Interactions of Bimodal Magnetic and Fluorescent Nanoparticles Based on Carbon Quantum Dots and Iron-Carbon Nanocomposites with Cell Cultures.

Interactions of bimodal (fluorescent and magnetic) nanoparticles with HeLa cells were studied. The nanoparticles, characterized by high magnetic moment and relaxing capacity, exhibited fluorescence sufficient for their use as labels in confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. Penetration of these nanoparticles into the cell depended on their surface charge: positively charged nanoparticles of this structure penetrated inside, while negatively charged particles were not found in the cells.

Reaction of Lymphoid Organs to Injection of Iron-Carbon Nanoparticles.

The distribution of iron-carbon nanoparticles in FeC-DSPE-PEG-2000 modification (micellar particles with structure (Fe) core-carbon shell; PEG-based coating) is studied. The greater part of the nanoparticles accumulated in the spleen and liver, a small amount in the lungs, and the minimum amount in the thymus. The structural changes in the lymphoid organs were minor and involved only the microcirculatory bed. Analysis of the peripheral blood showed manifest anemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukocytosis.

Evaluation of Biodistribution of Functionalized Magnetic Core/Carbon-Shell Nanoparticles in Systemic Method of Administration.

We studied new magnetic nanocomposites consisting of a core(Fe) and carbon-shell inert to biological media. Iron-carbon nanoparticles circulate in the bloodstream for several minutes and are primarily accumulated in the liver; less intensive accumulation was found in the spleen and minimum in the lungs, kidneys, and heart. Accumulation of nanoparticles in the liver leads to the development of destructive processes and is accompanied by activation of compensatory-adaptive mechanisms. In the liver and spleen, structural changes are mild and mainly relate to changes in the microvasculature. In 6 months, the total content of nanoparticles in all tissues decreased due to their elimination from the body and the structure of the organs returned to normal.

A neutron scattering study of hydrogen dynamics in coarse-grained and nanostructured ZrCr2H3.

The vibrational spectra of hydrogen and parameters of H diffusion in the coarse-grained C15-type system ZrCr(2)H(3) and in nanostructured ZrCr(2)H(3) have been studied by means of inelastic and quasielastic neutron scattering. It is found that the diffusive motion of hydrogen in coarse-grained ZrCr(2)H(3) can be described in terms of at least two jump processes: a fast localized H motion with the jump rate τ(l)( - 1) over the hexagons formed by interstitial Zr(2)Cr(2) sites and a slower process with the rate τ(d)( - 1) associated with H jumps leading to long-range diffusion. While τ(d)( - 1)(T) in the range 250-380 K follows the Arrhenius law with the activation energy of 142 ± 4 meV, the temperature dependence of τ(l)( - 1) deviates from Arrhenius behavior. The nanostructured ZrCr(2)H(3) samples prepared by ball milling consist of C15-type grains and strongly distorted (amorphous-like) regions. H atoms in the strongly distorted regions are found to be immobile on the time scale of our experiments. The microscopic picture of H jump motion in the C15-type grains of the nanostructured samples is similar to that in coarse-grained ZrCr(2)H(3); however, the ball milling leads to a considerable decrease in the jump rate τ(d)( - 1).

Structural and functional state of the bone marrow during its in vitro interaction with ferromagnetic nanoparticles.

Hemopoietic islets, associations of stromal (macrophages, fibroblasts) and blood (including stem) cells, are structural and functional units of the bone marrow. We studied cellular and molecular processes developing following short-term (1 h) contact of hemopoietic islets with ferromagnetic nanoparticles in a multicellular system of the bone marrow in vitro. It was established that nanodispersions of magnetite (Fe(3)O(4), mean particle diameter 18 nm) and iron coated with carbon (Fe(C), particle diameter 5-10 nm) in a dose of 3 mg/liter had a minor effect on processes of necrotic and apoptotic cell death. Nanodispersion of carbon-coated iron (Fe(C)) most mildly stimulated oxidizing processes recorded by intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species. These nanoparticles, in contrast to magnetite, did not reduce the amount of hemopoietic islets in the bone marrow cell suspension.

Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of hydrogen motion in nanostructured Laves-phase hydrides ZrCr(2)H(x) and TaV(2)H(x).

In order to study the mobility of hydrogen in nanostructured Laves-phase hydrides, we have measured the proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra and the proton spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation rates in two nanostructured systems prepared by ball milling: ZrCr(2)H(3) and TaV(2)H(1+δ). The proton NMR measurements have been performed at the resonance frequencies of 14, 23.8 and 90 MHz over the temperature ranges 11-424 K (for coarse-grained samples) and 11-384 K (for nanostructured samples). Hydrogen mobility in the ball-milled ZrCr(2)H(3) is found to decrease strongly with increasing milling time. The experimental data suggest that this effect is related to the growth of the fraction of highly distorted intergrain regions where H mobility is much lower than in the crystalline grains. For the nanostructured TaV(2)H(1+δ) system, the ball milling is found to lead to a slight decrease in the long-range H mobility and to a suppression of the fast localized H motion in the crystalline grains.

Characterization of nanoscaled heterogeneities in mechanically alloyed and compacted CuFe.

Cu80Fe20 and Cu50Fe50 were mechanically alloyed from the pure elements by ball milling for 36 h. The alloy powder was compacted into tablets at room temperature by applying a pressure of 5 GPa. Characterization of the Cu80Fe20) and Cu50Fe50 alloys was carried out by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HREM), atom probe field ion microscopy and three-dimensional atom probe (3DAP). The grain size of the nanocrystalline microstructure of the ball-milled alloys observed with HREM varies between 3 and 50 nm. Atom probe and 3DAP measurements indicate that the as-prepared state is a highly supersaturated alloy, in which the individual nanocrystals have largely varying composition. Fe concentration in Cu was found to range from about 8 to 50 at%. It is concluded that by ball milling and compacting an alloy is produced which on a nanometer scale is heterogeneous with respect to morphology and composition.