Sidewall angle tuning in focused electron beam-induced processing

• Sangeetha Hari,
• Willem F. van Dorp,
• Johannes J. L. Mulders,
• Piet H. F. Trompenaars,
• Pieter Kruit and
• Cornelis W. Hagen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 447–456, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.40

• Sangeetha Hari Willem F. van Dorp Johannes J. L. Mulders Piet H. F. Trompenaars Pieter Kruit Cornelis W. Hagen Department of Imaging Physics, Delft University of Technology, Lorentzweg 1, 2628CJ Delft, Netherlands Delmic B.V., Oostsingel 209, 2612 HL Delft, Netherlands Uniresearch B.V

• by etching with water and it is shown, using transmission electron microscopy imaging, that the sidewall angle can be tuned from outward to inward by controlling the etch position on the sidewall. A surprising under-etching due to the emission of secondary electrons from the deposit was observed

• sidewall. This suggests that etching can be carried out at any position on the sidewall if the right dose can be applied to make it vertical. From a practical point of view, it would be advantageous if this entire process, etching as well as imaging, could be implemented in situ in the SEM. The above

Unveiling the nature of atomic defects in graphene on a metal surface

• Karl Rothe,
• Nicolas Néel and
• Jörg Kröger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 416–425, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.37

• an Ar+-induced Ir(111) surface defect [57]. In a next step, AFM imaging of the defects at different tip–surface distances was complemented by spatially resolved Δf(Δz) measurements (Figure 4). Figure 4a shows the evolution of the total vertical force recorded along the path across a type-1 defect

Classification and application of metal-based nanoantioxidants in medicine and healthcare

• Nguyen Nhat Nam,
• Nguyen Khoi Song Tran,
• Tan Tai Nguyen,
• Nguyen Ngoc Trai,
• Nguyen Phuong Thuy,
• Hoang Dang Khoa Do,
• Nhu Hoa Thi Tran and
• Kieu The Loan Trinh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 396–415, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.36

• minimizing systemic side effects. For instance, studies by Cheng et al. revealed the successful application of gold NPs for delivering anti-inflammatory agents to atherosclerotic plaques and tomography imaging of atherosclerosis [172]. Recent research by Mao et al. and Wang et al. highlighted the efficacy of

• personalized and targeted treatments for sclerosis. Recently developed Fe3O4–CeO2 core–shell NPs have shown great potential as platforms for both the diagnosis and treatment of vascular disorders associated with ROS. This is attributed to their impressive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) capabilities and

Nanomedicines against Chagas disease: a critical review

• Maria Jose Morilla,
• Kajal Ghosal and
• Eder Lilia Romero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 333–349, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.30

• also includes cancer imaging and diagnosis such as the MRI imaging agent Resovist, carboxydextran-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles approved for liver contrast-enhanced MRI102 [87]. Another 10% are nanocrystals, such as Tricor (approved in 2004) or Triglide (approved in 2005), used to

Comparative electron microscopy particle sizing of TiO₂ pigments: sample preparation and measurement

• Ralf Theissmann,
• Christopher Drury,
• Markus Rohe,
• Thomas Koch,
• Jochen Winkler and
• Petr Pikal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 317–332, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.29

• discrepancies between the manufacturer’s measurements are observed for sample D, which has the largest primary particle size. The good agreement for the smaller samples, with all measurements coinciding within the 95% confidence interval, shows that all chosen imaging conditions are sufficient for the

Determining by Raman spectroscopy the average thickness and N-layer-specific surface coverages of MoS₂ thin films with domains much smaller than the laser spot size

• Felipe Wasem Klein,
• Jean-Roch Huntzinger,
• Vincent Astié,
• Damien Voiry,
• Romain Parret,
• Houssine Makhlouf,
• Sandrine Juillaguet,
• Jean-Manuel Decams,
• Sylvie Contreras,
• Périne Landois,
• Ahmed-Azmi Zahab,
• Jean-Louis Sauvajol and
• Matthieu Paillet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 279–296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.26

• Nmax being the largest number of layers present in the sample, the definition of the average number of layers can be written as and the total coverage (including bare substrate areas) is obviously 100%: AFM imaging (see Supporting Information File 1, Figure S4) reveals that for > 1.25, the surface is

Vinorelbine-loaded multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles as anticancer drug delivery systems: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro release study

