Two nanometre gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), bearing sugar moieties and/or polyethylene glycolamine (PEG-amine), were synthesised and evaluated for their in vitro toxicity and ability to radiosensitise cells with 220 kV and 6 MV X-rays, using four cell lines representing normal and cancerous skin and breast tissues. In addition to the observed intrinsic cancer-selective chemotoxicity, these AuNPs acted as radiosensitisers in combination with...

Ionic liquids (ILs) are widely applied to prepare metal nanoparticles and 3D semiconductor microparticles. Generally, they serve as a structuring agent or reaction medium (solvent), however it was also demonstrated that ILs can also play a role of a co-solvent, metal precursor, reducing as well as surface modifying agent. The crucial role and possible types of interactions between ILs and growing particles have been presented in...

Silica supported silver nanoparticles (Ag°–SiO2 –NCs, NCs=nanocomposites) suspended in aqueous solutions are efficient catalysts for the dimerization of methyl radicals to produce ethane, while bare silica is quite inert towards the interaction with methyl radicals. In the presence of small amounts of ethanol adsorbed on the SiO2 surface, the reaction path with methyl radicals is changed and methane is formed as the major product.

Radiotherapy is currently used in around 50% of cancer treatments and relies on the deposition of energy directly into tumour tissue. Although it is generally effective, some of the deposited energy can adversely affect healthy tissue outside the tumour volume, especially in the case of photon radiation (gamma and X-rays). Improved radiotherapy outcomes can be achieved by employing ion beams due to the characteristic energy deposition...

An image was taken by Cure Index on curability of epoxy with silica nanoparticles having variable morphology and porosity. Three kinds of silica nanoparticles with non-porous curved-rod, non-porous spherical, and mesoporous spherical microstructures were synthesized and characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analyses. Epoxy nanocomposites containing...