Purpose: The main purpose of this publication is to bring closer method of synthesis and
examining basic properties of TiO2, ZnO and NiO nanoparticles (NPs), and investigate their
possible biomedical application.
Design/methodology/approach: Nanopowders were made with sol-gel method. Surface
morphology studies of the obtained materials were made using Zeiss's Supra 35 scanning
electron microscope and the structure using S/TEM TITAN 80-300 transmission electron
microscope. In order to confirm the chemical composition of observed nanopowders,
qualitative tests were performed by means of spectroscopy of scattered X -ray energy using
the Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). The DLS (Dynamic Light Scattering) method was
used to analyse the particle size distribution using the AntonPaar Litesizer 500 nanoparticle size
analyser. Changes in particle size distribution at elevated temperatures were also observed. The
TiO2, ZnO and NiO NPs with spherical shape were successfully produced by sol-gel method.
Findings: The diameter of the as prepared nanoparticles does not exceed 25 nm which
is confirmed by the TEM analysis. The highest proportion among the agglomerates of
the nanoparticles has been shown to show those with a diameter of 80 to 125 nm. The
qualitative analysis of EDS confirmed the chemical composition of the material.
Practical implications: Nanoparticles (NPs) has been receiving an incrementally
increasing interest within biomedical fields researchers. Nanoparticles properties (physical,
chemical, mechanical, optical, electrical, magnetic, etc.) are different from the properties of
their counterparts with a larger particle size.
Originality/value: The nanoparticles were prepared using sol-gel method which allows the
particle size to be controlled in a simple way.