materials-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Materials and Nanomaterials for Environmental and Bio-Medical Applications

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2016) | Viewed by 60874

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
BIOSCOPE Group, LAQV@REQUIMTE, Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal
Interests: antibiotic resistance; MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry; analytical proteomics; biomarker discovery; analytical chemistry; biochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail
Guest Editor
1. BIOSCOPE Group Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Technology Institution University NOVA of Lisbon, 2829-516 Monte da Caparica, Portugal
2. Proteomass Scientific Society, Rua dos Inventores, Madan Park, Campus of Caparica, Portugal
Interests: quantum dots, nanoparticles; fluorescence; peptides, protein scavengers

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LAQV-REQUIMTE—Chemistry Department, NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal
Interests: nanoproteomics; biomarker discovery; personalised medicine; mass spectrometry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are proud to announce this Special Issue, “Materials and Nanomaterials for Environmental and Bio-medical applications”, in Materials (MDPI Editorial; IF: 2.651) devoted to The 2nd International Symposium on Nanoparticles, Nanomaterials and Applications (2nd ISN2A).

The conference will be held in Costa de Caparica, Portugal, from 1821 January, 2016. This Special Issue will select excellent papers from the oral (plenary, keynotes, and regular talks) and posters participations, and covers a very wide range of fields in materials, nanomaterials and environmental and bio-medical applications. We invite investigators to contribute original research articles, as well as review articles, to this Special Issue.

Dr. Carlos Lodeiro
Dr. Jose Luis Capelo
Dr. Elisabete Oliveira
Dr. Hugo M. Santos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


Keywords

Nanoparticles/Nanomaterials in

  • Ÿ   bio-medicine
  • Ÿ   theranostics
  • Ÿ   drug-delivery
  • Ÿ   biomarker discovery
  • Ÿ   imaging
  • Ÿ   scavengers
  • Ÿ   pre-concentration systems
  • Ÿ   environmental remediation
  • Ÿ   pollutant toxic molecules
  • Ÿ   ions and cation detection
  • Ÿ   water

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (7 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

927 KiB  
Article
Tunable Emission Wavelength Stacked InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots by Chemical Beam Epitaxy for Optical Coherence Tomography
by Bouraoui Ilahi, Jihene Zribi, Maxime Guillotte, Richard Arès, Vincent Aimez and Denis Morris
Materials 2016, 9(7), 511; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9070511 - 24 Jun 2016
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 8209
Abstract
We report on Chemical Beam Epitaxy (CBE) growth of wavelength tunable InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QD) based superluminescent diode’s active layer suitable for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). The In-flush technique has been employed to fabricate QD with controllable heights, from 5 nm down to [...] Read more.
We report on Chemical Beam Epitaxy (CBE) growth of wavelength tunable InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QD) based superluminescent diode’s active layer suitable for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). The In-flush technique has been employed to fabricate QD with controllable heights, from 5 nm down to 2 nm, allowing a tunable emission band over 160 nm. The emission wavelength blueshift has been ensured by reducing both dots’ height and composition. A structure containing four vertically stacked height-engineered QDs have been fabricated, showing a room temperature broad emission band centered at 1.1 µm. The buried QD layers remain insensitive to the In-flush process of the subsequent layers, testifying the reliability of the process for broadband light sources required for high axial resolution OCT imaging. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

5609 KiB  
Article
Synergetic Effect of Ultrasound, the Heterogeneous Fenton Reaction and Photocatalysis by TiO2 Loaded on Nickel Foam on the Degradation of Pollutants
by Shan Qiu, Shanwen Xu, Guangming Li and Jixian Yang
Materials 2016, 9(6), 457; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9060457 - 8 Jun 2016
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5961
Abstract
The synergistic effect of ultrasound, the heterogeneous Fenton reaction and photocatalysis was studied using a nickel foam (NF)-supporting TiO2 system and rhodamine B (RhB) as a target. The NF-supporting TiO2 system was prepared by depositing TiO2 on the skeleton of [...] Read more.
The synergistic effect of ultrasound, the heterogeneous Fenton reaction and photocatalysis was studied using a nickel foam (NF)-supporting TiO2 system and rhodamine B (RhB) as a target. The NF-supporting TiO2 system was prepared by depositing TiO2 on the skeleton of NF repeatedly and then calcining it. To optimize the conditions and parameters, the catalytic activity was tested in four systems (ultrasound alone (US), nickel foam (NF), US/NF and NF/US/H2O2). The optimal conditions were fixed at 0.1 g/mL NF, initial 5.00 mg/L RhB, 300 W ultrasonic power, pH = 3 and 5.00 mg/L H2O2. The effects of the dissolution of nickel from NF and quenching of the Fenton reaction were studied on degradation efficiency. When the heterogeneous Fenton reaction is combined with TiO2-photocatalysis, the pollutant removal efficiency is enhanced significantly. Through this synergistic effect, 22% and 80% acetochlor was degraded within 10 min and 80 min, respectively. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

