Silver-Gold Alloy Nanoparticles (AgAu NPs): Photochemical Synthesis of Novel Biocompatible, Bimetallic Alloy Nanoparticles and Study of Their In Vitro Peroxidase Nanozyme Activity.

Facile synthesis of metal nanoparticles with controlled physicochemical properties using environment-friendly reagents can open new avenues in biomedical applications. Nanomaterials with controlled physicochemical properties have opened new prospects for a variety of applications. In the present study, we report a single-step photochemical synthesis of ~5 nm-sized silver (Ag) and gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs), and Ag-Au alloy nanoparticles using L-tyrosine. The physicochemical and surface properties of both monometallic and bimetallic NPs were investigated by analytical, spectroscopic, and microscopic techniques. Our results also displayed an interaction between L-tyrosine and surface atoms that leads to the formation of AgAu NPs by preventing the growth and aggregation of the NPs. This method efficiently produced monodispersed NPs, with a narrow-sized distribution and good stability in an aqueous solution. The cytotoxicity assessment performed on breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7) revealed that the biofriendly L-tyrosine-capped AgNPs, AuNPs, and bimetallic AgAu NPs were biocompatible. Interestingly, AgAu NPs have also unveiled controlled cytotoxicity, cell viability, and in vitro peroxidase nanozyme activity reliant on metal composition and surface coating.

Efficient Solar Light Photocatalyst Made of Ag3PO4 Coated TiO2-SiO2 Microspheres.

Solar light active photocatalyst was prepared as silver phosphate (Ag3PO4) coating on titania-silica (TiO2-SiO2) microspheres. Titania-silica microsphere was obtained by spray drying TiO2-SiO2 colloidal solutions, whereas Ag3PO4 was applied by wet impregnation. XRD on the granules and SEM analysis show that the silver phosphate particles cover the surface of the titania-silica microspheres, and UV-visible diffuse reflectance analysis highlights that Ag3PO4/TiO2-SiO2 composites can absorb the entire visible light spectrum. BET measurements show higher specific surface area of the composite samples compared to bare Ag3PO4. Photocatalytic activity was evaluated by dye degradation tests under solar light irradiation. The prepared catalysts follow a pseudo-first-order rate law for dye degradation tests under solar light irradiation. The composite catalysts with an Ag3PO4/TiO2-SiO2 ratio of 1:1.6 wt% show better catalytic activity towards both rhodamine B and methylene blue degradation and compared with the results with uncoated TiO2-SiO2 microspheres and the benchmark commercial TiO2 (Evonik-P25) as a reference. The composite photocatalyst showed exceptional efficiency compared to its pristine counterparts and reference material. This is explained as having a higher surface area with optimum light absorption capacity.

Coffee Grounds-Derived CNPs for Efficient Cr(VI) Water Remediation.

Carbon nanomaterials are a group of materials characterized by sp2/sp3 carbon backbone which, combined with surface atoms and/or chemical groups, ensures peculiar physical chemical features for a wide range of applications. Among these materials, carbon dots and carbon nanoparticles belong to carbon nanomaterials with a few nanometer dimensions. In this work, carbon nanoparticles were produced from spent coffee grounds as sustainable carbon source through a simple, cheap and eco-friendly procedure according to an oxidation process (at controlled temperature) driven by hydrogen peroxide. Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and fluorescence, UV-Vis absorption, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy were used to assess the formation of carbon nanomaterials of about 10 nm with the typical emission and absorption properties of carbon dots and peculiar surface features. In fact, the presence of heteroatoms, i.e., phosphorus, and the carbonyl/carboxyl surface groups on carbon nanoparticles, was proposed to confer peculiar properties allowing the fast Mn(VII) reduction to Mn(II) at neutral pH and the Cr(VI) reduction to Cr(III) in weak acid aqueous media.

Using aggregates of gold nanorods in SER(R)S experiments: an empirical evaluation of some critical aspects.

An empirical evaluation of some critical aspects resulting from aggregation of gold nanorods (AuNRs) used as surface enhanced resonant Raman scattering (SERRS)-active substrates was reported. Two types of AuNR substrates with longitudinal plasmon bands which either match (in-plasmon resonance) or not (off-plasmon resonance) the wavelength of the exciting laser source (λ: 632.8 nm) were tested in resonant Raman detection of methylene blue (MB). The in-plasmon resonance condition proved to be significantly useful for detecting MB at very low concentration (less than 10(-10) M), whereas the off-plasmon resonance setup is more than enough for intermediate-low concentrations (down to 10(-8) M). Differently sized AuNR aggregates, obtained by sequential dilution of the AuNR solutions allowed us to investigate the dependence of for surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) intensity on the size of the aggregates, pointing out a simple strategy for preparing AuNR-based SERS substrates.

