Emulsions stabilized with solid nanoparticles: Pickering emulsions

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), also known as coordination polymers, represent an interesting type of solid crystalline materials that can be straightforwardly self-assembled through the coordination of metal ions/clusters with organic linkers. Owing to the modular nature and mild conditions of MOF synthesis, the porosities of MOF materials can be systematically tuned by judicious selection of molecular building blocks, and a variety of functional sites/groups can be introduced into metal ions/clusters, organic linkers, or pore spaces through pre-designing or post-synthetic approaches. These unique advantages enable MOFs to be used as a highly versatile and tunable platform for exploring multifunctional MOF materials. Here, the bright potential of MOF materials as emerging multifunctional materials is highlighted in some of the most important applications for gas storage and separation, optical, electric and magnetic materials, chemical sensing, catalysis, and biomedicine.

Emerging Multifunctional Metal-Organic Framework Materials.

The design and use of materials in the nanoscale size range for addressing medical and health-related issues continues to receive increasing interest. Research in nanomedicine spans a multitude of areas, including drug delivery, vaccine development, antibacterial, diagnosis and imaging tools, wearable devices, implants, high-throughput screening platforms, etc. using biological, nonbiological, biomimetic, or hybrid materials. Many of these developments are starting to be translated into viable clinical products. Here, we provide an overview of recent developments in nanomedicine and highlight the current challenges and upcoming opportunities for the field and translation to the clinic.

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Diverse Applications of Nanomedicine

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have become important fluorescent probes for in vitro and in vivo bioimaging research. Their nanoparticle surfaces for versatile bioconjugation, their adaptable photophysical properties for multiplexed detection, and their superior stability for longer investigation times are the main advantages of QDs compared to other fluorescence imaging agents. Here, we review the recent literature dealing with the design and application of QD-bioconjugates for advanced in vitro and in vivo imaging. After a short summary of QD preparation and their most important properties, different QD-based imaging applications will be discussed from the technological and the biological point of view, ranging from super-resolution microscopy and single-particle tracking over in vitro cell and tissue imaging to in vivo investigations. A substantial part of the review will focus on multifunctional applications, in which the QD fluorescence is combined with drug or gene delivery towards theranostic approaches or with complementary technologies for multimodal imaging. We also briefly discuss QD toxicity issues and give a short outlook on future directions of QD-based bioimaging.

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Quantum dots: bright and versatile in vitro and in vivo fluorescence imaging biosensors

Thermal processing of starch-based polymers

Superparamagnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles prepared by a classical coprecipitation method were used as the stabilizer to prepare magnetic Pickering emulsions, and the effects of particle concentration, oil/water volume ratio, and oil polarity on the type, stability, composition, and morphology of these functional emulsions were investigated. The three-phase contact angle (θ(ow)) of the Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles at the oil-water interface was evaluated using the Washburn method, and the results showed that for nonpolar and weakly polar oils of dodecane and silicone, θ(ow) is close to 90°, whereas for strongly polar oils of butyl butyrate and 1-decanol, θ(ow) is far below 90°. Inherently hydrophilic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles can be used to prepare stable dodecane-water and silicone-water emulsions, but they cannot stabilize butyl butyrate-water and decanol-water mixtures with macroscopic phase separation occurring, which is in good agreement with the contact angle data. Emulsions are of the oil-in-water type for both dodecane and silicone oil, and the average droplet size increases with an increase in the oil volume fraction. For stable emulsions, not all of the particles are adsorbed to drop interfaces; the fraction adsorbed decreases with an increase in the initial oil volume fraction. Changes in the particle concentration have no obvious influence on the stability of these emulsions, even though the droplet size decreases with concentration.

Magnetic Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Fe3O4 Nanoparticles

A white-light-emitting diode (white LED) with good color rendering index is fabricated based on a blue LED combined with high-fluorescence CdS:Cu/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) and YAG:Ce phosphors. The reabsorption problem is overcome by the excellent optical properties and enlarged Stokes shift of the QDs with low absorption of light of wavelengths longer than 470 nm.

Doped quantum dots for white-light-emitting diodes without reabsorption of multiphase phosphors.

Spectrometrically or optically encoded microsphere based suspension array technology (SAT) is applicable to the high-throughput, simultaneous detection of multiple analytes within a small, single sample volume. Thanks to the rapid development of nanotechnology, tremendous progress has been made in the multiplexed detecting capability, sensitivity, and photostability of suspension arrays. In this review, we first focus on the current stock of nanoparticle-based barcodes as well as the manufacturing technologies required for their production. We then move on to discuss all existing barcode-based bioanalysis patterns, including the various labels used in suspension arrays, label-free platforms, signal amplification methods, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based platforms. We then introduce automatic platforms for suspension arrays that use superparamagnetic nanoparticle-based microspheres. Finally, we summarize the current challenges and their proposed solutions, which are centered on improving encoding capacities, alternative probe possibilities, nonspecificity suppression, directional immobilization, and “point of care” platforms. Throughout this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive guide for the design of suspension arrays, with the goal of improving their performance in areas such as multiplexing capacity, throughput, sensitivity, and cost effectiveness. We hope that our summary on the state-of-the-art development of these arrays, our commentary on future challenges, and some proposed avenues for further advances will help drive the development of suspension array technology and its related fields.

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Suspension arrays based on nanoparticle-encoded microspheres for high-throughput multiplexed detection.

Rheological characterization of storage-stable SBS-modified asphalts

Highly-fluorescent CdSe/CdS/ZnS core/multi-shell quantum dot (QD) nanophosphors were successfully synthesized via a phosphine-free and continual precursor injection method in paraffin liquid for the first time. The as-prepared cubic zinc blended QDs showed high photoluminescent quantum yield (PLQY) and excellent optical stability. We also fabricated QDs/epoxy composites by directly dispersing the core/multi-shell QDs into epoxy resin as the encapsulating and light conversion materials for the application on the white light LED, and the as-prepared composites possessed even better stability against UV radiation and heating. Moreover, a white light LED was fabricated by combining QDs/epoxy composites incorporated with green, yellow and red emission QDs with blue InGaN LED, and the resulting four-band RYGB QD-WLED showed good performance with a CIE-1931 coordinates of (0.35, 0.37), Ra of 88, Tc of 3865 K and the power efficiency (PE) of 32 lm W−1 at 100 mA, indicating that the combination of highly fluorescent CdSe/CdS/ZnS core/multi-shell QDs in LEDs can be a promising solution for white light sources with high color rendering properties.

Stable efficient CdSe/CdS/ZnS core/multi-shell nanophosphors fabricated through a phosphine-free route for white light-emitting-diodes with high color rendering properties

Kang Sun

Papers

Magnetic Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Fe3O4 Nanoparticles

Doped quantum dots for white-light-emitting diodes without reabsorption of multiphase phosphors.

Suspension arrays based on nanoparticle-encoded microspheres for high-throughput multiplexed detection.

Rheological characterization of storage-stable SBS-modified asphalts

Stable efficient CdSe/CdS/ZnS core/multi-shell nanophosphors fabricated through a phosphine-free route for white light-emitting-diodes with high color rendering properties