Silica Spheres (silica + sphere)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Monodisperse Mesoporous Silica Spheres Inside a Bioactive Macroporous Glass,Ceramic Scaffold,

ADVANCED ENGINEERING MATERIALS, Issue 7 2010
Renato Mortera
In the field of bone tissue engineering, monosized MCM-41 spheres have been incorporated inside a bioactive glass,ceramic macroporous scaffold belonging to the SiO2CaOK2O (SCK) system so obtaining a multiscale hierarchical composite. The MCM-41-SCK system was prepared by dipping the glass,ceramic scaffold into the MCM-41 synthesis solution and was characterized by means of XRD, micro-XRD, N2 sorption and scanning electron microscopy. The MCM-41 spheres inside the scaffold are highly uniform in diameter, as those synthesized in powder form. The adsorption capacity of the composite toward ibuprofen is three times higher than that of the MCM-41-free scaffold, because of the presence of the ordered mesoporous silica. Also the release behavior in SBF at 37,°C is strongly affected by the presence of MCM-41 inside the scaffold macropores. [source]


Enhanced Optical Properties and Opaline Self-Assembly of PPV Encapsulated in Mesoporous Silica Spheres

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 23 2009
Timothy L. Kelly
Abstract A new poly(p -phenylenevinylene) (PPV) composite material has been developed by the incorporation of insoluble PPV polymer chains in the pores of monodisperse mesoporous silica spheres through an ion-exchange and in situ polymerization method. The polymer distribution within the resultant colloidal particles is characterized by electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, powder X-ray diffraction, and nitrogen adsorption. It was found that the polymer was selectively incorporated into the mesopores of the silica host and was well distributed throughout the body of the particles. This confinement of the polymer influences the optical properties of the composite; these were examined by UV,vis and fluorescence spectroscopy and time-correlated single-photon counting. The results show a material that exhibits an extremely high fluorescence quantum yield (approaching 85%), and an improved resistance to oxidative photobleaching compared to PPV. These enhanced optical properties are further complemented by the overall processability of the colloidal material. In marked contrast to the insolubility of PPV, the material can be processed as a stable colloidal dispersion, and the individual composite spheres can be self-assembled into opaline films using the vertical deposition method. The bandgap of the opal can be engineered to overlap with the emission band of the polymer, which has significant ramifications for lasing. [source]


Cover Picture: Composite Silica Spheres with Magnetic and Luminescent Functionalities (Adv. Funct.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 4 2006
Mater.
Abstract Photographs of a colloidal dispersion of composite nanoparticles with magnetic and luminescent functionalities are shown (left, in column), which are schematically illustrated in the main image. As reported by Salgueirińo-Maceira and co-workers on p.,509, such functionalities are imparted by magnetic and semiconductor nanoparticles within a silica matrix. In the absence of a magnetic field the particles are uniformly dispersed, although they accumulate and can be dragged under the influence of a magnetic field. Their movement can be monitored by their photoluminescence. A new class of highly fluorescent, photostable, and magnetic core/shell nanoparticles in the submicrometer size range has been synthesized from a modified Stöber method combined with the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. Luminescent magnetic nanoparticles are prepared via two main steps. The first step involves controlled addition of tetraethoxysilane to a dispersion of Fe3O4/,-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, which are thereby homogeneously incorporated as cores into monodisperse silica spheres. The second step involves the LbL assembly of polyelectrolytes and luminescent CdTe quantum dots onto the surfaces of the silica-coated magnetite/maghemite particles, which are finally covered with an outer shell of silica. These spherical particles have a typical diameter of 220,±,10,nm and a saturation magnetization of 1.34,emu,g,1 at room temperature, and exhibit strong excitonic photoluminescence. Nanoparticles with such a core/shell architecture have the added benefit of providing a robust platform (the outer silica shell) for incorporating diverse functionalities into a single nanoparticle. [source]


Colloidal-Crystal Laser Using Monodispersed Mesoporous Silica Spheres

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 41 2009
Hisashi Yamada
Monodispersed mesoporous silica spheres (MMSSs) are silica colloid particles with uniform mesopores and particle diameters. MMSS ionic colloidal crystals can be fabricated by self-organization and immobilization using a hydrogel. From measurements of the emission light of the gel-immobilized MMSSs where a laser dye was incorporated, laser emission occurred through the excitation by a YAG laser. [source]


Enhanced Optical Properties and Opaline Self-Assembly of PPV Encapsulated in Mesoporous Silica Spheres

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 23 2009
Timothy L. Kelly
Abstract A new poly(p -phenylenevinylene) (PPV) composite material has been developed by the incorporation of insoluble PPV polymer chains in the pores of monodisperse mesoporous silica spheres through an ion-exchange and in situ polymerization method. The polymer distribution within the resultant colloidal particles is characterized by electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, powder X-ray diffraction, and nitrogen adsorption. It was found that the polymer was selectively incorporated into the mesopores of the silica host and was well distributed throughout the body of the particles. This confinement of the polymer influences the optical properties of the composite; these were examined by UV,vis and fluorescence spectroscopy and time-correlated single-photon counting. The results show a material that exhibits an extremely high fluorescence quantum yield (approaching 85%), and an improved resistance to oxidative photobleaching compared to PPV. These enhanced optical properties are further complemented by the overall processability of the colloidal material. In marked contrast to the insolubility of PPV, the material can be processed as a stable colloidal dispersion, and the individual composite spheres can be self-assembled into opaline films using the vertical deposition method. The bandgap of the opal can be engineered to overlap with the emission band of the polymer, which has significant ramifications for lasing. [source]


Cover Picture: Composite Silica Spheres with Magnetic and Luminescent Functionalities (Adv. Funct.

