Themed collection Materials and Nano Research in Brazil

This review discusses the importance of physical/chemical control in metallic NPs for the optimization and understanding of catalytic performances.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have outstanding properties that can be used to produce intelligent devices to detect pathogens, delivery drugs, and replace bone and dental parts. Therefore, CNTs have been extensively studied as medical devices.

Tissue engineering is an emergent and very interesting research field, providing potential solutions for a myriad of challenges in healthcare.

Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are gaining interest as central players in liquid biopsies, with potential applications in diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic guidance in most pathological conditions.

Molten organic shell of hybrid Mag@PB₁₀₀₀ nanoparticles, covalently attached to the matrix, yields unexpected mechanical properties.

Wearable polypyrrole nanofilm arrays have been developed to extend the natural capabilities of the skin.

Controlled growth of 2D gold nanostructures with tunable optical properties on the surface of graphene oxide by a surfactant-free method.

The sputtering deposition of Au nanoparticles onto ionic liquid-graphene oxide combined with cholesterol oxidase affords an efficient biosensor for cholesterol detection.

The aim of this work was to develop and test the in vitro biological activity of nanocapsules loaded with a doxorubicin (DOX) free base dissolved in a core of castor oil shelled by poly(methyl vinyl ether-co-maleic anhydride) conjugated to n-octadecylamine residues.

The formation of a nanotwin network in a gold nanoparticle correlates with its surface deformation and functional properties.

PEGylation of cytochrome-c preserves activity and increases thermal stability, favoring the protein application as a biosensor.

Hf and N incorporation in GeO₂ suppresses its volatilization and further oxidation of the Ge substrate.

The effect of Mn incorporation on the structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties of Zn₂GeO₄ (ZGO) host matrices was investigated.

Study of the Fe^III dinuclear metallacycle complex as a size selective adsorbent to amines with excellent capacity to adsorb ammonia.

TiO₂ NPs’ nano–bio-interactions mediate a distinct intracellular trafficking and destiny in human skin cells.

Chirality amplification in pristine and annealed thin films was evidenced in chiral/achiral polymer blends, promoting highly ordered self-assembled morphologies.

Precise tailoring of the shell thickness and Ln³⁺ content produced multicolour emissions from core/shell/shell UCNPs via a bi-directional energy transfer mechanism.

The use and applications of infrared emitting rare-earth luminescent nanoparticles as nanothermometers have attracted a great deal of attention during the last few years.

Simple computational protocol for the estimation of singlet exciton diffusion length in organic materials.

Overcoming the critical thickness limit in pseudomorphic growth of lattice mismatched heterostructures is a fundamental challenge in heteroepitaxy.

Electrospun fiber-based random lasers are environment-friendly flexible systems in which waveguiding/scattering processes provided by their structure with a broad distribution of diameters are essential elements to generate a suitable lasing mechanism.

We synthesized an easy-to-prepare Sr–morin complex that can sustain osteoblast mineralization and inhibit osteoclast differentiation at a low dose.

Relevance of electronic effects in oxygen reduction on Pt nanoparticles is unveiled taking advantage of metal–support interactions.

The enzymatic activity of α-thrombin was allosterically regulated by interactions with ultrasmall gold nanoparticles.

Nanoparticle delivery to tumor tissue is one of the most important applications of nanomedicine.

High values of maximum rates of hydrogen production are obtained using four thin film nanocomposites that showed recycling features.

Persistent luminescence materials based on Ti-doped rare earth oxysulfides were obtained by a rapid, one-step process for application in self-sustained warm-light LEDs.

Graphene electrodes exchange electrons with electrolyte inhomogeneously, preferentially at the edges, and covalent functionalization alters the electronic organization of graphene.

We report the synthesis and investigation of a set of highly red emissive [Eu(tta)₃(H₂O)₂]-doped silicone samples.

Feeling the plasmonic heat: the photothermal effect in gold nanostars enhances the emission intensity of small-size upconverting nanocrystals.

