Understanding nanoparticle flow with a new in vitro experimental and computational approach using hydrogel channels

• Armel Boutchuen,
• Dell Zimmerman,
• Abdollah Arabshahi,
• John Melnyczuk and
• Soubantika Palchoudhury

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 296–309, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.22

• scaffold materials for the 3D bioprinting of biomimetic structures [38][39]. Therefore, we chose pHEMA hydrogels to build straight cylindrical channels mimicking sections of human vasculature for our experimental investigation of NP flow. In addition, we aimed to synthesize the hydrogel flow channels via a

• new, facile, and cost-effective approach. Here, we report a combined experimental and computational technique to serve as an in vitro assessment of the flow of NPs using novel pHEMA hydrogel channels as the biomimetic flow path. The flow of NPs was experimentally investigated with different iron oxide

• NP formulations synthesized via a facile method for monitoring the velocity and mass loss of NPs through the hydrogel channels. The experimental flow of NPs was compared with computational predictions for a reliable assessment of NP flow through soft vascular mimics. An in silico CFD method using the

High-performance asymmetric supercapacitor made of NiMoO₄ nanorods@Co₃O₄ on a cellulose-based carbon aerogel

• Meixia Wang,
• Jing Zhang,
• Xibin Yi,
• Benxue Liu,
• Xinfu Zhao and
• Xiaochan Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 240–251, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.18

• of CA is drastically reduced compared to that of the precursor cellulose hydrogel and aerogel. The network of intertwined nanofibers of CA shown in Figure 2a was maintained from the cellulose aerogel (Figure S2, Supporting Information File 1). The diameter of the nanofibers was about 20–50 nm. The

Molecular architectonics of DNA for functional nanoarchitectures

• Debasis Ghosh,
• Lakshmi P. Datta and
• Thimmaiah Govindaraju

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 124–140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.11

• incubation for several days. However, an increase in oligoadenylic acid chain length resulted in changes in hydrogel color and rigidity. Metal–base pair interactions-guided design of DNA nanoarchitectures Metal–base pair interaction-driven molecular architectonics are one of the major alternatives to

Fully amino acid-based hydrogel as potential scaffold for cell culturing and drug delivery

• Dávid Juriga,
• Evelin Sipos,
• Orsolya Hegedűs,
• Gábor Varga,
• Miklós Zrínyi,
• Krisztina S. Nagy and
• Angéla Jedlovszky-Hajdú

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2579–2593, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.249

• and the biodegradability of the hydrogel. In this paper, PASP cross-linked with cystamine (CYS) and lysine-methylester (LYS) was introduced as fully amino acid-based polymer hydrogel. Gels were synthesized employing six different ratios of CYS and LYS. The pH dependent swelling degree and the

• reductive conditions resulted in an increased drug release due to the cleavage of disulfide bridges in the hydrogels. Consequently, these hydrogels provide new possibilities in the fields of both tissue engineering and controlled drug delivery. Keywords: biocompatibility; cystamine; hydrogel; lysine; poly

• (amino acid)s [28][29]. The effect of poly-ʟ-lysine, which has a cationic character, on the cell behavior has been widely studied in the field of tissue engineering [30][31], while among the anionic poly(amino acid)s, poly(glutamic acid) is typically used for the development of hydrogel scaffolds [32

Integration of sharp silicon nitride tips into high-speed SU8 cantilevers in a batch fabrication process

• Nahid Hosseini,
• Matthias Neuenschwander,
• Oliver Peric,
• Santiago H. Andany,
• Jonathan D. Adams and
• Georg E. Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2357–2363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.226

• blunt tips (the tip radius increased by an order of magnitude). Lee et al. have shown that hydrogel AFM cantilevers fabricated by replica moulding and UV curing have great potential for tuning the mechanical properties of the tip, its shape and the surface functionalization [26]. However, the

• fabrication of hydrogel probes requires processes that involve individual alignment and bonding [27]. The present work aims to overcome the primary limitation of polymer AFM cantilevers, namely the poor wear rate of polymer tips, by integrating a tip element made of a traditional tip material. The main

Microfluidics as tool to prepare size-tunable PLGA nanoparticles with high curcumin encapsulation for efficient mucus penetration

• Nashrawan Lababidi,
• Valentin Sigal,
• Aljoscha Koenneke,
• Konrad Schwarzkopf,
• Andreas Manz and
• Marc Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2280–2293, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.220

• mucus. Drug carrier systems such as nanoparticles (NPs) require proper surface chemistry and small size to ensure their permeability through the hydrogel-like systems. We have employed a microfluidic system to fabricate poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles coated with a muco-penetrating

Review of advanced sensor devices employing nanoarchitectonics concepts

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Tatsuyuki Makita,
• Masato Ito,
• Taizo Mori,
• Shun Watanabe and
• Jun Takeya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2014–2030, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.198

