The effects of a sub-nanometer grain boundary in all-silica chabazite (CHA) zeolite membranes on their permeation properties were investigated by non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). results indicated that at the total pressure 0.5 MPa, 298 K, CO2 selectivity toward CH4 drastically increased due to presence region inside membrane. This was consequence selective condensation boundary. calc...

Silica-based nanoparticles (NPs) pose great potential for medical and biological applications; however, their interactions with living cells have not been investigated in full. The objective of this study was to analyze the mechanical characteristics of mesenchymal stem cells when cultured in the presence of silica (Si) and silica-boron (SiB) nanoparticles. Cell stiffness was measured using ato...

Using of nanocomposite membranes composed of polymer and inorganic nanoparticles is a novel method to enhance gas separation performance. In this study, membranes were fabricated from polyester (PE) containing silica (SiO2) nanoparticles and gas permeation properties of the resulting membranes were investigated. Morphology of the membranes, SiO2 distribution a...

Crystallisation of barium carbonate from alkaline silica solutions results in the formation of extraordinary micron-scale architectures exhibiting non-crystallographic curved shapes, such as helical filaments and worm-like braids. These so-called ‘‘silica biomorphs’’ consist of a textured assembly of uniform elongated witherite nanocrystallites, which is occasionally sheathed by a skin of amorp...

Various protocell models have been constructed de novo with the bottom-up approach. Here we describe a silica-based protocell composed of a nanoporous amorphous silica core encapsulated within a lipid bilayer built by self-assembly that provides for independent definition of cell interior and the surface membrane. In this review, we will first describe the essential features of this architectur...

BACKGROUND The diatom cell wall, called the frustule, is predominantly made out of silica, in many cases with highly ordered nano- and micro-scale features. Frustules are built intracellularly inside a special compartment, the silica deposition vesicle, or SDV. Molecules such as proteins (silaffins and silacidins) and long chain polyamines have been isolated from the silica and shown to be invo...

Resin bonding to zirconia cannot be established from standard methods that are currently utilized in conventional silica-based dental ceramics. The solution-gelatin (sol-gel) process is a well developed silica-coating technique used to modify the surface of nonsilica-based ceramics. Here, we use this technique to improve resin bonding to zirconia, which we compared to zirconia surfaces treated ...

The hydrothermal stability of molecular sieve silica (MSS) membranes is an area of increasing research interest, in particular for applications such as membrane reactors and membrane gas separation of process streams containing hot steam. In these applications, gas streams are likely to contain water vapor, which reacts with the hydrophilic sites in the silica thin films resulting in chemical a...

BACKGROUND Inhalation of crystalline silica induces a pulmonary fibrotic degeneration called silicosis caused by the inability of alveolar macrophages to dissolve the crystalline structure of phagocytosed quartz particles. Ascorbic acid is capable of partially dissolving quartz crystals, leading to an increase of soluble silica concentration and to the generation of new radical sites on the qua...

For any living cell the exchange with its environment is vital. Therefore, many different kinds of cargo are able to enter cells via energy-dependent or -independent routes. Nanoparticles are no exemption. It is known that small silica nanoparticles with a diameter below 50 nm are taken up by cells and that their uptake exerts pronounced toxic effects beyond a certain concentration threshold. H...