Quantum dots (QDs) and silica nanoparticles (SNs) are new classes of fluorescent probes that overcome the limitations encountered by organic fluorophores in bioassay and biological imaging applications. We encapsulated QDs and SNs into liposomes and separated nanoparticle-loaded liposomes from unencapsulated nanoparticles by size exclusion chromatography. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy w...

A nanoparticle (NP) doping technique was developed for fabricating erbium (Er)- and holmium (Ho)-doped silica-based optical fibers for high energy lasers. Slope efficiencies in excess of 74% were realized for Er NP doping in a single mode fiber based master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) and 53% with multi-Watt-level output in a resonantly cladding-pumped power oscillator laser configuration...

We have studied the colloidal self-assembly of silica microspheres on a glass substrate patterned with triangular dimple arrays of varying pitch. Using the same silica microspheres, both charge-stabilized and hard-sphere-like binary mixtures of microspheres and nanoparticles were prepared, and their gravitational sedimentation followed by colloidal crystallization were rigorously examined in re...

Coal-measure mudstone is a typical dual-porosity media, and grouting in a matrix system is dominantly controlled by the imbibition effect for silica sol. This paper studies the imbibition effect using mudstone in the Huaibei mining area and silica sol as grouting material as an example. Groutability, driving force, and diffusion difficulty affecting the imbibition effect were tested by a mercur...

In this work, size-controlled multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles having large surface areas, embedded luminescence, high magnetization, and excellent aqueous dispersity have been successfully prepared by using a simple one-pot synthesis. The size and pore ordering of these particles can be easily controlled based on the number density of Fe3O4 nanoparticle nucleation sites introduc...

Recent breakthroughs in the synthesis of mesoporous silica materials with controlled particle size, morphology, and porosity, along with their chemical stability, has made silica matrices highly attractive as the structural basis for a wide variety of nanotechnological applications such as adsorption, catalysis, sensing, and separation. In addition, we and others have discovered that surface-fu...

Submitted for the MAR13 Meeting of The American Physical Society The investigation of the viscoelastic properties of silica/PMMA nanocomposites as a function of silica surface chemistry1 HEATHER CONWAY, DENIZ RENDE, RAHMI OZISIK, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — Poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA, has been used as an economic alternative to glass and polycarbonate in differing situations because...

Ultrasound is critical in many areas of medicine including obstetrics, oncology, and cardiology with emerging applications in regenerative medicine. However, one critical limitation of ultrasound is the low contrast of target tissue over background. Here, we describe a novel cup-shaped silica nanoparticle that is reminiscent of exosomes and that has significant ultrasound impedance mismatch for...

This study relates to nanoparticle (NP) platforms that attach to tumor cells externally and only deliver singlet oxygen for photodynamic therapy (PDT) while conserving the embedded photosensitizers (PS). As a model, we demonstrate the successful embedding of the PS meta-tetra(hydroxyphenyl)-chlorin (m-THPC) in NP that are based on a sol-gel silica matrix and also show its positive effect on the...

Gold nanoparticle mediated (GNOME) laser transfection/perforation fulfills the demands of a reliable transfection technique. It provides efficient delivery and has a negligible impact on cell viability. Furthermore, it reaches high-throughput applicability. However, currently only large gold particles (> 80 nm) allow successful GNOME laser perforation, probably due to insufficient sedimentation...