• Zeynep Özcan and
• Afife Binnaz Hazar Yoruç

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 256–269, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.24

• ., cancer, diabetes, and atherosclerosis), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), targeted drug delivery, photothermal therapy, gene therapy, and molecular and cellular monitoring [15][16]. Photothermal therapy (PTT), a treatment in which nanostructures are used, induces drug release or damages tumor cells with

• an infrared thermal imaging camera. Additionally, the photothermal stability of both PDA/Fe3O4 NPs and VNB/PDA/Fe3O4 NPs (at a concentration of 0.1 mg/mL and in a total volume of 1 mL) was assessed through a 5 min interaction with an 808 nm (1 W/cm2) NIR laser followed by a cooling process, for four

• interaction at the tumor site. The synthesized VNB/PDA/Fe3O4 NPs hold promise for effective photothermal therapy, magnetic targeting, MRI imaging, and chemotherapeutic capabilities in future studies. Conclusion In this study, we successfully synthesized VNB/PDA/Fe3O4 NPs with combined photothermal therapy and

Quantitative wear evaluation of tips based on sharp structures

• Ke Xu and
• Houwen Leng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 230–241, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.22

• commonly known as the broadening effect of the probe tip. In mathematical morphology, the scanning image acquired during the AFM imaging process results from the interaction between sample and tip. The mathematical morphology (Equation 1) can describe the scanning image obtained from AFM. This formula

• using a tip to scan a sharp structure can achieve reverse imaging of the tip for both sharp and blunt tips. This inverse imaging of the tip through sharp structures allows for accurate and precise reconstruction of the morphological characteristics of the tips. Real data reconstruction results To

• , making it ideal for reverse imaging of the AFM probe tip to detect tip wear. AFM images were acquired using a Bruker Icon AFM system in tapping mode. The AFM probe used for AFM imaging was a Bruker FESPA-V2 probe. The cantilever was 225 µm long, 35 µm wide, and had a spring constant of 2.8 N/m. The

Ion beam processing of DNA origami nanostructures

• Leo Sala,
• Agnes Zerolová,
• Violaine Vizcaino,
• Alain Mery,
• Alicja Domaracka,
• Hermann Rothard,
• Philippe Boduch,
• Dominik Pinkas and
• Jaroslav Kocišek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 207–214, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.20

• by ion beams, modeling ion implantation, lithography, and sputtering conditions. Structural changes in 2D DNA origami nanostructures deposited on Si are analyzed using AFM imaging. The observed effects on DNA origami include structure height decrease or increase upon fast heavy ion irradiation in

• analysis and imaging [32]. It is also worth mentioning that at high projectile charge states, the ions can be imagined as deep potential energy well, allowing for further surface interaction [33]; however, this will not be explored in the present study. The ability of ion beams to confine damage to the

• . Preparation of dry samples and AFM imaging Silicon wafers were cut into ∼7 × 7 mm2 chips and were then plasma-cleaned in air using a Roplass RPS40+ plasma cleaner, which generates a thin layer of plasma by diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge [35]. The Si surface is exposed to the thin plasma layer for

Graphene removal by water-assisted focused electron-beam-induced etching – unveiling the dose and dwell time impact on the etch profile and topographical changes in SiO₂ substrates

• Aleksandra Szkudlarek,
• Jan M. Michalik,
• Inés Serrano-Esparza,
• Zdeněk Nováček,
• Veronika Novotná,
• Piotr Ozga,
• Czesław Kapusta and
• José María De Teresa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 190–198, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.18

• AFM imaging without any additional exposure to the electron beam (apart from the etching process and short SEM inspection in HV mode using an extremely low current of 2.1 pA) prior to those measurements. As shown in Figure 2B, there is an apparent variation of the etched linewidth due to different

Nanocarrier systems loaded with IR780, iron oxide nanoparticles and chlorambucil for cancer theragnostics

• Phuong-Thao Dang-Luong,
• Hong-Phuc Nguyen,
• Loc Le-Tuan,
• Xuan-Thang Cao,
• Vy Tran-Anh and
• Hieu Vu Quang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 180–189, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.17

• nanocarrier that can be loaded with the chemotherapeutic medication chlorambucil and magnetic resonance imaging agents (e.g., iron oxide nanoparticles and near-infrared fluorophore IR780) for theragnostics. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) was combined with the aforementioned ingredients to generate poly(vinyl

