National Institute Of Materials Physics - Romania

Luminescent polymer fibers were obtained by electrospinning solutions of 8% (in ethanol) polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) doped with three different dyes (coumarin 6, rhodamine 6G and sulforhodamine 101). Using the same parameters for the electrospinning process, nanofibers with diameters between 200 and 800 nm and different sizes and distributions of the beads were obtained as proven by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We assessed the dependence of their emissive properties (intensity and wavelength) on the type of dye using photoluminescence (PL) spectra for the same concentration of the dopand dye (10(-3)M). Moreover, employing 4 different concentrations for coumarin 6 and rhodamine 6G (from 10(-3) to 10(-6) M) we evaluated the dependence with the concentration of the dye on the emissive properties of the electrospun dye-doped PVP nanofibers.

Polyester fabrics modified with ZnO particles by electroless deposition were investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy in a parallel capacitor between 10(-2) and 10(7) Hz in a temperature interval from ca. 123 to 473 K. Textile samples were routinely characterized for the structure and interaction of the ZnO particles with the fiber surface. Since a textile fabric material is a mixture of air and fibers, the parameters taken into consideration should be called as effective ones. The deposition of ZnO particles lead to complex dielectric spectra and to the temperature dependence of the decomposed peaks following Arrhenius law.

Iron oxide-silica nanoparticles (IOSi-NPs) were prepared from a mixture of ferrous chloride tetrahydrate and ferric chloride hexahydrate dropped into a silica xerogel composite. The structure and morphology of the synthesized maghemite nanoparticles into the silica xerogel were analysed by X-ray diffraction measurements, scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and transmission electron microscopy. The results of the EDAX analysis indicated that the embedded particles were iron oxide nanoparticles. The particle size of IOSi-NPs calculated from the XRD analysis was estimated at around 12.5 nm. The average size deduced from the particle size distribution is 13.7 +/- 0.6 nm, which is in good agreement with XRDanalysis. The biocompatibility of IOSi-NPs was assessed by cell viability and cytoskeleton analysis. Histopathology analysis was performed after 24 hours and 7 days, respectively, from the intratracheal instillation of a solution containing 0.5, 2.5, or 5mg/ kg IOSi-NPs. The pathological micrographs of lungs derived from rats collected after the intratracheal instillation with a solution containing 0.5mg/kg and 2.5mg/ kg IOSi-NPs show that the lung has preserved the architecture of the control specimen with no significant differences. However, even at concentrations of 5mg/ kg, the effect of IOSi-NPS on the lungs was markedly reduced at 7 days post treatment.

The synthesis of nanoparticles with inhibitory and bactericidal effects represents a great interest in development of new materials for biological applications. In this paper we present for the first time the synthesis of Ca10-xSmx(PO4)(6)(OH)(2) nanoparticles at low temperature and primary tests concerning the adherence of Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 (gram-positive bacteria). All the XRD peaks were indexed in accordance with the hexagonal HAp in P63m space group. The EDAX spectrum and elemental mapping of O, P, Ca, and Sm demonstrate that all the elements were homogeneously distributed in Ca Sm-10-x(x).(PO4)(6)(OH)(2) with x(Sm) = 0.03. The peaks at 347.3 eV, 532.1 eV, and 133.8 eV in the XPS spectra can be attributed to the binding energy of Ca 2p, O is, and P 2p. The peak at 1084.4 eV observed in Ca Sm-10-x(x)(PO4)(6)(OH)(2) was attributed to the Sm 3d(5/2). Bacterial adhesion was reduced on Ca Sm-10-x(x)(PO4)(6)(OH)(2) sample when compared to pure HAp (x(Sm) = 0) and significant differences in bacterial adhesion on pure HAp (x = 0) and Sm:HAp (x(Sm) = 0.01,x(Sm) = 0.03, and x(Sm) = 0.1) were observed. The bacterial adhesion decreased when the samarium concentrations increased. Finally, we demonstrate that the Sm: HAp nanopowder with x(Sm) > 0 showed high antibacterial activity against Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212.

