Herein, we demonstrate the design and fabrication of the well-defined triple-shelled Ag@Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2 nanospheres with burr-shaped hierarchical structures, in which the multiple distinct functional components are integrated wonderfully into a single nanostructure. In comparison with commercial TiO2 (P25), pure TiO2 microspheres, Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2 and annealed Ag@Fe3O4@SiO2@TiO2 nanocomposites, ...

Theranostic nanoparticles offer the potential for mixing and matching disparate diagnostic and therapeutic functionalities within a single nanoparticle for the personalized treatment of diseases. In this article, we present composite iron oxide-gadolinium-containing Prussian blue nanoparticles (Fe3O4@GdPB) as a novel theranostic agent for T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and phototh...

The study of the paleomagnetic signal recorded by rocks allows scientists to understand Earth's past magnetic field and the formation of the geodynamo. The magnetic recording fidelity of this signal is dependent on the magnetic domain state it adopts. The most prevalent example found in nature is the pseudo-single-domain (PSD) structure, yet its recording fidelity is poorly understood. Here, th...

Silver nanoparticles integrated with a magnetic matrix such as Fe3O4 to form AgFe3O4 nanocomposites show some advantages in their applications as an antibacterial agent and heterogeneous catalyst. This material can be synthesized by a combination of electrochemical and reduction methods supported by ultrasonic route. The purposes of this study are to synthesize the nanocomposites by reduction m...

Extensive efforts have been devoted to the development of a new biophotonic system using near infrared (NIR) nano-agents for non-invasive cancer diagnosis and therapy. Here, we developed a simple synthesis reaction of ligands, hydrazine, and iron(ii) chloride to fabricate Fe3O4 cluster-structured nanoparticles (CNPs) with interesting NIR photonics and high magnetization (Ms: 98.3 emu g(-1) and ...

Pt-loaded multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Pt/MCNTs) and magnetically responsive Pt-Fe3O4/MCNT catalysts were prepared by a stepwise loading of preformed Pt and Fe3O4 nanoparticles onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs). The structure, composition, and magnetism of the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), TEM, H2-O2 titration, inductively coupling plasma-atomic emission sp...

In gene therapy, how genetic therapeutics can be efficiently and safely delivered into target tissues/cells remains a major obstacle to overcome. To address this issue, nanoparticles consisting of non-covalently coupled polyethyleneimine (PEI) and folic acid (FA) to the magnetic and fluorescent core/shell of Fe3O4@SiO2(FITC) was tested for their ability to deliver Notch-1 shRNA. Our results sho...

Stimuli-sensitive hydrogels have received attention because of their potential applications in various fields. Stimuli-directed motion offers many practical applications, such as in drug delivery systems and actuators. Directed motion of asymmetric hydrogels has long been designed; however, few studies have investigated the motion control of symmetric hydrogels. We designed a pine cone scale-in...

We present a systematic study of core-shell Au/Fe3O4 nanoparticles produced by thermal decomposition under mild conditions. The morphology and crystal structure of the nanoparticles revealed the presence of Au core of d = (6.9 ± 1.0) nm surrounded by Fe3O4 shell with a thickness of ~3.5 nm, epitaxially grown onto the Au core surface. The Au/Fe3O4 core-shell structure was demonstrated by high an...

Convenient reading out and/or determination of ionic strength (IS) is of great significance for both scientific research and real life applications. We presented here a novel method for the rapid and sensitive IS assay based on the electrolyte-induced sensitive wavelength blueshifts of the reflection spectra of polyacrylate capped Fe3O4 magnetic photonic crystals (PA-Fe3O4-MPCs). For HCl, MgSO4...