• of these systems to serve as medication and imaging agent carriers for cancer treatment and diagnostics, respectively. Keywords: cancer; chlorambucil; F127-folate; IR780; iron oxide nanoparticles; PLGA; theragnostics; Introduction Theragnostic nanoparticles (NPs) are a diagnostic and therapeutic

• delivery system. The delivery system is comprised of three components: the carrier, the imaging agent, and the therapeutic drug, all of which need clinical approval before being used in humans. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is an approved biodegradable and biocompatible material for clinical use [1

Enhanced feedback performance in off-resonance AFM modes through pulse train sampling

• Mustafa Kangül,
• Navid Asmari,
• Santiago H. Andany,
• Marcos Penedo and
• Georg E. Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 134–143, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.13

• at frequencies far away from the resonance frequency of the cantilever (off-resonance tapping (ORT) modes) can provide high-resolution imaging of a wide range of sample types, including biological samples, soft polymers, and hard materials. These modes offer precise and stable control of vertical

• limits the topography tracking quality and hence the imaging speed. The closed-loop controller in conventional ORT restricts the sampling rate to the ORT rate and introduces a large closed-loop delay. We present an alternative ORT control method in which the closed-loop controller samples and tracks the

• rate and therefore enables higher scan rates while refining the mechanical property mapping. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); feedback control; off-resonance tapping (ORT); pulsed-force mode; Introduction Constant force mode, a widely used AFM imaging mode, utilizes a feedback controller that

Influence of conductive carbon and MnCo₂O₄ on morphological and electrical properties of hydrogels for electrochemical energy conversion

• Sylwia Pawłowska,
• Karolina Cysewska,
• Yasamin Ziai,
• Jakub Karczewski,
• Piotr Jasiński and
• Sebastian Molin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 57–70, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.6

• an accelerating voltage of 10 kV. Before imaging, the hydrogel samples were freeze-dried and coated with a 10 nm gold layer. The chemical composition of the hydrogel was analysed with a Thermo Fisher Scientific silicon drift detector energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope. For characterisation of the

Curcumin-loaded nanostructured systems for treatment of leishmaniasis: a review

• Douglas Dourado,
• Thayse Silva Medeiros,
• Éverton do Nascimento Alencar,
• Edijane Matos Sales and
• Fábio Rocha Formiga

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 37–50, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.4

• , assembly, and optical properties [113]. These nanoformulations can be synthesized through chemical, physical, or biological processes and are solely generated from metal precursors such as silver and gold [114][115]. In addition, MNPs have been widely used in therapy, drug delivery, targeting, and imaging

Measurements of dichroic bow-tie antenna arrays with integrated cold-electron bolometers using YBCO oscillators

• Leonid S. Revin,
• Dmitry A. Pimanov,
• Alexander V. Chiginev,
• Anton V. Blagodatkin,
• Viktor O. Zbrozhek,
• Andrey V. Samartsev,
• Anastasia N. Orlova,
• Dmitry V. Masterov,
• Alexey E. Parafin,
• Victoria Yu. Safonova,
• Anna V. Gordeeva,
• Andrey L. Pankratov,
• Leonid S. Kuzmin,
• Anatolie S. Sidorenko,
• Silvia Masi and
• Paolo de Bernardis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 26–36, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.3

• B mode. It presumably originates from gravitational waves from the cosmic inflation, while the E mode originates from acoustic waves from the recombination. Currently, the following CMB experiments are in operation or in preparation: Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization (BICEP

• effects. This feature provides great spectral imaging capabilities to QUBIC. QUBIC is planned to observe the sky at 150 and 220 GHz with 25% bandwidth for both frequency channels. There will be 992 TES detectors for each channel on the focal plane. The estimated NEP for this setup is 4.7 × 10−17 W/√Hz

TEM sample preparation of lithographically patterned permalloy nanostructures on silicon nitride membranes

• Joshua Williams,
• Michael I. Faley,
• Joseph Vimal Vas,
• Peng-Han Lu and
• Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1–12, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.1

• imaging; nanodisk; nanofabrication; permalloy; Introduction The ability to study the spatial distribution of magnetization in ferromagnetic nanostructures is important for developing nanoelectronics, particularly for data storage and information processing. A vortex spin configuration has been observed