• important targets in biosensor technology. Someya and co-workers developed a highly flexible organic amplifier to detect weak biosignals [107]. A highly conductive biocompatible gel composite made from multiwalled carbon nanotubes and aqueous hydrogel was integrated into a two-dimensional organic amplifier

Porous silver-coated pNIPAM-co-AAc hydrogel nanocapsules

• William W. Bryan,
• Riddhiman Medhi,
• Maria D. Marquez,
• Supparesk Rittikulsittichai,
• Michael Tran and
• T. Randall Lee

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1973–1982, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.194

• describes the preparation and characterization of a new type of core–shell nanoparticle in which the structure consists of a hydrogel core encapsulated within a porous silver shell. The thermo-responsive hydrogel cores were prepared by surfactant-free emulsion polymerization of a selected mixture of N

• -isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and acrylic acid (AAc). The hydrogel cores were then encased within either a porous or complete silver shell for which the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) extends from visible to near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths (i.e., λmax varies from 550 to 1050 nm, depending on the porosity

• ), allowing for reversible contraction and swelling of the hydrogel via photothermal heating of the surrounding silver shell. Given that NIR light can pass through tissue, and the silver shell is porous, this system can serve as a platform for the smart delivery of payloads stored within the hydrogel core

High-tolerance crystalline hydrogels formed from self-assembling cyclic dipeptide

• Yongcai You,
• Ruirui Xing,
• Qianli Zou,
• Feng Shi and
• Xuehai Yan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1894–1901, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.184

• -assembly of cyclic dipeptides results in highly robust hydrogels which can be applied for electrochemical applications such as electrochemical supercapacitors. Keywords: crystalline hydrogel; cyclic dipeptide; electrochemical supercapacitors; nanoarchitectonics; self-assembly; Introduction On account of

• hydrogel with crystal features and close-knit three-dimensional network structures. Importantly, the C-WY hydrogel exhibited adjustable rheological properties, excellent stability, and high tolerance under various conditions, including in the presence of charged biopolymers (poly-ʟ-lysine (PLL), alginate

• (ALG), hyaluronic acid (HA)), extreme acid/base environments, and thermal conditions. Owing to the robustness of the hydrogel, the material also showed excellent performance as an electrochemical supercapacitor. Hence, self-assembled CDP hydrogels are promising for applications in complex and harsh

A silver-nanoparticle/cellulose-nanofiber composite as a highly effective substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Yongxin Lu,
• Yan Luo,
• Zehao Lin and
• Jianguo Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1270–1279, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.126

• bacterial nanocellulose adsorbed with gold nanoparticles in the form of a hydrogel had a detection limit of 1 × 10−9 M for R6G [54], the Au–Ag bimetallic microfluidic SERS sensor had a detection limit of 1 × 10−13 M for the same analyte [64]; and a detection limit of 1 × 10−6 M was offered by a hybrid

Wearable, stable, highly sensitive hydrogel–graphene strain sensors

• Jian Lv,
• Chuncai Kong,
• Chao Yang,
• Lu Yin,
• Itthipon Jeerapan,
• Fangzhao Pu,
• Xiaojing Zhang,
• Sen Yang and
• Zhimao Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 475–480, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.47

• 21500, P. R. China Research institute of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 311215, P. R. China 10.3762/bjnano.10.47 Abstract A stable and highly sensitive graphene/hydrogel strain sensor is designed by introducing glycerol as a co-solvent in the formation of a hydrogel substrate and then

• casting a graphene solution onto the hydrogel in a simple, two-step method. This hydrogel-based strain sensor can effectively retain water in the polymer network due to the formation of strong hydrogen bonding between glycerol and water. The addition of glycerol not only enhances the stability of the

• hydrogel over a wider temperature range, but also increases the stretchability of the hydrogel from 800% to 2000%. The enhanced sensitivity can be attributed to the graphene film, whereby the graphene flakes redistribute to optimize the contact area under different strains. The careful design enables this

Pull-off and friction forces of micropatterned elastomers on soft substrates: the effects of pattern length scale and stiffness

• Peter van Assenbergh,
• Marike Fokker,
• Julian Langowski,
• Jan van Esch,
• Marleen Kamperman and
• Dimitra Dodou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 79–94, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.8

• with 10% (w/v) PVA hydrogel. In a PVA gel, crosslinks between chains are formed by hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl side groups. We used hydrolyzed PVA, because by additional hydrolysis, acetate side groups in the polymer are turned into hydroxyl groups, and crosslink formation is promoted. Subjecting

• PVA to freeze–thaw cycles further stiffens the hydrogel by growing local crystalline regions that act as network junctions [46]. We prepared substrates of two stiffness degrees, by subjecting PVA to two or three freeze–thaw cycles

