Nanocrystals are carrier-free solid drug particles that are sized in the nanometer range and have crystalline characteristics. Due to high drug loading (as high as 100%) - free of organic solvents or solubilizing chemicals - nanocrystals have become attractive in the field of drug delivery for cancer treatment. Top-down and bottom-up approaches have been developed for preparing anticancer nanoc...

Self-assembling of size, shape, and phase controlled nanocrystals into superlattices with translational and even orientational ordering is a new approach for engineering nanocrystal materials and devices. High purity tetrahedral nanocrystals of CoO, with edge lengths of 4.4 6 0.2 nm, were synthesized and separated from Co nanocrystals, using a novel magnetic field phase-selection technique. Sel...

Using analytical transmission electron microscopy techniques, nanocrystals embedded in 4H–SiC are studied which formed after high dose samarium (Sm), cobalt (Co), and Sm-and-Co-ion implantations and annealing. SmSi2, Sm5C2, Co2Si and SmCo-rich nanocrystals have been identified in terms of their crystallography, shape, strain, size, and orientation relationship to the matrix. It is shown, moreov...

CdS and alloyed CdSxSe1-x nanocrystals were prepared by a simple noninjection method without nucleation initiators. Oleic acid (OA) was used to stabilize the growth of the CdS nanocrystals. The size of the CdS nanocrystals can be tuned by changing the OA/Cd molar ratios. On the basis of the successful synthesis of CdS nanocrystals, alloyed CdSxSe1-x nanocrystals can also be prepared by simply r...

Pressure-induced structural transformations in spherical and faceted gallium arsenide nanocrystals of various shapes and sizes are investigated with a parallel molecular-dynamics approach. The results show that the pressure for zinc blende to rocksalt structural transformation depends on the nanocrystal size, and all nanocrystals undergo nonuniform deformation during the transformation. Spheric...

We demonstrate the synthesis of near-IR-emitting zinc blende CdTe/CdS tetrahedral-shaped nanocrystals with a magic-sized (approximately 0.8 nm radius) CdTe core and a thick CdS shell (up to 5 nm). These high-quality water-soluble nanocrystals were obtained by a simple but reliable aqueous method at low temperature. During the growth of the shell over the magic core, the core/shell nanocrystals ...

Monodispersed hollow spindle-like nanosphere (HS-NS) and tetrapod nanorod (TP-NR) MnS nanocrystals are obtained via a facile template-free hydrothermal process. The MnS nanocrystals are used as supercapacitor materials and they exhibit high performances. The TP-NR nanocrystals show a higher specific capacitance of 704.5 F g(-1) compared to the HS-NS nanocrystals, and both show higher values com...

We have begun assessing the toxicology of commercially available fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals that contain toxic metals. We have found that: 1) Fluorescence of the aquatic invertebrate Cerodaphnia dubia increased significantly after a 4 hr exposure to 200 ppt nanocrystals. Changes in fluorescence were time and dose dependent. 2) 48-h acute toxicology endpoint assessment of these nanoc...

Nanocrystals are pure drug crystals with sizes in the nanometer range. Due to the advantages of high drug loading, platform stability, and ease of scaling-up, nanocrystals have been widely used to deliver poorly water-soluble drugs. Nanocrystals in the blood stream can be recognized and sequestered as exogenous materials by mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) cells, leading to passive accumulat...

Cellulose nanocrystals are unique nanomaterials derived from the most abundant and almost inexhaustible natural polymer, cellulose. These nanomaterials have received significant interest due to their mechanical, optical, chemical, and rheological properties. Cellulose nanocrystals primarily obtained from naturally occurring cellulose fibers are biodegradable and renewable in nature and hence th...