• –iron alloy (80 atom % Ni and 20 atom % Fe) that has a small coercive field (Hc) [17] and low magnetostriction (λs) [18], as well as high permeability and high saturation magnetization (Ms) [19]. TEM offers high spatial resolution for magnetic imaging. TEM-based magnetic imaging techniques such as

• -standing membrane and as a conductive layer for better imaging during FIB milling. Then FIB milling was performed to create apertures in the SiN membrane representing the patterns to be transferred to the sample. Last, the aluminium layer was removed by submerging the mask in TMAH 3% solution. In this

Fluorescent bioinspired albumin/polydopamine nanoparticles and their interactions with Escherichia coli cells

• Eloïse Equy,
• Jordana Hirtzel,
• Sophie Hellé,
• Béatrice Heurtault,
• Eric Mathieu,
• Morgane Rabineau,
• Vincent Ball and
• Lydie Ploux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1208–1224, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.100

• ) of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) [7], polycaprolactone [8], and chitosan [9]. Furthermore, fluorescent ONPs are a promising way to facilitate the localization of NPs in cells through fluorescence imaging. They can also be used for fluorescent labelling of cells, especially for live cell

• imaging, provided that the ONPs are harmless for cells. This has been developed for eukaryotic cells [10], but the use of ONPs for labelling bacterial cells is still rare and not described in literature for alive bacterial cells. The main limitation is probably the frequent cytotoxic effect of ONPs on

• high-resolution fluorescence imaging (high-resolution confocal microscopy). Also, the capacity of the pristine and fluorescent NPs to inhibit the growth of bacterial cells was evaluated through minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) tests. The MIC value was also determined for Staphylococcus aureus (S

Spatial variations of conductivity of self-assembled monolayers of dodecanethiol on Au/mica and Au/Si substrates

• Julian Skolaut,
• Jędrzej Tepper,
• Federica Galli,
• Wulf Wulfhekel and
• Jan M. van Ruitenbeek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1169–1177, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.97

• applied method uses conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM). In this technique, a conductive probe is used in an AFM, which allows for imaging the surface topography (and other characteristics such as adhesion and stiffness) with lateral resolution while simultaneously being able to measure current

• coating on a non-conductive probe in contrast to the CoCr-coated Si probes. This is at the cost of lateral resolution due to the larger radius of the probe apex. All measurements presented here were carried out in the Quantitative Imaging (QI™) mode by JPK. A sketch of the procedure is shown in Figure 1

• between features in the current map and the topography. A further indication that the SAM has formed correctly is the observation that it can be thinned by imaging smaller areas with high load forces. As shown in Figure S5 in Supporting Information File 1, after three consecutive imaging runs performed on

Elasticity, an often-overseen parameter in the development of nanoscale drug delivery systems

• Agnes-Valencia Weiss and
• Marc Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1149–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.95

• provides different possibilities of measuring forces at the nanoscale. This can be the acquisition of single force–distance curves on a specific spot after locating the particle in an imaging mode or the creation of whole maps using quantitative imaging modes [20][21][22]. An example is shown for lysozyme

• -loaded gelatin nanoparticles imaged in the quantitative imaging mode with a JPK NanoWizard III in Milli-Q® water at 37 °C, as well as the extracted Young’s modulus map as previously described [22] (Figure 1). Takechi-Haraya et al. showed that for liposomes both methods deliver the same results [21]. The

• convinced that elasticity as a formulation parameter can help to promote more nanoparticulate drug delivery systems to be translated to the clinics. (A) Height image of gelatin nanoparticles on a silica surface imaged in Milli-Q® water at 37 °C in the quantitative imaging mode. (B) A force–distance curve

A multi-resistance wide-range calibration sample for conductive probe atomic force microscopy measurements

• François Piquemal,
• Khaled Kaja,
• Pascal Chrétien,
• José Morán-Meza,
• Frédéric Houzé,
• Christian Ulysse and
• Abdelmounaim Harouri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1141–1148, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.94

• resistances at the nanoscale has attracted recent attention for developing microelectronic components, memory devices, molecular electronics, and two-dimensional materials. Despite the decisive contribution of scanning probe microscopy in imaging resistance and current variations, measurements have remained

• applicable to all systems and setups. Results and Discussion Our approach consists of three main steps performed in a one-month timeframe. First, we calibrate the resistors employed in the fabrication of the reference sample using probe station measurements. Second, we use C-AFM imaging to obtain resistance