Cu-Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles incorporated silica films using a new three-layer deposition technique.

Formation of Au-Ag-Cu ternary alloy nanoparticles (NPs) is difficult mainly because the system Cu/Ag is immiscible. We present a new synthetic technique to generate such ternary alloy NPs in silica film matrix employing a three-layer (3L) coating design. In this methodology three successive coating layers were deposited on silica glass substrates from separately prepared Cu-, Au- and Ag-ion incorporated inorganic-organic hybrid silica sols by dipping method. The Au layer is kept in the middle because it is miscible with both the Ag and Cu. The 3L film assembly was subjected to UV- and heat-treatment at 450-750 degrees C in H2-N2 atmosphere. UV-treatment generates small Au and Ag NPs in the respective layers and Cu remains as Cu2+; subsequent heat-treatment in H2-N2 induces the formation of ternary alloy NPs by the interlayer diffusion of nanometals. The final heat-treated film (750 degrees C/H2-N2) shows single and sharp plasmon band centered at 480 nm in the UV-visible spectrum indicating the formation of alloy (solid solution) NPs. GIXRD study shows one set of diffraction peaks which are shifted towards higher angle with respect to the Au or Ag diffraction peaks. FESEM, GIXRD, HRTEM, and SAED analyses reveal that the alloy has a composition close to (Au + Ag)0.88Cu0.12. The EDS analyses using the nano probe attached with TEM confirm the presence of Au, Ag and Cu in all the alloy NPs.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Tetracycline by ZnO/γ-Fe2O3 Paramagnetic Nanocomposite Material.

In recent years, the presence of numerous xenobiotic substances, such as antibiotics, has been detected in water environments. They can be considered as environmental contaminants, even if their effect on human health has yet to be totally understood. Several approaches have been studied for the removal of these kinds of pollutants. Among these compounds, tetracycline (TC), a broad-spectrum antibiotic, is one of the most commonly found in water due to its widespread use. In the context of reducing the presence of TC in aqueous solution, in this contribution, a composite catalyst based on zinc oxide (ZnO) and iron oxide (γ-Fe2O3) was developed and its photocatalytic properties were investigated. The catalytic materials were synthesized by a microwave-assisted aqueous solution method and characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The TC concentration was evaluated by spectrophotometer measurements at specific time intervals. The performed photocatalytic experiments clearly demonstrated that the ZnO/γ-Fe2O3 composite catalyst presents significant photocatalytic activity, indeed a TC degradation efficiency of 88.52% was registered after 150 min. The presence of iron oxide in the structure of the catalyst enhances both the surface area and the pore volume, facilitating the adsorption of the analyte on the surface of nanostructures, a fundamental phase to optimize a photodegradation process. Moreover, ZnO was found to play the key role in the photocatalytic process assisted by γ-Fe2O3 which enhanced the TC degradation efficiency by 20%.

Synthesis of Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles with Au/Ag compositional control in SiO2 film matrix.

Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles with tunable atomic ratios have been generated in SiO2 film matrix using a new two layer (TL) approach. Two successive overlapping coating layers of similar thickness were deposited on silica glass substrates using Au- and Ag-incorporated inorganic-organic hybrid silica sols, respectively. The Au and Ag concentrations in the individual layers were varied to obtain the desired Au-Ag alloys of different compositions. Four sets of such TL coating assemblies were prepared from the following pair of sols: (i) 4 equivalent mol.% Au-96% SiO2 and 2 equivalent mol.% Ag-98% SiO2, (ii) 3 equivalent mol.% Au-97% SiO2 and 2 equivalent mol.% Ag-98% SiO2, (iii) 3 equivalent mol.% Au-97% SiO2 and 3 equivalent mol.% Ag-97% SiO2, and (iv) 2 equivalent mol.% Au-98% SiO2 and 3 equivalent mol.% Ag-97% SiO2 and subjected to UV (2.75 J/cm2) and heat-treatments (450-550 degrees C) in air and H2-N2 atmospheres for the generation of Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles of approximate compositions Au.66Ag0.33, Au0.6Ag0.4, Au0.5Ag0.5, and Au0.4Ag0.6, respectively. After UV-treatment, individual Au and Ag nanoparticles were formed in the respective layers. The heat-treatment (450-550 degrees C) induces interlayer diffusion of Au and Ag to each other with the generation of Au-Ag alloy nanoparticles, and as a result, Au-Ag alloy surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorptions were observed in between the Ag- and Au-SPR absorption positions in the visible spectra. The expected alloy compositions are formed through several intermediate alloy nanoparticles, which can also be arrested by controlling the annealing parameters. The alloy formations were monitored by UV-VIS, FTIR, XRD, EDAX, and TEM studies.