The artificial proenzyme concept for ultra-small cerium-based nanoparticles: the on-demand activation of inactive nanoparticles to mimic the activity of superoxide dismutase.

Nanosized spinel LMOs with crystallites smaller than ∼15 nm present significantly decreased electrochemical activity due to the increase of the energy barriers in the Li-ion diffusion paths.

In situ characterization of the sheep hair melanosomes was performed with a spatial resolution of 25 nm using infrared nano-spectroscopy.

A simple one step preparation of Co₃O₄ nanoparticle decorated carbon from a camphor sulfonic acid and metal–organic framework hybrid.

Herein, we describe for the first time room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) and imidazole-based cations with appended carboxylic acids as terminals, which are directly derived from the anhydrides.

We studied the contribution from active surface oxide species in SPR-mediated oxidation reactions.

Graphene oxide mannosylation impacts on RBCs toxicity and plasma protein interactions.

Designing a ferrite with dual electrical characteristics: the effect of temperature and site occupancy on the conductivity mechanisms of spinel CoFe₂O₄.

Elemental distribution effects are detected throughout the metal supported TF-SOFC, indicating low energy surface elemental interdiffusion and electromigration effects.

A nanocrystalline iron-rich telluride, Fe₅Te₄, was prepared mechanochemically using ball milling procedures in an inert atmosphere, starting from Fe_xTe powder mixtures with x = 1.0, 1.25 and 1.5, with x = 1.25 leading to the pure phase.

Isopropanol sensors on flexible PET substrates presented high-performance at room-temperature in terms of sensitivity, selectivity and mechanical stability.

Bombyx mori silk fibroin offers unlimited opportunities for functionalization, processing, and biological integration.

We show how van der Waals and Casimir forces affect nano-optomechanical devices, by changing their operation and design limits.

One-pot-produced XC-72 carbon-supported metal nanodendrites with Pt or Pt–Pd surfaces proved highly catalytic toward the ORR.

A cesium salt of phosphotungstic heteropolyacid (Cs_2.5H_0.5PW₁₂O₄₀) acts as a proton-regulated antimicrobial combating human pathogens.

A library of PtRh compositions is simultaneously obtained by electrodeposition in a diffusion-controlled cell. This approach enables to perform compositional studies in a single piece of substrate and open new perspectives of studies in heterogeneous catalysis and electrocatalysis.

The application of nanoscale capacitance as a transduction of molecular recognition relevant to molecular diagnostics is demonstrated, wherein the energy-related signal relates directly to the electron occupation of quantized states.

The biomolecular corona impacts the overall surface charge, the colloidal stability and the biological response of functionalized nanoparticles.

The present work involves the design of a multifunctional system based on gold nanoshells (AuNSs) decorated with lanthanide-based upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) intended as an optical heater and temperature probe at the nanoscale.

Stable nanoformulations of diruthenium(II,III)-NSAID metallodrugs encapsulated in intravenously injectable polymer-lipid NPs have been prepared and tested in cancer cells.

Shaking graphite powder dispersed in an aqueous alkaline cellulose solution produces stable dispersions of hydrophilic, thin graphite sheets with lateral dimensions reaching many micrometers.

This study describes a novel process of drawing fibers generated by the electrostatic complexation of negatively charged nanocellulose fibers with positively charged chitosan macromolecules.

The LDH memory effect is driven by an aggregative nucleation and growth mechanism limited by the adsorption of the anionic dye in on the external surface.

Synthesis of functionalized graphene-based thin films through the interfacial route, their nanocomposites with Ag-NPs, and their multiple applications.

We report measurements of frequency upconversion (UC) processes in ytterbium (Yb³⁺) and neodymium (Nd³⁺) doped Al₄B₂O₉ nanoparticles – labeled as Al₄B₂O₉:Yb³⁺/Nd³⁺ – prepared by a polymeric precursor method.