• maps and identify the error sources associated with the imaging-mode measurements. Finally, we apply spectroscopic C-AFM measurements to extract current versus voltage (I–V) curves for each resistance value on the sample. We undertake a comprehensive analysis to compare resistance values obtained by C

Curcumin-loaded albumin submicron particles with potential as a cancer therapy: an in vitro study

• Nittiya Suwannasom,
• Netsai Sriaksorn,
• Chutamas Thepmalee,
• Krissana Khoothiam,
• Ausanai Prapan,
• Hans Bäumler and
• Chonthida Thephinlap

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1127–1140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.93

• Cytation™ 5 Cell Imaging Multi-Mode Reader and analyzed using Gen5 data analysis software (BioTek® Instruments, Inc., Winooski, VT, USA). Particle size and zeta potential Hydrodynamic size, polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential of the particles were evaluated using a Zetasizer Nano ZS (Malvern

• Imaging Multi-Mode Reader and analyzed using BioTek Gen5 software. Cellular uptake To investigate the uptake of particles, HSA-MPs and CUR-HSA-MPs (8%) were labeled with FITC at a ratio of 9:1 at RT for 1 h and protected from light. After incubation, the labeled particles were washed three times with

Dual-heterodyne Kelvin probe force microscopy

• Benjamin Grévin,
• Fatima Husainy,
• Dmitry Aldakov and
• Cyril Aumaître

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1068–1084, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.88

• mode (DHe-KPFM spectroscopy), and 2D dynamic images can be acquired in data cube mode. The capabilities of DHe-KPFM in terms of time-resolved measurements, surface photovoltage (SPV) imaging, and detection of weak SPV signals are demonstrated through a series of experiments on difference surfaces: a

• drift [2][3]. Another issue is that some of the SPV components – related to dynamical processes – can remain hidden to this “conventional” SPV imaging [4]. To mitigate the effects of thermal drift, a first alternative consists in performing a data cube acquisition of CPD curves synchronously recorded

• approach to check the nature of the SPV dynamics. Compared to previous “modulated” SPV imaging techniques, dual-heterodyne KPFM provides an enhanced sensitivity (as demonstrated in the following), thanks to the amplification of the intermodulation products by the second resonance eigenmode. In addition

Spatial mapping of photovoltage and light-induced displacement of on-chip coupled piezo/photodiodes by Kelvin probe force microscopy under modulated illumination

• Zeinab Eftekhari,
• Nasim Rezaei,
• Hidde Stokkel,
• Jian-Yao Zheng,
• Andrea Cerreta,
• Ilka Hermes,
• Minh Nguyen,
• Guus Rijnders and
• Rebecca Saive

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1059–1067, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.87

• for the micrometric measurement is comparable to the locally measured photovoltage. However, we were not able to quantify precisely the displacement of the membrane by conventional imaging since a temperature-induced drift occurs under illumination. Therefore, we modified the method in the point scan

Recognition mechanisms of hemoglobin particles by monocytes – CD163 may just be one

• Jonathan-Gabriel Nimz,
• Pichayut Rerkshanandana,
• Chiraphat Kloypan,
• Ulrich Kalus,
• Saranya Chaiwaree,
• Axel Pruß,
• Radostina Georgieva,
• Yu Xiong and
• Hans Bäumler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1028–1040, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.85

• three single measurements (cytation 3 imaging reader, BioTek Instruments GmbH, Bad Friedrichshall, Germany). The hemoglobin concentration of the particles was then calculated from the measured values according to the following formula, as published by Smuda et al. [38]: (A = absorbance at 574 nm; ƒ

A visible-light photodetector based on heterojunctions between CuO nanoparticles and ZnO nanorods

• Doan Nhat Giang,
• Nhat Minh Nguyen,
• Duc Anh Ngo,
• Thanh Trang Tran,
• Le Thai Duy,
• Cong Khanh Tran,
• Thi Thanh Van Tran,
• Phan Phuong Ha La and
• Vinh Quang Dang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1018–1027, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.84

• photodetectors (PDs) to “Industry 4.0”, which may include image sensors, biomedical imaging, manufacturing process control, environmental sensing, and optical sensors [8]. Various materials for photodetectors have been developed. Photodetectors can be classified into two main categories, namely PDs that work at