2757 KiB  
Article
Rapid Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Pepino (Solanum muricatum) Leaf Extract and Their Cytotoxicity on HeLa Cells
by Mónica Gorbe, Ravishankar Bhat, Elena Aznar, Félix Sancenón, M. Dolores Marcos, F. Javier Herraiz, Jaime Prohens, Abbaraju Venkataraman and Ramón Martínez-Máñez
Materials 2016, 9(5), 325; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9050325 - 28 Apr 2016
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6560
Abstract
Within nanotechnology, gold and silver nanostructures have unique physical, chemical, and electronic properties [1,2], which make them suitable for a number of applications. Moreover, biosynthetic methods are considered to be a safer alternative to conventional physicochemical procedures for both [...] Read more.
Within nanotechnology, gold and silver nanostructures have unique physical, chemical, and electronic properties [1,2], which make them suitable for a number of applications. Moreover, biosynthetic methods are considered to be a safer alternative to conventional physicochemical procedures for both the environmental and biomedical applications, due to their eco-friendly nature and the avoidance of toxic chemicals in the synthesis. For this reason, employing bio routes in the synthesis of functionalized silver nanoparticles (FAgNP) have gained importance recently in this field. In the present study, we report the rapid synthesis of FAgNP through the extract of pepino (Solanum muricatum) leaves and employing microwave oven irradiation. The core-shell globular morphology and characterization of the different shaped and sized FAgNP, with a core of 20–50 nm of diameter is established using the UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Zeta potential and dynamic light scanning (DLS) studies. Moreover, cytotoxic studies employing HeLa (human cervix carcinoma) cells were undertaken to understand FAgNP interactions with cells. HeLa cells showed significant dose dependent antiproliferative activity in the presence of FAgNP at relatively low concentrations. The calculated IC50 value was 37.5 µg/mL, similar to others obtained for FAgNPs against HeLa cells. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

2602 KiB  
Article
Removal of 4-Chlorophenol from Contaminated Water Using Activated Carbon from Dried Date Pits: Equilibrium, Kinetics, and Thermodynamics Analyses
by Hussein Allaboun and Fahmi A. Abu Al-Rub
Materials 2016, 9(4), 251; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9040251 - 30 Mar 2016
Cited by 28 | Viewed by 5746
Abstract
Five different activated carbons (ACs) have been prepared from dried date pits using air and phosphoric acid as activating agents. The used phosphoric acid:date pit ratio dictated the characteristics of the prepared ACs; the equivalent BET-nitrogen surface area varied from 794 m2 [...] Read more.
Five different activated carbons (ACs) have been prepared from dried date pits using air and phosphoric acid as activating agents. The used phosphoric acid:date pit ratio dictated the characteristics of the prepared ACs; the equivalent BET-nitrogen surface area varied from 794 m2/g for a ratio of 5:1, to 1707 m2/g for a ratio of 2:1, whereas the micropore volume changed in value from 0.24 cm3/g for the 5:1 ratio to 0.59 cm3/g for the 2:1 ratio. The prepared ACs were tested to remove 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) from aqueous solutions by means of batch adsorption process. The prepared 2:1 AC exhibited the highest uptake with a maximum of 525 mg/g. Equilibrium pH studies showed that 4-CP removal was pH dependent; the maximum uptake occurred at an equilibrium pH value of 5.5. Dynamic studies showed that 4-CP uptake on 2:1 AC is rapid, with 80% of the maximum uptake achieved during the first 40 min. Both surface adsorption and intraparticle diffusion were identified to be effective adsorption mechanisms. Kinetic studies indicated a pseudo second-order reaction. Results of equilibrium adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption of the 4-CP on 2:1 AC is best described by the Langmuir model. The thermodynamics parameters of the adsorption (ΔG0, ΔH0, and ΔS0) were determined by studying the adsorption equilibrium at different temperatures. The values of these parameters indicated the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the adsorption phenomenon of 4-CP on the prepared ACs. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

