Sharif Digital Repository

With the spread of deadly diseases worldwide, the design of rapid tests to identify causative microorganisms is necessary. Due to the unique properties of gold nanoparticles, these nanoparticles are used in designing rapid diagnostic tests, such as strip tests. The current study aimed to investigate the ability of gold nanoparticles to bind to single-chain variable fragment antibodies. In this study, the biological and chemical methods included Escherichia coli TOP-10 and the Turkevich method to synthesize the gold nanoparticles, respectively. Then, the effect of synthetic nanoparticles on their capability of binding to recombinant antibodies was assessed by agarose gel and UV-vis... 

Carbon nanotube/nanoparticle hybrid materials have been proven to exhibit high electrocatalytic activity suggesting broad potential applications in the field of electroanalysis. For the first time, modification of Ta electrode with aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes/Au nanoparticles introduced for the sensitive determination of the antibiotic drug, cefazolin (CFZ). The electrochemical response characteristics of the modified electrode toward CFZ were investigated by means of cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry. The modified electrode showed an efficient catalytic activity for the reduction of CFZ, leading to a remarkable decrease in reduction overpotential and a significant increase of... 

Gold (Au) nanoparticles are widely used in diagnosing cancer, imaging, and identification of therapeutic methods due to their particular quantum characteristics. This research presents different types of aqueous models and potentials used in TIP3P, to study the effect of the particle size and density of Au clusters in aquatic environments; so it can be useful to facilitate future investigation of the interaction of proteins with Au nanoparticles. The EAM potential is used to model the structure of gold clusters. It is observed that in the systems with identical gold/water density and different cluster radii, gold particles are distributed in aqueous environment almost identically. Thus, Au... 

After silica coating of the prepared nickel ferrite nanoparticles, a micrometric layer of zeolitic material (analcime) was grown on the surface. To make the composites good host, surface modification was done with [BMIM]PF6 ionic liquid. Finally, the samples became antibacterial agents via loading the Ag and Au nanoparticles and denoted as X@IL/A/S/NF (X = Ag or Au). All the samples were well characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms (BET) analysis methods. Antibacterial activity of the prepared samples... 

Due to the high activity of Au nanoparticles (NPs) for various reactions, many researchers have tried to develop heterogeneous catalysts in order to prevent irreversible agglomeration of Au NPs. Herein, magnetic graphene oxide modified with polyaniline (PANI) was used as a support for Au NPs that brings together advantages including: uniform dispersal of the catalyst in water,alarge surface area related to the graphene oxide; easy electron transfer in chemical reactions and good attachment of Au NPs to the support associated with PANI; and finally facile recovery in the presence of a magnetic field. Catalytic reduction of different analytes (Congo red, methylene blue, rhodamine B and 4-nitro... 

A switchable dual light- and temperature-responsive drug carrier using gold nanoparticles (Au NPs)-grafted poly(dimethylacrylamide-co-acrylamide)/poly acrylic acid [P(DMA-co-AAm)/PAAc] hydrogel was prepared by free radical polymerization procedure using N,N-methylenebisacrylamide as cross-linker and ammonium persulfate as initiator. Initial P(DMA-co-AAm) hydrogel and uniformly-distributed stable Au NPs, prepared by reduction of hydrogen tetrachloroaureate (III) hydrate in the presence of trisodium citrate, were synthesized separately. Then, the prepared P(DMA-co-AAm) and Au NPs were added to an acrylic acid solution along with the cross-linker and initiator to prepare PAAc hydrogel within... 

Au@TiO2-Graphene (GR) nanocomposite was prepared using photocatalytic reduction method. TiO2-GR nanocomposite was synthesized under UV irradiation of deaerated ethanolic suspension of TiO2. The nanocomposite was calcined at 400∘C followed by loading of highly dispersed Au nanoparticles throughout the deposition-precipitation method. The Au@TiO2/GR was characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope and the BET surface area measurements. It was found that Au-TiO2-GR and TiO2-GR nanoparticles have smaller crystalline size and higher surface area than pure TiO2. Presence of highly dispersed Au nanoparticles... 

In this study, UV‐Vis-NIR photodetectors based on decorated ZnO nanofibers (NFs) with optimized coverage of Au nanoparticles (NPs) fabricated via combined simple electrospinning and sputtering techniques are introduced. The effect of different coverages of Au NPs resulted from different Au nominal layer thicknesses on the morphology and optical properties of the ZnO fibers are investigated through various characterization methods. It is discovered that 4 nm Au nominal thickness provides the highest UV on/off ratio (~460), responsivity (~332 A/W), detectivity (~2.93×10 11 Jones) as well as faster rise and decay times as compared to pure ZnO nanofibers. A broad spectral response from UV to NIR... 