Silver-Functionalized Bacterial Cellulose as Antibacterial Membrane for Wound-Healing Applications.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) functionalized with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is evaluated as an antimicrobial membrane for wound-healing treatment. A facile green synthesis of silver nanoparticles inside the porous three-dimensional weblike BC network has been obtained by UV light irradiation. AgNPs were photochemically deposited onto the BC gel network as well as they were chemically bonded to the cellulose fiber surfaces. AgNPs with a narrow size distribution along with some aggregates in the BC network were evidenced from the morphological analyses. A highly crystalline nature of the BC membranes was observed in X-ray diffraction measurements, and the presence of metallic silver confirmed the photochemical reduction of Ag+ → Ag0 in Ag/BC composites. Antibacterial activity of the hybrid composites, such as pellicles, performed against the Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) by disk diffusion and growth dynamics methods showed high bacteria-killing performance. No significant amount of silver release was observed from the Ag/BC pellicles even after a long soaking time. As composite pellicles are preserved in a moist environment that also favors wound recovery, by combining all of these properties the material could be useful in wound-healing treatments.

A new non-destructive method for chemical analysis of particulate matter filters: the case of manganese air pollution in Vallecamonica (Italy).

Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (TXRF) is a well-established technique for chemical analysis, but it is mainly employed for quality control in the electronics semiconductor industry. The capability to analyze liquid and uniformly thin solid samples makes this technique suitable for other applications, and especially in the very critical field of environmental analysis. Comparison with standard methods like inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) shows that TXRF is a practical, accurate, and reliable technique in occupational settings. Due to the greater sensitivity necessary in trace heavy metal detection, TXRF is also suitable for environmental chemical analysis. In this paper we show that based on appropriate standards, TXRF can be considered for non-destructive routine quantitative analysis of environmental matrices such as air filters. This work has been developed in the frame of the EU-FP6 PHIME (Public Health Impact of long-term, low-level Mixed element Exposure in susceptible population strata) Integrated Project (www.phime.org). The aim of this work was to investigate Mn air pollution in the area of Vallecamonica (Italy).

Stochastic galvanic vestibular stimulation produces a small reduction in sway in Parkinson's disease.

We investigated the effects of bicathodal stochastic galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) on body sway in normal subjects and in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients. Twenty normal subjects and five PD patients were stimulated with four stimulus intensities between 0 and 0.5 mA and sway was measured in two stance conditions (on a compliant surface with either eyes open (EOCS) or closed (ECCS)). Subjects stood facing forward with their feet together on a force platform. Centre of pressure (CoP) displacement over 26 seconds was measured in the anteroposterior (AP) and mediolateral (ML) planes. GVS had no significant overall effect on sway in the normal subjects. In the patients a small (4.5%) significant decrease in sway was seen in the ECCS condition with low intensity (0.1 mA) stimulation (P=0.02). Similar changes were seen in the normal subjects. This work indicates that low intensities of stochastic GVS can reduce sway levels in PD patients for certain stance conditions.

Formation of Au-Pt bimetallic nanoparticles in a two-layer SiO2 films doped with Au and Pt, respectively, through interlayer diffusion.

Bimetallic Au-Pt nanoparticles have been generated inside a relatively porous SiO2 film matrix by a two-layer (2L) coating methodology. Two overlapping coating layers were deposited on glass substrates from Au- and Pt-doped inorganic-organic hybrid silica sols and air dried at 60 degrees C. The 2L coating assembly was then UV- and followed by heat-treated at 450 and 550 degrees C in air. UV-treatment decomposes AuCl(4)(-) and PtCl(6)(2-) ions in the respective layers and the subsequent heat treatment in air influences the diffusion of Au and Pt nanometals to each other to form bimetallic Au-Pt nanoparticles inside the silica matrix. A UV-visible study showed damping of Au-plasmon after heat treatments. GIXRD and TEM analyses reveal the formation of a partial Au/Pt solid solution with a small fraction of Pt ( approximately 16%), while the major fraction of Pt remains fused with the Au(Pt) solid solution.