8th February 2018
Optical images of dissolution of capsules with compositions highlighted in the figure showing (A-C) instantaneous, (D-E) sustained, pulsed and diffuse release. (F) High magnification images of the surface cracks of the capsule and (G) the emanating micron-sized nanoparticle clusters. (H) The droplet radius of the composite (D) capsule was found to remain approximately constant over time, and release of micron-sized nanoparticle clusters occurs in bursts, over long timescales, tuneable with pH. Copyright: Authors, taken without changes from 10.1126/sciadv.aao3353 which has been published under Creative Commons Licence CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0).

Nanocomposite Capsules with Directional, Pulsed Nanoparticle Release

The precise spatio-temporal delivery of nanoparticles from polymeric capsules is required for applications ranging from medicine to materials science. Researchers from the Imperial College London, UK, have demonstrated that microporosity and capsule morphology... (Read more)
8th February 2018
(a) Illustration of the different interaction mechanisms of the proteins, salt, and interface. (b) Sketch of protein adsorption on the attractive surface by increasing cs=cp. Copyright: Authors, reprinted with permission from DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.228001.

Multivalent Ion-Activated Protein Adsorption Reflecting Bulk Reentrant Behavior

Protein adsorption at the solid-liquid interface is an important phenomenon that often can be observed as a first step in biological processes. A team from Germany and Great Britain has demonstrated the control... (Read more)
18th January 2018
The research paper reveals the potential to further expand the extensive family of nanostructured materials. Images: From Science 358, 514 (2017). Reprinted with permission from AAAS.

Non–Close-Packed Nanoparticle Arrays: Porous Materials with Novel Crystal Structures Assembled from Nanoparticles

Self-assembly of inorganic nanoparticles has been used to prepare hundreds of different colloidal crystals, but almost invariably with the restriction that the particles must be densely packed. Here, we show that non–close-packed nanoparticle... (Read more)
4th July 2017
In situ SERRS detection of quorum sensing pyocyanin in cultures of P. aeruginosa bacteria grown on plasmonic nanostructured materials. Copyright: Andrea La Porta

Non-Invasive, Label-Free Detection and Imaging of Quorum Sensing

The development of non-invasive methods for monitoring chemical communication in bacterial populations is important to provide fundamental insights into these processes as well as the necessary knowledge to manipulate these systems for applications... (Read more)