Cr(VI) remediation from aqueous environment through modified-TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic reduction

• Rashmi Acharya,
• Brundabana Naik and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1448–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.137

• hydrogel (rGH). The 3D macrostructures of rGH enhanced the accessible surface area and possessed highly porous structures with a pore size distribution of several micrometers, which enabled the use of the composite for the fast adsorption of Cr(VI) through π–π interactions and a nonporous surface

Anchoring Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in a reduced graphene oxide aerogel matrix via polydopamine coating

• Błażej Scheibe,
• Radosław Mrówczyński,
• Natalia Michalak,
• Karol Załęski,
• Michał Matczak,
• Mateusz Kempiński,
• Zuzanna Pietralik,
• Mikołaj Lewandowski,
• Stefan Jurga and
• Feliks Stobiecki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 591–601, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.55

• -forming nanomaterials, as it allows obtaining three-dimensional highly porous structures, characterized by low density and high specific surface area [2][3][4][5]. Typically, the fabrication of aerogel is a multistep process, involving hydrogel formation via sol–gel technique followed by freeze drying or

• critical point drying [6]. During hydrogel formation, GO undergoes reduction. Therefore, after solvent removal, it forms a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) porous structure [7]. Currently, lots of research has been focused on the potential applications of rGO-based aerogels in energy storage systems (i.e., Li

• introduction into aerogel. The first method is based on the addition of iron precursors to GO water dispersion and “in situ” synthesis of iron oxide MNPs during hydrothermal hydrogel formation in autoclave. The precipitated nanoparticles are anchored to GO structure via Fe–C–O bonds or confined between GO

Liquid-crystalline nanoarchitectures for tissue engineering

• Baeckkyoung Sung and
• Min-Ho Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 205–215, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.22

• electrostatically induced phase transitions from isotropic sol to nematic gel of synthetic nanofibers or filamentous bacteriophages can be adopted as a mild and efficient process for cell encapsulation in a highly anisotropic hydrogel scaffold [91][103]. These in situ cell inclusion techniques allow for the

• hydrogel composed of the aligned nanofibrils, enhanced cellular outgrowth was induced via augmented expression of integrin α1, which resulted in arteriogenesis and blood perfusion recovery in the mouse ischemia model. In another study, hydrogel films made of concentrated collagen type I showed regular

Vapor-based polymers: from films to nanostructures

• Meike Koenig and
• Joerg Lahann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2219–2220, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.221

• desired nanostructures. This combination of a conductive polymer with a hydrogel in a single nanostructure shows potential for the use in humidity sensors. Without the need for additives or solvents, a high purity of the resulting film is ensured, which is of paramount importance in the area of electronic

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

• address demanding therapeutic challenges [18]. In 2015, Steed et al. reported CND–hydrogel hybrids obtained from bis(urea) derivatives used as LMWGs [19] that displayed considerable fluorescence enhancement relative to CNDs alone and showed promising performance in silver ion selective determination [20

• hydrogels following a pH change, while their homochiral stereoisomers did not. In particular, the tripeptide DLeu-Phe-Phe, which was chosen for the present study, immediately formed a self-supporting hydrogel [25]. In a typical protocol, the tripeptide was first dissolved as an anion in an alkaline buffer

• by rheometry, fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD), FTIR spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Given that this tripeptide is capable of forming a hydrogel with mild antimicrobial activity and a lack of cytotoxicity in vitro [26], this new

Preparation of thick silica coatings on carbon fibers with fine-structured silica nanotubes induced by a self-assembly process

• Benjamin Baumgärtner,
• Hendrik Möller,
• Thomas Neumann and
• Dirk Volkmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1145–1155, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.116

• room temperature resulted in a hydrogel or polymer particles, respectively, which were added to 1 mL of a mixture of tetramethyl orthosilicate (Aldrich) and ethanol (1:1 by volume) after a period of 12 h. The mineralization time was 40 min. The precipitated silica particles were separated via

Synthesis of coaxial nanotubes of polyaniline and poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) by oxidative/initiated chemical vapor deposition

• Alper Balkan,
• Efe Armagan and
• Gozde Ozaydin Ince

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 872–882, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.89

• . The fabrication process involves the deposition of an outer layer of the conductive polyaniline (PANI) by oxidative chemical vapor deposition, followed by the deposition of the inner layer of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) hydrogel by initiated chemical vapor deposition. The vapor-phase

• PANI nanotubes, the resistance changed parabolically with relative humidity because of competing effects of doping and swelling of the PANI polymer under humid conditions. Introducing a hydrogel inner layer increased the overall resistance, and enhanced swelling, which caused the resistance to