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 4 2006
Mater.
Abstract Photographs of a colloidal dispersion of composite nanoparticles with magnetic and luminescent functionalities are shown (left, in column), which are schematically illustrated in the main image. As reported by Salgueirińo-Maceira and co-workers on p.,509, such functionalities are imparted by magnetic and semiconductor nanoparticles within a silica matrix. In the absence of a magnetic field the particles are uniformly dispersed, although they accumulate and can be dragged under the influence of a magnetic field. Their movement can be monitored by their photoluminescence. A new class of highly fluorescent, photostable, and magnetic core/shell nanoparticles in the submicrometer size range has been synthesized from a modified Stöber method combined with the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. Luminescent magnetic nanoparticles are prepared via two main steps. The first step involves controlled addition of tetraethoxysilane to a dispersion of Fe3O4/,-Fe2O3 nanoparticles, which are thereby homogeneously incorporated as cores into monodisperse silica spheres. The second step involves the LbL assembly of polyelectrolytes and luminescent CdTe quantum dots onto the surfaces of the silica-coated magnetite/maghemite particles, which are finally covered with an outer shell of silica. These spherical particles have a typical diameter of 220,±,10,nm and a saturation magnetization of 1.34,emu,g,1 at room temperature, and exhibit strong excitonic photoluminescence. Nanoparticles with such a core/shell architecture have the added benefit of providing a robust platform (the outer silica shell) for incorporating diverse functionalities into a single nanoparticle. [source]


Colloidal-Crystal Laser Using Monodispersed Mesoporous Silica Spheres

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 41 2009
Hisashi Yamada
Monodispersed mesoporous silica spheres (MMSSs) are silica colloid particles with uniform mesopores and particle diameters. MMSS ionic colloidal crystals can be fabricated by self-organization and immobilization using a hydrogel. From measurements of the emission light of the gel-immobilized MMSSs where a laser dye was incorporated, laser emission occurred through the excitation by a YAG laser. [source]


Facile and Scalable Synthesis of Tailored Silica "Nanorattle" Structures

ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 37 2009
Dong Chen
Silica "nanorattles" are fabricated by means of selective etching of ingeniously designed organic,inorganic hybrid silica spheres with a three-layer "sandwich" structure. The size (95,645,nm), shell thickness, and core diameter of the monodisperse nanorattles can be precisely controlled, even in gram-scale production. This method is also shown to be promising for development as a general method for synthesis of rattle-type functional nanomaterials. [source]


Formation process of three-dimensional arrays from silica spheres

AICHE JOURNAL, Issue 5 2003
Keiji Ishikawa
Elucidating the formation process of 3-D arrays from submicrometer-sized particles is a key to creating an optimal fabrication process of photonic crystals. In this research, the spontaneous sedimentation of silica spheres is imaged by in situ confocal laser scanning microscopy, and the dynamics is studied. When the pH is 7.0 and 10, the rate of the formation process of a hexagonal structure is attributed to the transport of spheres in the early stage of precipitation, and can be reproduced by a simple equation for Langmuir-type adsorption, ignoring the desorption part. In a later stage, however, the rate becomes smaller. In the first layer, even after drying, the nearest two spheres are separated, while maintaining a hexagonal structure. From the results, the formation process of three-dimensional arrays from silica spheres is illustrated. [source]


A novel and facile preparation method of hollow silica spheres containing small SiO2 cores

JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE (IN TWO SECTIONS), Issue 15 2007
Xinjian Cheng
Abstract This article presents a novel and facile preparation method of hollow silica spheres with loading small silica inside. In this approach, positively charged SiO2/polystyrene core-shell composite particles were synthesized first, when the silica shells from the sol-gel process of tetraethoxysilane were then coated on the surfaces of composite particles via electrostatic interaction, the polystyrene was dissolved subsequently even synchronously in the same medium to form hollow silica spheres with small silica cores. TEM, SEM, and FTIR measurements were used to characterize these composite spheres. Based on this study, some inorganic or organic compounds could be loaded into these hollow silica spheres. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3431,3439, 2007 [source]


Enzyme immobilization via silaffin-mediated autoencapsulation in a biosilica support

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 2 2009
Wesley D. Marner II
Abstract Enzymes and other biomolecules are often immobilized in a matrix to improve their stability or to improve their ability to be reused. Performing a polycondensation reaction in the presence of a biomolecule of interest relies on random entrapment events during polymerization and may not ensure efficient, homogeneous, or complete biomolecule encapsulation. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a method of incorporating autosilification activity into proteins without affecting enzymatic functionality. The unmodified R5 silaffin peptide from Cylindrotheca fusiformis is capable of initiating silica polycondensation in vitro at ambient temperatures and pressures in aqueous solution. In this study, translational fusion proteins between R5 and various functional proteins (phosphodiesterase, organophosphate hydrolase, and green fluorescent protein) were produced in Escherichia coli. Each of the fusion proteins initiated silica polycondensation, and enzymatic activity (or fluorescence) was retained in the resulting silica spheres. Under certain circumstances, the enzymatically-active biosilica displayed improved stability relative to free enzyme at elevated temperatures. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009 [source]