Recently, ZnO and natural polysaccharides have received more and more attention as interesting components for designing complex functional nanomaterials, key elements being their high occurrence and low-cost. In this chapter are presented possibilities for tailoring the ZnO properties by using polysaccharides in the synthesis process as well as reports on the functionalization of cellulose-based natural fabrics with ZnO. In both cases, in the preparation step were used only simple and scalable wet chemical methods. The resulting materials with suitable characteristics, e.g. dependence of the ZnO nanostructures optical properties on their morphology or high-UV blocking and superhydrophobicity for ZnO-functionalized fabrics, can find applications in domains where such qualities are required.

Carbon nanotubes are widely studied components for drug delivery systems due to their high surface area and low chemical reactivity. The research presented in this paper deals with the synthesis of drug delivery systems based on single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and the well-known cancer treatment drug Cisplatin. The new nanomaterials obtained through covalent bonding between carboxyl groups from the SWCNTs surface and amino groups from the Cisplatin structure were characterized from structural point of view. To evaluate the content of drug released the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) was employed. The releasing profile shows a slow rate in the beginning followed by a spectacular increase after 180 minutes which means that this type of system could be used for prolonged release.

Vacuum deposition at small angle was successfully applied in deposition of SiOx particles onto polyester textile materials; this deposition is here presented in comparison with that upon other materials made from poly(lactic acid), polyamide or hemp. Structural and spectroscopic characterization of deposited samples has been performed and compared with that of the raw materials. The deposited particles are amorphous. Contact angle measurement by the sessile drop method, was used to study the wettability behavior of the investigated composite systems. The hierarchical roughness structure generates hydrophylic properties onto polyester fabrics and the other functionalized samples after deposition. The deposition technique was proven to be highly reproducible, easy scalable and cheap, allowing a wide range of applications.

The 2,2'-bipyridine effects on iron monosulfide (FeS) oxidative dissolution rates have been examined by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The adsorption of 2,2'-bipyridine to synthetic FeS was investigated by batch adsorption experiments, SEM, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis and Raman spectroscopy. The experiments were performed in air-saturated solutions at pH 5, 25 degrees C and an ionic strength of I = 0.004 M NaCl. Correlation between oxidative dissolution rates and 2,2'-bipyridine adsorption suggests that FeS oxidative dissolution is the result of two antagonistic processes: (i) the inhibiting adsorption of 2,2'-bipyridine on mineral surface and (ii) the promoting effect of 2,2'-bipyridine on the iron dissolution from FeS surface. Copyright (C) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The goal of this study was to synthetize and characterize a porous material based on tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) coated hydroxyapatite (HApTh) after removal experiments of Pb2+ ions from aqueous solutions. In order to study the morphology and composition, the samples obtained after removal experiments of Pb2+ ions from aqueous solution with the initial Pb2+ ion concentrations of the aqueous solutions were 0.1g.L-1 (HApTh-50) and 0.9g.L-1 (HApTh-450) have been investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Removal experiments of Pb2+ ions were carried out in aqueous solutions with controlled concentration of Pb2+. After the removal experiment of Pb2+ ions from solutions, porous hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were transformed into HApTh-50 and HApTh-450 due to the adsorption of Pb2+ ions followed by a cation exchange reaction. The obtained results show that the porous HApTh nanopowders could be used for Pb2+ ions removal from aqueous solutions.

This paper deals with the synthesis of two nanohybrid materials based on maghemite (gamma-Fe2O3) and poly-DL-alanine using a two-step procedure consisting of maghemite nanoparticles synthesis by microemulsion method and nanohybrids obtaining by coating of maghemite nanoparticles with poly-DL-alanine biopolymer in two different molar ratios (H1:5 and H1: 15). The maghemite and their corresponding nanohybrids were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, Mossbauer spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, High resolution transmission electron microscopy with selected area electron diffraction and Atomic absorption spectroscopy. The two nanohybrids under the investigation have the average particle sizes of 22 nm and 23 nm. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectra and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy data indicate the existence of some interactions between the maghemite nanoparticles and poly-DL-alanine shell. The saturation magnetization values for maghemite and the two nanohybrids determined by a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer correspond to a typical superparamagnetic behavior suitable for applying in biomedical field. Also, with respect of biomedical application the biological activity of maghemite and its corresponding nanohybrids was investigated on healthy human cells (PBMC) and cancerous cells (HeLa). Furthermore, in order to support the multifunctionality of the gamma-Fe2O3 sample and nanohybrids we also investigated their wastewater treatment properties by measuring the removal efficiency of heavy metal Cd (II) ions. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.