ABSTRACT
Metal nanoparticles have unusual optical, electronic, sensing, recognition, catalytic, and therapeutic properties. They are expected to form the basis of many of the technological and biological innovations of this century. A prerequisite for future applications using nanoparticles as functional entities is control of the shape, size, and homogeneity of these nanoparticles and of their interparticle spacing and arrangement on surfaces, between electrodes, or in devices. Here, we demonstrate that thin films of gold, silver, and copper sputter-deposited onto the surface of an organic polymer poly[[1,1':4',1â³-terphenyl]-4,4â³-diyl(2-bromo-1-carboxyethylidene)] (PTBC) undergo spontaneous solid-solid transformation into nanoparticles. Furthermore, we show that, by varying the thickness of the films, the volume-to-surface ratio of the polymer substrate, and the amount of plasticizer, it is possible to control the rate of transformation and the morphology of the nanoparticles formed. PTBC containing Au nanoparticles was found to enhance the cell adhesion and proliferation. To the best of our knowledge, our findings constitute the first experimental evidence of spontaneous, room-temperature, solid-solid transformation of metal films sputtered onto the surface of an organic polymeric substrate into nanoparticles (crystals).
ABSTRACT
A modified sol-gel process for synthesizing nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite powders (nHA) for biomedical applications, using tetrahydrated calcium nitrate [Ca(NO(3))(2)â4H(2)O] and phosphorous pentoxide [P(2)O(5)] as precursor, is presented and discussed. The powders were washed and heat-treated at different temperatures and then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The total process time reached with this modified process was less than 16 h. The results showed that there was an increment in size of the HA nanocrystals (nHA) when treated at different temperatures, ranging from 30 nm for the sample treated at 600°C to 500 nm for the sample heat-treated at 1,200°C.