An efficient method has been developed to synthesize well-aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on a conductive Ta substrate by chemical vapor deposition. Free-standing MWCNTs arrays were functionalized through electrochemical oxidation with the formation of hydroxyl and carboxyl functional groups. Facile template-free electrochemical routes were then developed for the shape-selective synthesis of less-common Au nanostructures, including flower, sphere, dendrite, rod, sheet, and cabbage onto the aligned MWCNTs at room temperature. Especially, among all the synthesis methods for Au nanocrystals, this is the first report using electrochemical technique to synthesize wide variety... 

We study the quantum plasmonic features of gold and silver nanoparticles using TD-DFT+TB, a new density functional theory approach to the calculation of excited states, which combines a full DFT ground state with tight-binding approximations in the linear response calculation. In this framework, the optical properties of closed-shell Ag, Au and bimetallic Ag-Au nanoparticles with tetrahedral symmetry (with 20, 56, 120, and 165 atoms) and icosahedral structure (with 13, 55, and 147 atoms) were obtained and compared to full linear response time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) as a reference and also to time-dependent density functional based tight binding (TD-DFTB) as a low-cost... 

This work suggests a green method for synthesizing Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) using the aqueous extract of Salix aegyptiaca extract. The mechanism of green synthesized AuNPs was examined by molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) calculations. AuNPs were characterized with different techniques such as Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical investigation of modified glassy carbon electrode using AuNPs (AuNPs/GCE) shows that the electronic transmission rate between the modified electrode and [Fe (CN)6]3−/4− increased. Process of oxidation, energy... 

In this study, pure TiO2 and Au:TiO2 nanocomposite thin films are both synthesized using sol-gel and RF reactive co-sputtering methods. Physical and photoelectrochemical properties of the thin films deposited by each method are compared. The optical density spectra and scanning electron microscopy images of the Au:TiO2 films reveal formation of gold nanoparticles in the all nanocomposite films synthesized by two methods. Moreover, the optical bandgap energy of the thin films decreases with addition of Au nanoparticles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates that the presence of gold in metallic state and the formation of TiO2 is stoichiometric. The photoelectrochemical properties of the... 

In this investigation, the effect of annealing temperature and concentration of gold nanoparticles on the photoelectrochemical properties of sol-gel deposited Au : TiO2 nanocomposite thin films is studied. Various gold concentrations have been added to the TiO2 thin films and their properties are compared. All the deposited samples are annealed at different temperatures. The optical density spectra of the films show the formation of gold nanoparticles in the films. The optical bandgap energy of the Au : TiO2 films decreases with increasing Au concentration. The crystalline structure of the nanocomposite films is studied by x-ray diffractometry indicating the formation of gold nanocrystals in... 

In this paper, we report a promising sunlight-driven screen-printed TiO2 porous nanorods (PNR) photoanode decorated with Au plasmonic nanostructures for photoelectrochemical (PEC) light-to-electricity conversion. Fabricated photoanodes were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, UV–vis spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in detail. The Au-PNR-TiO2 photoanode demonstrates superior PEC activities both under simulated sunlight and visible light irradiation. Interestingly,... 

We report a novel strategy for the synthesis of magnetic nanocomposite for highly efficient catalysis. Poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) chains were grafted to the surface of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) through surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. Then, the oxirane rings in the PGMA chains were opened with 2,6-diamino pyridine (DAP) molecules as ligands to prepare the solid support. Finally, this magnetic nanocomposite was used for the immobilization of gold nanoparticles. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, gel permeation... 

Scaffolds for tissue engineering of specific sites such as cardiac, nerve, and bone tissues need a comprehensive design of three dimensional materials that covers all aspects of chemical composition and physical structures, required for regeneration of desired cells. Hydrogels, possessing highly hydrated and interconnected structures, are promising materials for tissue engineering applications. Improvement of an injectable hydrogel from biocompatible polysaccharides and poly‑N‑isopropyl acryl amide enriched with Au nanoparticles are the main goal of this study. Two main enhancements in this study are included mixture design of the components and addition of Au nanoparticles to access a... 

Since that pathogenic bacteria are major threats to human health, this paper describes the fabrication of an effective and durable sensing platform based on gold nanoparticles/carbon nanoparticles/cellulose nanofibers nanocomposite (AuNPs/CNPs/CNFs) at the surface of glassy carbon electrode for sensitive and selective detection of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). The AuNPs/CNPs/CNFs nanocomposite with the high surface area, excellent conductivity, and good biocompatibility was used for self-assembled of the thiolated specific S. aureus aptamer as a sensing element. The surface morphology of AuNPs/CNPs/CNFs nanocomposite was characterized with field emission scanning electron microscopy...