Colloidal Medium Research Articles

Highly sensitive plasmonic metal nanoparticle-based sensors for the detection of organophosphorus pesticides

Plasmonic nanoparticles offer attractive benefits for the detection of environmental contaminants due to their high extinction coefficients and unique optical properties. Excess use of OP pesticides has been found to have adverse effects on human health and the environment. Here, we demonstrate the use of plasmonic silver (Ag), gold (Au) and bimetallic silver-gold (Ag-Au) nanoparticles (NPs) to detect and distinguish between organophosphorus (OP) pesticides. The NPs were found to detect the thion pesticides: ethion, parathion, malathion, and fenthion) in real time. In each case, the interaction of the pesticides with the plasmonic NPs were found to result in wavelength shifts of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) accompanied by color changes. The wavelength shifts were characteristic of the pesticide structure and concentration. The interaction between the sensors and the pesticide was a result of the soft metal surface binding to the soft sulfur atom of the pesticide. Similarly, oxon pesticides showed no effect on the LSPR of the NPs. The three plasmonic NPs showed limits of detections (LOD) in ppm range for all pesticides under real-time analysis. The LOD of Ag NPs with ethion, fenthion, malathion, and parathion were 9 ppm, 11 ppm, 18 ppm, and 44 ppm, respectively. The LOD of Au NPs with ethion, fenthion, malathion, parathion were 58 ppm, 53 ppm, 139 ppm, and 3203 ppm, respectively. Ag-Au NPs with ethion, fenthion, malathion, and parathion showed LOD values of 228 ppm, 231 ppm, 1189 ppm, and 1835 ppm, respectively. The ability of the plasmonic NPs to detect the selected pesticides in natural environments was tested under simulated natural conditions in the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Steep gradients in the sedimentation plots revealed that the time dependent interaction of each OP pesticide with the NP surface was accompanied by a considerable change in the LSPR indicative of colloidal destabilization over time. All pesticides showed nearly the same trend in their sedimentation with the plasmonic NPs. The stability of the nanoparticles in the colloidal medium was described by classical DLVO theory, which showed that the net interaction was attractive.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF SOIL -BORNE FUNGAL PATHOGENS

Seventeen bacterial isolates have been successfully isolated and purified from soil rhizosphere samples collected from different agricultural areas Buhayra, Sharqia and Alqilyubia of Egypt, and screened for production of chitinase enzymes had the highest chitinolytic activities amongst those investigated. Isolate S3-C and S1-C were Identified by biochemical, physiological tests and 16s rRNA gene primer as Bacillus cereus S3C, Gene Bank NCBI accession MK185696 and Bacillus cereus S1C accession MK185697. The production of chitinase by B.cereus S3C and Bacillus cereus S1C was optimized using colloidal chitin medium amended with 1% colloidal chitin at 30°C after five days of incubation. B.cereus S3C had potential for cell wall lysis of many phytopathogenic fungi tested such as Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani Potato phytopathogenic fungi by in vitro antagonistic test. The addition of B. cereus S3C chitinase was more effective than that of B.cereus S1C in increasing the resistance of Potato plants infected with various Soil- borne phytopathogenic fungi.

Characterization and antifungal activity of chitosanase produced by Pedobacter sp. PR-M6

To investigate the temperature requirements of chitosanase activity, as well as the degradation patterns generated by enzyme-induced chitosan oligomer hydrolysis, Pedobacter sp. PR-M6 was inoculated onto 0.5% colloidal chitosan medium agar plates. Cell growth was higher at 30 °C than at 20 °C during the initial 2 days of incubation. The protein content rapidly increased on day 1 at both temperatures and then it slowly increased at 20 °C and slowly decreased at 30 °C during the following 5 days of incubation. In order to characterize the electrophoretic pattern, Pedobacter sp. PR-M6 was cultured in 1% powder chitosan medium at 20 °C and 30 °C for 5 days after incubation and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Four bands were visible, corresponding to ct1 (25 kDa), ct2 (17 kDa), ct3 (15 kDa), and ct4 (14 kDa), at both 20 °C and 30 °C. The optimal conditions for the activity of chitosanase produced from Pedobacter sp. PR-M6 were 60 °C and 1.81 enzyme units/mg protein. Two major isozyme bands (ct3 and ct4) exhibited their strongest chitosanase activity at 50 °C in SDS-PAGE gel. The reaction products generated from (GlcN)2-(GlcN)5 substrates at 60 °C after a 1 h incubation were investigated by thin-layer chromatography. Low-molecular weight chitosan and oligochitosan (LCOC) and soluble chitosan showed antifungal activity against A. brassicicola, B. cinerea, F. solani, and R. solani. LCOC exhibited higher antifungal activity than soluble chitosan. Moreover, LCOC treatments (500 ppm and 1000 ppm) inhibited conidia germination in A. brassicicola.

Isolation and identification of marine strains of Stenotrophomona maltophilia with high chitinolytic activity.

