Self-Organized Metal Oxide Exhibiting Enhanced Bioactivity

2006 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 17-21
Author(s):  
Robert L. Karlinsey ◽  
Anderson T. Hara ◽  
Clif W. Duhn

Self-assembled niobium oxide microcones produced by potentiostatic anodization with varied NaF content (between 100 and 250 mg) in an HF electrolyte are shown to nucleate mineral when immersed in supersaturated solutions emulating mineral content in saliva and blood. The most extensive mineral coverage in 100 mL of 2.5 wt. % HF electrolyte occurs when NaF content is about 100 mg with substantial mineral formation occurring within 24 hours. Higher salt content apparently alters the conditions favoring mineral nucleation by generating smaller nucleation centers that ultimately diminish the extent of mineral coverage. Additionally, nucleation kinetics and morphological contrasts between mineral formed from saliva and blood is briefly discussed in terms of the relative degree of supersaturation with respect to hydroxyapatite. Finally, we show that the integrity of the microcone shape is not critical for mineral nucleation, an observation that builds on our prior hypothesis by promoting the importance of self-assembly and crystal formation. Based on these results, we demonstrate the influence of NaF and stress the role of the self-organization process in producing effective mineral nucleation sites.

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuhei Miyashita ◽  
Kohei Nakajima ◽  
Zoltán Nagy ◽  
Rolf Pfeifer

Self-organization is a phenomenon found in biomolecular self-assembly by which proteins are spontaneously driven to assemble and attain various functionalities. This study reports on self-organized behavior in which distributed centimeter-sized modules stochastically aggregate and exhibit a translational wheeling motion. The system consists of two types of centimeter-sized water-floating modules: a triangular-shaped module that is equipped with a vibration motor and a permanent magnet (termed the active module), which can quasi-randomly rove around; and circular modules that are equipped with permanent magnets (termed passive modules). In its quasi-random movement in water, the active module picks up passive modules through magnetic attraction. The contacts between the modules induce a torque transfer from the active module to the passive modules. This results in rotational motion of the passive modules. As a consequence of the shape difference between the triangular module and the circular module, the passive modules rotate like wheels, being kept on the same edges as the active module. The motion of the active module is examined, as well as the characteristics and behavior of the self-organization process.


Crystals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyuan Gao ◽  
Liwei Lu ◽  
Xiaowei Xue ◽  
Jiangjiang Li ◽  
Lihuan Zhao ◽  
...  

Through comparing ZnO directly grown on the substrates of a-plane, c-plane, and (11-22) plane GaN and AlxGa1−xN (0.06 ≤ x ≤ 1), the roles of different factors that may influence growth have been studied. Seeded by surface pits, ZnO nanowire (NW) preferentially grew along the polarized direction on top of the nonpolar GaN (laterally aligned), polar GaN and AlGaN (vertically aligned), and semipolar GaN (obliquely upward aligned). Nanosheets were easily formed when the polarized surface of the AlGaN film was not intact. The kinetic effect of polarization must be considered to explain the high aspect ratio of NWs along the polarized direction. It was found that dislocation affected NW growth through the surface pits, which provided excellent nucleation sites. If the surface pits on GaN could be controlled to distribute uniformly, self-organized ZnO NW array could be controllably and directly grown on GaN. Moreover, surface pits could also seed for nanosheet growth in AlN, since Al(OH)4− would presumably bind to the Zn2+ terminated surface and suppress the kinetic effects of polarization.


The authors' methodic for assessing the role of chemical and physic-chemical factors during the structure formation of gypsum stone is presented in the article. The methodic is also makes it possible to reveal the synergistic effect and to determine the ranges of variation of controls factors that ensure maximum values of such effect. The effect of a micro-sized modifier based on zinc hydro-silicates on the structure formation of building gypsum is analyzed and corresponding dependencies are found. It is shown that effects of influence of modifier on the properties of gypsum compositions are determined by chemical properties of modifier. Among the mentioned properties are sorption characteristics (which depend on the amount of silicic acid and its state) and physicochemical properties - the ability to act as a substrate during crystal formation. The proposed method can also be extended to other binding substances and materials. This article contributes to the understanding of the processes that occur during the structure formation of composites, which will make it possible to control the structure formation in the future, obtaining materials with a given set of properties.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 4486-4494 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.El Damrawi ◽  
F. Gharghar

