A modification of the polyol process has enabled the direct synthesis of nm-sized Ag particles with narrow size distribution and controlled average dimension embedded in a polymeric matrix. Dispersion of colloidal silver was obtained by reduction of silver nitrate in ethylene-glycol in the presence of a polymeric protective agent (i.e., poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)) and ultrasounds. The final parti...

Carbon monoxide oxidation over ruthenium catalysts has shown an unusual catalytic behavior. Here we report a particle size effect on CO oxidation over Ru nanoparticle (NP) catalysts. Uniform Ru NPs with a tunable particle size from 2 to 6 nm were synthesized by a polyol reduction of Ru(acac)(3) precursor in the presence of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) stabilizer. The measurement of catalytic activity...

The formation of hydrate plugs in oil and gas pipelines is a serious industrial problem and recently there has been an increased interest in the use of alternative hydrate inhibitors as substitutes for thermodynamic inhibitors like methanol. We show here that antifreeze proteins (AFPs) possess the ability to modify structure II (sII) tetrahydrofuran (THF) hydrate crystal morphologies by adherin...

In this paper, we show an integrated complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based microchip system with capillary array electrophoresis (CAE) for the detection of bacterial pathogen amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In order to demonstrate the efficacy of PCR reaction for the heat-labile toxin producing enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (E. coli), which causes cholera-like di...

The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) of silver nanoparticles can be tuned throughout the visible and near-infrared region by their shape and size. Considering SPR applications, an easy and controllable method for preparing the silver nanocrystals with defined shape and size, is necessary. In this work, the triangular silver nanoplates were synthesized by reducing Ag(+) ions with ascorbic acid in...

AIM The purpose of this study was to characterise C₆₀-poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) dispersions, to analyse the cutaneous absorption of fullerenes as well as to evaluate whether UVA radiation (UVA-R) could modify its permeation profile. METHODS Dispersions were characterised according to their pH, particle size, zeta potential, and morphology. Skin absorption studies were performed using porci...

The growth mechanism from pentatwinned (PTW) gold nanorods into truncated quasi-decahedral particles when a gold salt (HAuCl₄) is reduced by N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) in the presence of poly(vinylpyrrolidone), was elucidated through a combination of different techniques, including transmission and scanning electron microscopy, high resolution TEM and selected area electron diffraction. Parti...