2792 KiB  
Article
Imaging Techniques and Scanning Electron Microscopy as Tools for Characterizing a Si-Based Material Used in Air Monitoring Applications
by Suárez-Peña Beatriz, Negral Luis, Castrillón Leonor, Megido Laura, Marañón Elena and Fernández-Nava Yolanda
Materials 2016, 9(2), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9020109 - 11 Feb 2016
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 6761
Abstract
This paper presents a study of the quartz fibrous filters used as a substrate for capturing the particulate matter (PM) present in the air. Although these substrates are widely used in environmental applications, their microstructure has been barely studied. The behavior of these [...] Read more.
This paper presents a study of the quartz fibrous filters used as a substrate for capturing the particulate matter (PM) present in the air. Although these substrates are widely used in environmental applications, their microstructure has been barely studied. The behavior of these devices during the filtration process was investigated in terms of their microstructure and the quartz fibers. Surface and cross sections were monitored. Scanning electronic microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), imaging and stereology techniques were used as tools for this purpose. The results show that most of the quartz filter fibers have sizes that allow them to be classified as nanofibers. It was also observed that, while the mechanisms of the mechanical capture of particles via impaction, interception and diffusion operate simultaneously in the outer zones of the filter cross section, the mechanism of capture by impaction is virtually non-existent in the innermost zones. Particles between 0.1 and 0.5 μm are known to be the most difficult to have captured by means of fibrous substrates. The fibers in inner zones were highly efficient in capturing this type of particle. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

2655 KiB  
Article
Acid Denaturation Inducing Self-Assembly of Curcumin-Loaded Hemoglobin Nanoparticles
by Kaikai Wang, Juan Wang, Wenwen Hu, Yifan Zhang, Feng Zhi, Zaigang Zhou, Jinhui Wu and Yiqiao Hu
Materials 2015, 8(12), 8701-8713; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma8125486 - 11 Dec 2015
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 7798
Abstract
Hemoglobin is a promising drug carrier but lacks extensive investigation. The chemical conjugation of hemoglobin and drugs is costly and complex, so we have developed curcumin-loaded hemoglobin nanoparticles (CCM-Hb-NPs) via self-assembly for the first time. Using the acid-denaturing method, we avoid introducing denaturants [...] Read more.
Hemoglobin is a promising drug carrier but lacks extensive investigation. The chemical conjugation of hemoglobin and drugs is costly and complex, so we have developed curcumin-loaded hemoglobin nanoparticles (CCM-Hb-NPs) via self-assembly for the first time. Using the acid-denaturing method, we avoid introducing denaturants and organic solvents. The nanoparticles are stable with uniform size. We have conducted a series of experiments to examine the interaction of hemoglobin and CCM, including hydrophobic characterization, SDS-PAGE. These experiments substantiate that this self-assembly process is mainly driven by hydrophobic forces. Our nanoparticles achieve much higher cell uptake efficiency and cytotoxicity than free CCM solution in vitro. The uptake inhibition experiments also demonstrate that our nanoparticles were incorporated via the classic clathrin-mediated endocytosis pathway. These results indicate that hemoglobin nanoparticles formed by self-assembly are a promising drug delivery system for cancer therapy. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

4478 KiB  
Review
Graphene–Gold Nanoparticles Hybrid—Synthesis, Functionalization, and Application in a Electrochemical and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Biosensor
by Ibrahim Khalil, Nurhidayatullaili Muhd Julkapli, Wageeh A. Yehye, Wan Jefrey Basirun and Suresh K. Bhargava
Materials 2016, 9(6), 406; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9060406 - 24 May 2016
Cited by 183 | Viewed by 18748
Abstract
Graphene is a single-atom-thick two-dimensional carbon nanosheet with outstanding chemical, electrical, material, optical, and physical properties due to its large surface area, high electron mobility, thermal conductivity, and stability. These extraordinary features of graphene make it a key component for different applications in [...] Read more.
Graphene is a single-atom-thick two-dimensional carbon nanosheet with outstanding chemical, electrical, material, optical, and physical properties due to its large surface area, high electron mobility, thermal conductivity, and stability. These extraordinary features of graphene make it a key component for different applications in the biosensing and imaging arena. However, the use of graphene alone is correlated with certain limitations, such as irreversible self-agglomerations, less colloidal stability, poor reliability/repeatability, and non-specificity. The addition of gold nanostructures (AuNS) with graphene produces the graphene–AuNS hybrid nanocomposite which minimizes the limitations as well as providing additional synergistic properties, that is, higher effective surface area, catalytic activity, electrical conductivity, water solubility, and biocompatibility. This review focuses on the fundamental features of graphene, the multidimensional synthesis, and multipurpose applications of graphene–Au nanocomposites. The paper highlights the graphene–gold nanoparticle (AuNP) as the platform substrate for the fabrication of electrochemical and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based biosensors in diverse applications as well as SERS-directed bio-imaging, which is considered as an emerging sector for monitoring stem cell differentiation, and detection and treatment of cancer. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop