Multifunctional Hybrid MoS2-PEGylated/Au Nanostructures with Potential Theranostic Applications in Biomedicine.

In this work, flower-like molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) microspheres were produced with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to form MoS2-PEG. Likewise, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were added to form MoS2-PEG/Au to investigate its potential application as a theranostic nanomaterial. These nanomaterials were fully characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoelectron X-ray spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), cyclic voltammetry and impedance spectroscopy. The produced hierarchical MoS2-PEG/Au microstructures showed an average diameter of 400 nm containing distributed gold nanoparticles, with great cellular viability on tumoral and non-tumoral cells. This aspect makes them with multifunctional characteristics with potential application for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Through the complete morphological and physicochemical characterization, it was possible to observe that both MoS2-PEG and MoS2-PEG/Au showed good chemical stability and demonstrated noninterference in the pattern of the cell nucleus, as well. Thus, our results suggest the possible application of these hybrid nanomaterials can be immensely explored for theranostic proposals in biomedicine.

Ultrasound exfoliation of graphite in biphasic liquid systems containing ionic liquids: A study on the conditions for obtaining large few-layers graphene.

Herein we describe a successful protocol for graphite exfoliation using a biphasic liquid system (water/dichloromethane, DCM) containing ionic liquids (ILs; 1,3-dibenzylimidazolium benzoate- and 1-naphthoate). The use of (surface active) IL and sonication led to stable DCM/water (O/W) emulsion, which enhanced graphene formation, suppressed its re-aggregation and decreased shear/cavitation damage. The O/W emulsion stabilization by the ILs was studied by dynamic light scattering (DLS), whereas their interaction with the graphene sheets were described by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Moreover, a comprehensive investigation on cavitation-based exfoliation in the O/W systems was performed to assess the importance of operational parameters, including, the type of ultrasound processor, ultrasound power and insonation, and the influence of the exfoliation medium.