Chitin is the second most abundant organic compound in nature and represents a rich carbon and nitrogen source that is primarily transformed by bacterial communities. Bacteria capable of gradually hydrolyzing chitin into N-acetylglucosamine monomers can have applications in the transformation of residues from shrimp and other crustaceans. The objective of the present study was to isolate, characterize and identify microorganisms with high chitinolytic activity. These microorganisms were isolated and characterized based on macro- and microscopic morphological traits. Strains were selected on colloidal chitin agar medium primarily based on a hydrolysis halo larger than 2 mm and a growing phase no longer than 6 days. Secondary selection consisted of semi-quantitative evaluation of chitinolytic activity with a drop dilution assay. From the above, ten strains were selected. Then, strain-specific activity was evaluated. The B4 strain showed the highest specific activity, which was 6,677.07 U/mg protein. Molecular identification indicated that the isolated strains belong to the species Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.

Synthesis and optical properties of LiNd(PO3)4 nanocrystals dispersion in DMSO/TBE

Lanthanide doped nanocrystals with strong fluorescence, long lifetime at high doping concentrations have great potential application in bio-imaging and liquid gain medium. LiNd(PO3)4 (LNP) crystal was reported to be one of the most excellent laser crystals with high Nd3+ concentration, and their nanocrystals synthesized via improved combustion method for the first time had strong emission intensity and long fluorescence lifetime of 122 μs. Besides, LiNd(PO3)4 nanocrystals can be dispersed in mixed solvents of DMSO/TBE (CHBr2CHBr2) to form a transparent colloidal dispersion, and Judd-Ofelt theory was used to evaluate their optical parameters. In summary, LiNd(PO3)4 nanocrystals possess long lifetime (116 μs), low solvents quenching rate (4.9%), large emission cross section (7.63 × 10−20 cm2) and high quantum yield (35.2%) under high Nd3+ ions concentration (1 × 1020 cm−3), which would be the most competitive colloidal gain medium of optical amplification and laser with LD pump and potential biomaterial with low particles concentration.

Potential of marine chitinolytic Bacillus isolates as biocontrol agents of phytopathogenic fungi

Phytopathogenic fungi pose a serious problem around the world in the economically important plants. Chemical fungicides are widely used in current agriculture. However, excessive use of chemical fungicides has led to the deterioration of human health, environmental pollution, and development of pathogenic resistance to fungicides. A serious search is required to identify alternative methods for crop protection, which is less dependent on chemicals and more environmentally friendly. Microbial antagonists widely used for biocontrol of plant fungal disease. The success of biocontrol depends on the nature of antagonistic properties and mechanisms of action of the biocontrol agent against the phytopathogenic fungi. In the present study, 83 Bacillus isolates isolated from marine samples were screened on the colloidal chitin agar medium. Based on the chitinolytic activity and percentage inhibition against fungal phytopathogens by dual plate technique, isolate B26 is most potent as biocontrol agents. The Bacillus B26 inhibited the growth of Fusarium solani TISTR 3436 and Penicillium chrysogenum with percentage inhibition 69% and 46.6% respectively, while did not inhibit the growth of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus. Bacillus isolate B26 showed a positive result for the urease production, catalase test, starch hydrolysis, casein hydrolysis with most suitable growth condition at 37°C, pH 7-8, and could grow at 0-5% NaCl concentration.

Nanocrystalline iron manganite prepared by sol–gel self-combustion method for sensor applications

The nanocrystalline iron manganite was be successfully synthesized, for capacitive humidity sensor application, by sol–gel self-combustion method using polyvinyl alcohol as colloidal medium, followed by heat treatment. The best performances as humidity sensor were found, at working frequency of 100 Hz: a high sensitivity over a wide range of relative humidity, 11–98% RH (the capacity increases by over 40 times); a good linearity of the logC vs. RH characteristics over the whole RH range, for all used frequencies. The sensor exhibits very small hysteresis, lower sensitivity to temperature, keeping linear characteristics and a short response time. The investigated material holds promise for humidity monitoring applications, taking into account the low cost, a wide range of relative humidity and a low-contamination impact.

Sounds and hydrodynamics of polar active fluids.

Spontaneously flowing liquids have been successfully engineered from a variety of biological and synthetic self-propelled units1-11. Together with their orientational order, wave propagation in such active fluids has remained a subject of intense theoretical studies12-17. However, the experimental observation of this phenomenon has remained elusive. Here, we establish and exploit the propagation of sound waves in colloidal active materials with broken rotational symmetry. We demonstrate that two mixed modes, coupling density and velocity fluctuations, propagate along all directions in colloidal-roller fluids. We then show how the six material constants defining the linear hydrodynamics of these active liquids can be measured from their spontaneous fluctuation spectrum, while being out of reach of conventional rheological methods. This active-sound spectroscopy is not specific to synthetic active materials and could provide a quantitative hydrodynamic description of herds, flocks and swarms from inspection of their large-scale fluctuations18-21.

Effect of Colloidal Medium on the Shelf-Life and Stability of Gold Nanorods Prepared by Seed-Mediated Synthesis.

