Formation of layered titania and zirconia catalysed by surface-bound silicatein

Silicatein immobilised on self-assembled polymer layers using a histidine-tag chelating anchor group retains its hydrolytical activity for the formation of biosilica, and catalyses the formation of layered arrangements of biotitania and biozirconia.

Hierarchical Assembly of TiO2 Nanoparticles on WS2 Nanotubes Achieved Through Multifunctional Polymeric Ligands

Thefunctionalization of nanotubes is required in order to bene-fit from their outstanding properties, as any application inmaterials and devices is hindered by processing and manipu-lation difficulties. Only the attachment of appropriate chem-ical functionalities on the nanotube surface allows tailoringof the properties for the respective applications. As an ex-ample, the enhancement of the nanotube solubility is onemajor task since most pristine nanotubes are insoluble inboth water and organic solvents. Thus, the improvement ofthe solubility by chemical functionalization is an importantconcept for synthetic chemists and materials scientists. Tai-loring of the surface chemical bonds might a…

Formation of irreversibly bound annexin A1 protein domains on POPC/POPS solid supported membranes

AbstractThe specific interaction of annexin A1 with phospholipid bilayers is scrutinized by means of scanning force and fluorescence microscopy, quartz crystal microbalance, ellipsometry, and modeled by dynamic Monte Carlo simulations. It was found that POPC/POPS bilayers exhibit phase separation in POPC- and POPS-enriched domains as a function of Ca2+ concentration. Annexin A1 interacts with POPC/POPS bilayers by forming irreversibly bound protein domains with monolayer thickness on POPS-enriched nanodomains, while the attachment of proteins to the POPC-enriched regions is fully reversible. A thorough kinetic analysis of the process reveals that both, the binding constant of annexin A1 at …

Phase Transition of Individually Addressable Microstructured Membranes Visualized by Imaging Ellipsometry

The phase transition of individually addressable microstructured lipid bilayers was investigated by means of imaging ellipsometry. Microstructured bilayers were created on silicon substrates by micromolding in capillaries, and the thermotropic behavior of various saturated diacyl phosphatidylcholine (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, 1,2-dipentadecoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, and 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC)) bilayers as well as DMPC/cholesterol membranes was determined by measuring the area expansion and thickness of the bilayer as a function of temperature. We found an increase in the main phase transition temperature T(M) of 2-6 degrees C and a substa…

Reactive Polymers: A Versatile Toolbox for the Immobilization of Functional Molecules on TiO2 Nanoparticles

Facile synthesis and characterization of functionalized, monocrystalline rutile TiO2 nanorods.

Functionalized, monocrystalline rutile TiO2 nanorods were prepared from TiCl4 in aqueous solution under acidic conditions in the presence of dopamine, followed by aging and hydrothermal treatment at 150 degrees C. The surface-bound organic ligand controls the morphology as well as the crystallinity and the phase selection of TiO2. The presence of monocrystalline rutile TiO2 was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction and HRTEM investigations. The as-prepared nanorods are soluble in water at pH3. The surface functionalization was analyzed by IR and 1H NMR, confirming the presence of dopamine on the surface. The surface amine groups can be tailored further with functional molecules such as dyes…