Femtosecond filamentation and supercontinuum generation in silver-nanoparticle-doped water

The authors report the investigation of filament and supercontinuum generation by focusing a femtosecond laser beam into water doped with silver nanoparticles. The silver nanoparticles enhance the nonlinear optical response of water, leading to broadening of supercontinuum spectra in self-focused femtosecond filaments. During the propagation of the supercontinuum light in the filament, the silver nanoparticles preferentially scatter the short-wavelength light near the plasmon resonant wavelength peak, followed by the scattering of the long-wavelength light. Thus, a side view of the filament shows a full-color spectrum in the visible range, which is herein called "rainbow filament." (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Electrical bistability and negative differential resistance in diodes based on silver nanoparticle-poly(N-vinylcarbazole) composites

An electrically bistable device has been fabricated using nanocomposite films consisting of silver nanoparticles and a semiconducting polymer by a simple spin-coating method. The current-voltage characteristics of the as-fabricated devices exhibit an obvious electrical bistability and negative differential resistance effect. The current ratio between the high-conducting state and low-conducting state can reach more than 103 at room temperature. The electrical bistability of the device is attributed to the electric-filed-induced charge transfer between the silver nanoparticles and the polymer, and the negative differential resistance behavior is related to the charge trapping in the silver nanoparticles. The results open up a simple approach to fabricate high quality electrically bistable devices by doping metal nanoparticles into polymer.

Ethanol-induced formation of silver nanoparticle aggregates for highly active SERS substrates and application in DNA detection

A controllable silver nanoparticle aggregate system has been synthesized by adding different amounts of ethanol to cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) capped silver nanoparticles (Ag-nps), which could be used as highly efficient surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) active substrates. This ethanol-induced aggregation can be attributed to preferential dissolution of CTAB into ethanol, which leads a partial removal of the protective CTAB layer on Ag-nps. The optical and morphological properties of these aggregates under various volumes of ethanol were explored via UV-vis spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy.

Fabrication, characterization, and application in surface-enhanced Raman spectrum of assembled type-I collagen-silver nanoparticle multilayered films

In this paper, we report a facile method for the fabrication of type-I collagen-silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) multilayered films by utilizing type-I collagen as a medium. These samples were characterized by UV-vis spectra photometer, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform IR spectrum. Experimental results show that collagen molecules serve as effective templates to assemble Ag NPs into multilayer films. These samples exhibit high surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) enhancement abilities.

A study on the antibacterial activity of one-dimensional ZnO nanowire arrays: effects of the orientation and plane surface

In this study, ZnO nanowire arrays with different orientations were prepared. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and field- emission scanning electron microscope (FE- SEM) technique were employed for understanding the disparities in antibacterial activity between different orientations of ZnO nanoarrays. The effects of the different planes of ZnO nanowire were also discussed for the first time.

Self-assembled silver nanoparticle monolayer on glassy carbon: an approach to SERS substrate

In this paper, the fabrication of an active surf ace-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate by self-assembled silver nanoparticles on a monolayer of 4-aminophenyl-group-modified glassy carbon (GC) is reported. Silver nanoparticles are attached to the substrate through the electrostatic force between the negatively charged silver nanoparticles and the positively charged 4-aminophenyl groups on GC. The active SERS substrate has been characterized by means of tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM), indicating that large quantities of silver nanoparticles are uniformly coated on the substrate. Rhodamine 6G (R6G) and p-aminothiophenol (p-ATP) are used as the probe molecules for SERS, resulting in high sensitivity to the SERS response, with the detection limit reaching as low as 10(-9) m. This approach is easily controlled and reproducible, and more importantly, can extend the range of usable substrates to carbon-based materials for SERS with high sensitivity.