• oxide (AAO) track-etch membranes. The ability to control the thickness with high sensitivity using these vapor phase techniques allowed to produce coaxial nanotubes. The response of these nanotubes to the changes in humidity could be tuned by introducing the hydrogel inner layer. Results and Discussion

Recombinant DNA technology and click chemistry: a powerful combination for generating a hybrid elastin-like-statherin hydrogel to control calcium phosphate mineralization

• Mohamed Hamed Misbah,
• Mercedes Santos,
• Luis Quintanilla,
• Christina Günter,
• Matilde Alonso,
• Andreas Taubert and
• José Carlos Rodríguez-Cabello

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 772–783, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.80

• , different in morphology and composition, into the hydrogel matrices [21]. In order to obtain a hydrogel system that can control the formation of CP, it is important to combine different approaches with each other to overcome the challenges inherent to generating materials with the desired properties

• combined with SNA15 in soluble state has been investigated so far [13][31], to our best knowledge, there is only one study about the mineralization of ELRs in a hydrogel state [21]. In this study, Li et al. developed mineralized ELR-hydrogels using a polymer induce liquid precursor (PILP) mineralization

• process where the poly aspartic acids (poly Asp) mimic the role of non-collagenous proteins (NCPs) in biominerals. Although, poly Asp may facilitate the infiltration of ACP into the ELR hydrogel, the interaction of poly Asp with the ELR was not stated. However, to the best our knowledge, the foundations

Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

• nanocomposite hydrogel (TGH) was prepared by Zhang et al. by a facile one-pot hydrothermal approach where the spherical nanostructured TiO2 NPs were densely decorated onto the GS [89]. A 2D graphene–TiO2 sandwich structure was prepared by using ethylenediamine/H2O solvent in a reduction–hydrolysis technique

• (Figure 5). Chen et al. have prepared graphene/γ-Fe2O3 hybrid aerogels for the first time which are used for biocatalytic transformation [148]. Fe2O3 supported on a N-graphene hydrogel was prepared by a facial one-pot hydrothermal method by Ma et al. and is used as an advanced supercapacitor electrode

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

• by using a SensiQ Pioneer equipment from SensiQ Technologies, Inc. (Oklahoma City, USA). Chips for SPR were purchased from ICx Nomadics (Oklahoma City, USA). SA was immobilized at 25 °C on the carboxylated hydrogel matrix of COOH5 sensor chips through the standard amine-coupling method. For this

Nano- and microstructured materials for in vitro studies of the physiology of vascular cells

• Alexandra M. Greiner,
• Adria Sales,
• Hao Chen,
• Sarah A. Biela,
• Dieter Kaufmann and
• Ralf Kemkemer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1620–1641, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.155

• hydrogel and thus its stiffness can be varied. Their elasticity can be tuned over a wide range from below 1 kPa to above 100 MPa [79]. An additional feature of PEG hydrogels is their low protein absorption. This characteristic makes them often to the coating material of choice when surfaces need to have

• , crosslinker and photoinitiator, as well as the intensity of UV light and the exposure time, the pore size of the hydrogel and consequently the elasticity can be tuned. Stiffness from PAA hydrogels can be tuned from ca. 50 Pa to more than 700 kPa [50][114][115][116]. Due to their easy availability and handling

• , PAA gels have found frequent application in cell mechanics studies [50][114][115][116][164][165]. PDMS is an elastomeric material [6][61][103][104][105][106]. Unlike PEG and PAA, PDMS is not a hydrogel but a hydrophobic polymer. Variation in hydrogel stiffness changes usually the meshwork properties

Synthesis and applications of carbon nanomaterials for energy generation and storage

• Marco Notarianni,
• Jinzhang Liu,
• Kristy Vernon and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 149–196, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.17

Fabrication of hybrid nanocomposite scaffolds by incorporating ligand-free hydroxyapatite nanoparticles into biodegradable polymer scaffolds and release studies

• Balazs Farkas,
• Marina Rodio,
• Ilaria Romano,
• Alberto Diaspro,
• Romuald Intartaglia and
• Szabolcs Beke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2217–2223, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.227

• % released HA NPs. This release mechanism fits well to our empirical observations concerning the degradation of high stiffness PPF scaffolds in DMEM: the material becomes a hydrogel during the first two weeks, then disperses into the medium in the next 4–6 weeks. Such degradation obviously leads to a ramp up

• in the release mechanism due to the hydrogel transition phase. Of note, the experiment had to be cancelled after 2 weeks due to contamination: the vials became infected by fungi, gradually digesting the nanoparticles (data not shown). Conclusion We presented the combination of two laser processing

• and degradation of HA NP-incorporated polymer scaffolds are presented during its degradation in DMEM. The scaffold becomes hydrogel, swells and releases the HA NPs. The plot shows the released fraction in percent as a function of the time, estimated by inductively coupled spectrometry (ICP-EOS). a