We report on the interaction of pulmonary surfactant composed of phospholipids and proteins with nanometric alumina (Al2O3) in the context of lung exposure and nanotoxicity. We study the bulk properties of phospholipid/nanoparticle dispersions and determine the nature of their interactions. The clinical surfactant Curosurf, both native and extruded, and a protein-free surfactant are investigate...

We describe methodology for producing highly uniform, ordered and reproducible superstructures of surfactant-coated ZnS nanorod and nanowire assemblies, and propose a predictive multiscale "packing model" for superstructure formation based on electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction data on the superstructure, as well as on individual components of the nanostructured system. The studied...

The successful formulation of particulate dispersions is often hindered by the presence of charged species dissolved in solution. If present at high enough concentrations, these species can reduce the screening length between particles to near zero, allowing rapid coagulation and destabilization. The addition of a mixture of ionic and nonionic surfactants has been shown in a previous publicatio...

Clathrate hydrates are crystalline compounds composed of hydrogen-bonded water molecules that form polyhedral cavities and trap small guest molecules such as methane, carbon dioxide, cyclopentane (CP), and tetrahydrofuran (THF). Understanding the formation and dissociation of clathrate hydrates is of significant importance to addressing some global challenges such as greenhouse gas mitigation a...

Colloidal dispersions in nonpolar media are used in a variety of technological applications, and in most of these applications, water is present and plays a major role in determining the dispersion behavior. The effect of water on the stability of colloidal suspensions of alumina in cyclohexane in the presence of a surfactant, Aerosol OT, is discussed here. A succession of flocculated, disperse...

Contamination has previously been invoked to explain the flat shape and the long lifetimes of interfacial nanobubbles (INBs). In this study, the effects of surfactants on the formation and the stability of INBs were investigated when surfactants were added to the system before, during, and after the standard solvent exchange procedure (SSEP) for the formation of INBs. The solutions of sodium do...

We describe methodology for producing highly uniform, ordered and reproducible superstructures of surfactant-coated ZnS nanorod and nanowire assemblies, and propose a predictive multiscale ‘‘packing model’’ for superstructure formation based on electron microscopy and powder X-ray diffraction data on the superstructure, as well as on individual components of the nanostructured system. The studi...