Electronic Supplementary Material (ESI) for Probing local pH-based co-precipitation processes in self-assembled silica-carbonate hybrid materials

Probing local pH-based precipitation processes in self-assembled silica-carbonate hybrid materials.

Crystallisation of barium carbonate in the presence of silica can lead to the spontaneous assembly of highly complex superstructures, consisting of uniform and largely co-oriented BaCO3 nanocrystals that are interspersed by a matrix of amorphous silica. The formation of these biomimetic architectures (so-called silica biomorphs) is thought to be driven by a dynamic interplay between the compone...

Hybrid calcium carbonate/polymer microparticles containing silver nanoparticles as antibacterial agents

We report here on synthesis and characterization of novel hybrid material consisting of silver nanoparticles (nAgs) embedded in calcium carbonate microparticles (μ-CaCO(3)) serving as carriers for sustained release. nAgs are commonly used as antimicrobial agents in many commercial products (textiles, cosmetics, and drugs). Although they are considered to be safe, their interactions with human o...

Multi-component hybrid hydrogels – understanding the extent of orthogonal assembly and its impact on controlled release† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Full experimental methods and further data from assays. See DOI: 10.1039/c7sc03301j Click here for additional data file.

This paper reports self-assembled multi-component hybrid hydrogels including a range of nanoscale systems and characterizes the extent to which each component maintains its own unique functionality, demonstrating that multi-functionality can be achieved by simply mixing carefully-chosen constituents. Specifically, the individual components are: (i) pH-activated low-molecular-weight gelator (LMW...

Ratiometric detection of pH fluctuation in mitochondria with a new fluorescein/cyanine hybrid sensor† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Characterization of Mito-pH, emission spectra and photograph of Mito-pH solutions, linear fitting of the ratiometric response, and co-localization images at pH 8.50. See DOI: 10.1039/c4sc04021j Click here for additional data file.

Self-assembled micelles of amphiphilic PEGylated rapamycin for loading paclitaxel and resisting multidrug resistant cancer cells† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Chemicals and reagents, detailed experimental procedures for materials synthesis, characterization, cellular evaluations and supporting figures and tables. See DOI: 10.1039/c4tb01633e Click here for additional data file.

Self-assembled micelles of amphiphilic PEG-rapamycin conjugates loaded with paclitaxel have been developed for co-delivery and simultaneous intracellular release of paclitaxel and rapamycin, bypassing the cancer cell drug resistant mechanism and maximising the synergy of dual-drug combinational therapy. This novel nanomedicine offers 20-fold improved potency over free paclitaxel against a model...