Cerium oxide in borate glasses of composition xCeO2·(50 − x)PbO·50B2O3 plays an important role in changing both microstructure and magnetic behaviors of the system. The structural role of CeO2 as an effective agent for cluster and crystal formation in borate network is clearly evidenced by XRD technique. Both structure and size of well-formed cerium separated clusters have an effective influence on the structural properties. The cluster aggregations are documented to be found in different range ordered structures, intermediate and long range orders are the most structures in which cerium phases are involved. The nano-sized crystallized cerium species in lead borate phase are evidenced to have magnetic behavior.  The criteria of building new specific borate phase enriched with cerium as ferrimagnetism has been found to keep the magnetization in large scale even at extremely high temperature. Treating the glass thermally or exposing it to an effective dose of ionized radiation is evidenced to have an essential change in magnetic properties. Thermal heat treatment for some of investigated materials is observed to play dual roles in the glass matrix. It can not only enhance alignment processes of the magnetic moment but also increases the capacity of the crystallite species in the magnetic phases. On the other hand, reverse processes are remarked under the effect of irradiation. The magnetization was found to be lowered, since several types of the trap centers which are regarded as defective states can be produced by effect of ionized radiation. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 923-929
Author(s):  
Gaurav Pandey ◽  
Prem Prakash Das ◽  
Vibin Ramakrishnan

Background: RADA-4 (Ac-RADARADARADARADA-NH2) is the most extensively studied and marketed self-assembling peptide, forming hydrogel, used to create defined threedimensional microenvironments for cell culture applications. Objectives: In this work, we use various biophysical techniques to investigate the length dependency of RADA aggregation and assembly. Methods: We synthesized a series of RADA-N peptides, N ranging from 1 to 4, resulting in four peptides having 4, 8, 12, and 16 amino acids in their sequence. Through a combination of various biophysical methods including thioflavin T fluorescence assay, static right angle light scattering assay, Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), electron microscopy, CD, and IR spectroscopy, we have examined the role of chain-length on the self-assembly of RADA peptide. Results: Our observations show that the aggregation of ionic, charge-complementary RADA motifcontaining peptides is length-dependent, with N less than 3 are not forming spontaneous selfassemblies. Conclusion: The six biophysical experiments discussed in this paper validate the significance of chain-length on the epitaxial growth of RADA peptide self-assembly.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan T. Shafranek ◽  
Joel D. Leger ◽  
Song Zhang ◽  
Munira Khalil ◽  
Xiaodan Gu ◽  
...  

Directed self-assembly in polymeric hydrogels allows tunability of thermal response and viscoelastic properties.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Matarranz ◽  
Goutam Ghosh ◽  
Ramesh Kandanelli ◽  
Angel Sampedro ◽  
Kalathil K. Kartha ◽  
...  

We unravel the relationship between conjugation length and self-assembly behaviour of oligophenyleneethynylenes (OPEs).


ChemPlusChem ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violeta Vázquez-González ◽  
María J. Mayoral ◽  
Fatima Aparicio ◽  
Paula Martínez-Arjona ◽  
David Gonzalez Rodriguez
Keyword(s):  

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Marina Kurbasic ◽  
Ana M. Garcia ◽  
Simone Viada ◽  
Silvia Marchesan

Bioactive hydrogels based on the self-assembly of tripeptides have attracted great interest in recent years. In particular, the search is active for sequences that are able to mimic enzymes when they are self-organized in a nanostructured hydrogel, so as to provide a smart catalytic (bio)material whose activity can be switched on/off with assembly/disassembly. Within the diverse enzymes that have been targeted for mimicry, hydrolases find wide application in biomaterials, ranging from their use to convert prodrugs into active compounds to their ability to work in reverse and catalyze a plethora of reactions. We recently reported the minimalistic l-His–d-Phe–d-Phe for its ability to self-organize into thermoreversible and biocatalytic hydrogels for esterase mimicry. In this work, we analyze the effects of terminus modifications that mimic the inclusion of the tripeptide in a longer sequence. Therefore, three analogues, i.e., N-acetylated, C-amidated, or both, were synthesized, purified, characterized by several techniques, and probed for self-assembly, hydrogelation, and esterase-like biocatalysis. This work provides useful insights into how chemical modifications at the termini affect self-assembly into biocatalytic hydrogels, and these data may become useful for the future design of supramolecular catalysts for enhanced performance.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1729
Author(s):  
Patrizio Raffa

The study of interactions between polyelectrolytes (PE) and surfactants is of great interest for both fundamental and applied research. These mixtures can represent, for example, models of self-assembly and molecular organization in biological systems, but they are also relevant in industrial applications. Amphiphilic block polyelectrolytes represent an interesting class of PE, but their interactions with surfactants have not been extensively explored so far, most studies being restricted to non-associating PE. In this work, interactions between an anionic amphiphilic triblock polyelectrolyte and different types of surfactants bearing respectively negative, positive and no charge, are investigated via surface tension and solution rheology measurements for the first time. It is evidenced that the surfactants have different effects on viscosity and surface tension, depending on their charge type. Micellization of the surfactant is affected by the presence of the polymer in all cases; shear viscosity of polymer solutions decreases in presence of the same charge or nonionic surfactants, while the opposite charge surfactant causes precipitation. This study highlights the importance of the charge type, and the role of the associating hydrophobic block in the PE structure, on the solution behavior of the mixtures. Moreover, a possible interaction model is proposed, based on the obtained data.


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