Preparation of TiO2 nanocrystallites by hydrolyzing with gaseous water and their photocatalytic activity

TiO2 nanocrystallites were prepared front precursors tetra-n-butyl titanate (Ti(OC4H9)(4)) and titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4). The precursors were hydrolyzed by gaseous water in autoclave, and then calcined at predetermined testing temperatures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). The photocatalytic activities of the samples were evaluated by the photobleaching of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous solution and the photocatalytic oxidation of propylene in gas phase at ambient temperature. The results showed that the anatase phase nanocrystalline TiO2 could be obtained at relatively low temperatures (for precursor Ti(OC4H9)4 at I I VC and for TiCl4 at 140 degrees C, respectively), and that the as prepared samples exhibited high photocatalytic activities to photobleach MB in aqueous solution. As the calcination temperatures increasing. the decolor ratio of MB increased and reached the maximum value of nearly 100% at 600 degrees C, and then decreased. The photobleaching of MB by all samples followed the pseudo-first-order kinetics with respect to MB concentration.

Fabrication of arrays of silver nanoparticle aggregates by microcontact printing and block copolymer nanoreactors

A combination of microcontact printing and block copolymer nanoreactors succeeded in fabricating arrays of silver nanoparticle aggregates. A complex solution of polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) micelles and silver salt was used as an ink to form thin films or droplets on polydimethylsiloxane stamp protrusions. After these complex aggregates were printed onto silicon substrates under controlled conditions, highly ordered arrays of disklike, dishlike, and dotlike complex aggregates were obtained. A Subsequent oxygen reactive ion etching treatment yielded arrays of silver nanoparticle aggregates.

Electrochemical detection of DNA immobilized on gold colloid particles modified self-assembled monolayer electrode with silver nanoparticle label

The target DNA was immobilized successfully on gold colloid particles associated with a cysteamine monolayer on gold electrode surface. Self-assembly of colloidal An onto a cysteamine modified gold electrode can enlarge the electrode surface area and enhance greatly the amount of immobilized single stranded DNA (ssDNA). The electrontransfer processes of [Fe(CN)(6)](4)-/[Fe(CN)(6)](3-) on the gold surface were blocked due to the procedures of the target DNA immobilization, which was investigated by impedance spectroscopy. Then single stranded target DNA immobilized on the gold electrode hybridized with the silver nanoparticle-oligonucleotide DNA probe, followed by the release of the silver metal atoms anchored on the hybrids by oxidative metal dissolution, and the indirect determination of the released solubilized Ag-1 ions by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV) at a carbon fiber microelectrode. The results show that this method has good correlation for DNA detection in the range of 10-800 pmol/1 and allows the detection level as low as 5 pmol/1 of the target oligonucleotides.

Synthesis and Bioactivity of Novel Benzisothiazolone Derivatives as Potential Microbiocides

Novel microbiocides 2-(hydroxymethyl)benzo[d)isothiazol-3(2H)-one (7) and (3-oxobenzo[d]isothiazol-2(3H)-yl)methyl benzencarboxylates (11a-c) were synthesized in good yields, and their structures were characterized by means of H-1 NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. The new compounds were tested preliminarily in laboratory assays against the aquicolous bacteria including Escherichia coli, Staphyloccus aurueus, Vibrio alginolyticus, Aeromonas hydrophila, and Bacillus subtilis. The results show all the synthesized compounds have good antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity of all the tested compounds against all test bacteria is >96.6% at the concentration of 10(-2) mg mL(-1). These compounds can be further developed for effective microbiocides in the future.

Synthesis and Anti-Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Activity of (E)-N-Phenylstyryl-N-alkylacetamide Derivatives

A series of (E)-N-phenylstyryl-N-alkylacetamides, 5, were synthesized by direct reduction-acetylation of beta-arylnitroolefins, followed by N-alkylation. The title compounds were characterized by H-1-NMR, EIMS and IR analysis. All the synthesized compound

Enzyme Colorimetric Assay Using Unmodified Silver Nanoparticles

Colorimetric assay based on the unique surface plasmon resonance properties of metallic nanoparticles has received considerable attention in bioassay due to its simplicity, high sensitivity, and low cost. Most of colorimetric methods previously reported employed gold nanoparticles (GNPs) as sensing elements. In this work, we develop a sensitive, selective, simple, and label-free colorimetric assay using unmodified silver nanoparticle (AgNP) probes to detect enzymatic reactions. Enzymatic reactions concerning adenosine triphosphate (ATP) dephosphorylation by calf intestine alkaline phosphatase (CLAP) and peptide phosphorylation by protein kinase A (PKA) were studied.