulation

• Jošt Stergar and
• Natan Osterman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1126–1133, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.97

• slide) coated on the sample side with a 300 nm chromium layer by vertical deposition, a 5 μm thick experimental chamber is created (Figure 1a). All glass surfaces were thoroughly cleaned before use and treated with plasma to remove any unwanted surface contaminants. All surfaces were additionally coated

Applications of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in drug and therapeutic delivery, and biotechnological advancements

• Maria Suciu,
• Corina M. Ionescu,
• Alexandra Ciorita,
• Septimiu C. Tripon,
• Dragos Nica,
• Hani Al-Salami and
• Lucian Barbu-Tudoran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1092–1109, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.94

• reactive oxygen species, ROS, which can potentiate direct damage to DNA and proteins, and induce lipid peroxidation) [24][56]. It was also shown that histidine–proline-rich glycoproteins with high molecular weight, e.g., kininogen and plasma prekallikrein, from blood serum attach strongly to the surface of

• under magnetic influence. They used two types of SPIONs, namely lauric acid/BSA-coated and dextran-coated SPIONs, and observed that when used in plasma or in whole blood, they produce clotting. However, both types of SPIONs cross the walls and accumulate in the tissue [97]. Wei et al. used 80 nm PEG

A few-layer graphene/chlorin e6 hybrid nanomaterial and its application in photodynamic therapy against Candida albicans

• Selene Acosta,
• Carlos Moreno-Aguilar,
• Dania Hernández-Sánchez,
• Beatriz Morales-Cruzado,
• Erick Sarmiento-Gomez,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Luis Octavio Sánchez-Vargas and
• Mildred Quintana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1054–1061, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.90

• Interactions Plasma – Surface (ChIPS), Research Institute for Materials Science and Engineering, Université de Mons, Belgium Instituto de Física, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, SLP, Mexico GRAPHENEMEX S.A. de C.V., Ciudad de México, México CONACYT – Universidad Autónoma de San Luis