This study examines the preparation and evaluation of two‑layer polymer films containing different types of quantum dots (QDs) as reversible ratiometric luminescent temperature sensors. Films comprising chalcogenide and lead halide QDs dispersed in two layers of optically transparent polymer matrixes are investigated. Differences in temperature sensitivity are analyzed, and optimal mass ratios of the QDs are selected to obtain clearly distinguishable individual luminescence peaks in two‑layer films. The dependences of the luminescence intensity ratio (LIR) of the components on the temperature are calculated in the range from 298 to 373 K. It is shown that the LIR of films containing only chalcogenide quantum dots is well described by second-order polynomial functions with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. Moreover, the LIR of films containing both chalcogenide and perovskite QDs exhibits a linear dependence in the temperature range of 298–353 K. The temperature stability of the luminescence of the studied films is demonstrated during repeated heating‑cooling cycles.
Proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology had aroused considerable research interest in the past few decades. However, PROTAC technology still suffers some limitations such as unfavorable aqueous solubility, limited cell membrane permeability, poor tissue selectivity and adverse side effects. To advance its clinical translation, herein, a hyaluronic acid (HA)-encapsulated and GSH-responsive degradable dendritic mesoporous organosilicone nanoparticles was constructed as novel nanocarrier for enhanced delivery and controllable releasing of PROTAC within cancer cells. As a proof of concept, PROTAC ARV-771 is chosen and the DMONs-NH2@ARV-771@HA nanocomplex is prepared by step-by-step loading of ARV-771 and HA. The results showed that the DMONs-NH2@HA can specifically and efficiently transport cargo molecules into the tumor cells through CD44 receptor-mediated endocytosis. Moreover, the redox reaction with glutathione causes the breakup of DMONs-NH2 and subsequent controllable release of ARV-771, enabling degradation of target protein BRD4 and selective therapy within tumor cells. The DMONs-NH2@HA nanoparticles only provide a novel delivery system for PROTAC but also may facilitate the clinical application of PROTAC in the near future.
This article addresses the expanding presence of content analysis in bibliometric studies. The Journal of Nanoparticle Research publishes bibliometric articles for insights regarding research, industrial, and societal trends centering on nanotechnology. Characteristic of bibliometrics is its reliance on network analysis, which is the basis for claiming that earlier-in-time documents influence later ones, i.e., for drawing causal inferences. Bibliometric techniques employed in the Journal’s articles (bibliographic coupling, co-citation, word co-occurrence, and main path analyses) are examined and comparisons made to the methodology expected of review articles authored by subject matter experts. The potential for subject matter experts to change their literature practices using open, noncommercial search technology and the increasing availability of content analysis techniques, such as large language models, are recurring themes. Major focal points are as follows: delineating research communities using keywords or alternatives, ensuring that commercial and marketplace characteristics align with search criteria when examining patents, and balancing the individual’s informal use of search technology and artificial intelligence with the formal, statistical analyses expected with published bibliometric articles.
This review reports reliable methods and good practices for the synthesis of shape-controlled plasmonic nanocrystals, focusing on Au and, comparatively, Pd. The authors attempted to reproduce most of the syntheses discussed below and report with high confidence the most reproducible protocols; some pioneering studies receive less emphasis where a more reliable route to the same shape has since been reported. Shape and interfacial chemistry, more than composition or size alone, govern light–matter interactions in plasmonic nanocrystals, dictating the position, intensity, and directionality of the localized surface plasmon resonance. Colloidal bottom-up synthesis is the method of choice for accessing this shape space, owing to its versatility and native compatibility with liquid media, an advantage for biomedical applications requiring dispersed, functionalized, stable aqueous nanoparticles. This versatility is also the field’s central challenge: anisotropic growth is an out-of-equilibrium process governed by a delicate interplay between reaction kinetics and facet-specific interfacial forces (capping agents, halides, underpotential-deposited metal adlayers), so small variations in precursor ratios, reagent purity, addition order, or reaction scale can have an outsized, often unpredictable impact on morphology, posing persistent obstacles to reproducibility and scale-up [25]. This review surveys shape-controlled synthesis of Au and Pd nanocrystals, for which a broad shape library has been achieved, including spheres, nanorods, mini-nanorods, cubes, concave and convex cubes, stars, bipyramids, plates, octahedra, icosahedra, truncated octahedra, and rhombohedra. By examining mechanistic principles common to these syntheses — seed crystallinity, ligand- and halide-mediated facet passivation, and deposition/diffusion kinetics — this work aims to provide a unified framework for understanding, and improving the reproducibility of, shape-controlled noble-metal nanocrystal synthesis.
The wetting behavior of thin films in nanotechnological coating applications is strongly affected by surface roughness. In this study, the effect of the fabrication method on the hydrophobicity of ZnO/stearic acid nanocomposite thin films was investigated. CBD (chemical bath deposition), SILAR (successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction), and flow-through chemical deposition (FTCD) were used to coat the nanocomposite films on a glass substrate. The ZnO/stearic acid nanocomposite film synthesized via FTCD using a continuous-flow reactor exhibited lower surface roughness and better wetting behavior compared to the conventional coating methods. XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), EDS (energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy), UV–Vis (ultraviolet–visible), FT-IR (Fourier transform infrared), and SPM (scanning probe microscopy) were used for structural, optical, and morphological characterization of the nanocomposite thin films. The wettability character of the hydrophobic ZnO coatings was evaluated by WCA (water contact angle) measurements. Nanocomposite coatings prepared by CBD (Rq: 80.91 nm), SILAR (Rq: 78.18 nm), and FTCD (Rq: 42.29 nm) exhibited water contact angles of 145.26° ± 3.04°, 141.09° ± 3.50°, and 130.63° ± 3.78°, respectively, revealing the relationship between surface roughness and wettability. Correlating the roughness-dependent wetting behavior with morphological parameters in the context of coating technique has contributed to the design and fabrication of hydrophobic surfaces for applications such as self-cleaning and corrosion inhibition.