Gold nanorods (GNRs) owing to their tunable longitudinal surface plasmon resonance in tissue transparent near infrared region have potential applications (like cancer imaging, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy, cancer targeting, drug delivery and optical hyperthermia) in nanomedicine. Success of these diagnosis/therapy options depends on the plasmonic properties of gold nanorods, which are influenced by the interaction of GNRs with the colloidal medium. In this article, a systematic study is performed to evaluate the effect of colloidal medium on shelf life and stability of gold GNRs. As-synthesized GNRs are preserved in four aqueous media (deionized water, pluronic F-127, CTAB solution and growth solution) and their stability is investigated by closely monitoring the changes in the plasmonic signatures by UV-Visible spectroscopy and variation in hydrodynamic size by photon correlation spectroscopy for 30 days. As-synthesized GNRs are most stable in deionized water followed by pluronic F-127, CTAB and growth solution. The vast difference in the colloidal stability of GNRs in different media is due to the differences in surface driven unzipping of gold in these aqueous media.

Improvement studies on emission and combustion characteristics of DICI engine fuelled with colloidal emulsion of diesel distillate of plastic oil, TiO2 nanoparticles and water.

Experimentation was conducted on a single cylinder CI engine using processed colloidal emulsions of TiO2 nanoparticle-water-diesel distillate of crude plastic diesel oil as test fuel. The test fuel was prepared with plastic diesel oil as the principal constituent by a novel blending technique with an aim to improve the working characteristics. The results obtained by the test fuel from the experiments were compared with that of commercial petro-diesel (CPD) fuel for same engine operating parameters. Plastic oil produced from high density polyethylene plastic waste by pyrolysis was subjected to fractional distillation for separating plastic diesel oil (PDO) that contains diesel range hydrocarbons. The blending process showed a little improvement in the field of fuel oil-water-nanometal oxide colloidal emulsion preparation due to the influence of surfactant in electrostatic stabilization, dielectric potential, and pH of the colloidal medium on the absolute value of zeta potential, a measure of colloidal stability. The engine tests with nano-emulsions of PDO showed an increase in ignition delay (23.43%), and decrease in EGT (6.05%), BSNOx (7.13%), and BSCO (28.96%) relative to PDO at rated load. Combustion curve profiles, percentage distribution of compounds, and physical and chemical properties of test fuels ascertains these results. The combustion acceleration at diffused combustion phase was evidenced in TiO2 emulsion fuels under study.

Characterization of lycopene hydrocolloidal structure induced by tomato processing

Tomato juice and paste are special type of dispersions, composed of suspended particles (pulp) dispersed in a colloidal liquid medium (serum). The bright red appearance of soluble solid separated by high speed centrifugation denoted the presence of lycopene in this fraction. Since lycopene is a hydrophobic compound it is not expected to appear in the water soluble fraction. HPLC analysis indicated presence of substantial amount of lycopene in soluble fraction which was confirmed by the appearance of lycopene crystals when observed under Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Considerable amount of pectin in the soluble fraction led to hypothesis that pectin facilitated the formation of hydrocolloidal system of suspended lycopene during processing. Enzyme treatment confirmed this hypothesis when pectinase effectively disrupted colloidal system and precipitated lycopene. Necessity of the divalent ions to retain the suspension signified the electrostatic interactions in the matrix surrounding lycopene crystals.

Antifungal activity and patterns of N-acetyl-chitooligosaccharide degradation via chitinase produced from Serratia marcescens PRNK-1

Serratia marcescens PRNK-1, which has strong chitinolytic activity, was isolated from cockroaches (Periplaneta americana L.). The chitinase from S. marcescens PRNK-1 was characterized after incubation in a 0.5% colloidal chitin medium at 30 °C for 3 days. The molecular weights of three bands after staining for chitinase activity were approximately 34, 41, and 48 kDa on an SDS-PAGE gel. S. marcescens PRNK-1 strain strongly inhibited hyphal growth of Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium oxysporum. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) analyses were conducted to investigate the degradation patterns of N-acetyl-chitooligosaccharides by PRNK-1 chitinase. The N-acetyl-chitooligosaccharides: N-acetyl-chitin dimer (GlcNAc)2, N-acetyl-chitin trimer (GlcNAc)3, and N-acetyl-chitin tetramer (GlcNAc)4 were degraded to (GlcNAc)1-3 on a TLC plate. In an additional experiment, (GlcNAc)6 was degraded to (GlcNAc)1-4 on a TLC plate. The optimal temperature for chitinase activity of the PRNK-1 was 50 °C, producing 32.8 units/mL. As seen via TLC, the highest degradation of (GlcNAc)4 by PRNK-1 chitinase occurred with 50 °C incubation. The optimal pH for chitinase activity of PRNK-1 was pH 5.5, producing 24.6 units/mL. As seen via TLC, the highest degradation of (GlcNAc)4 by PRNK-1 chitinase occurred at pH 5.0–6.0. These results indicate that chitinase produced from S. marcescens PRNK-1 strain showed strong antifungal activity and potential of production of N-acetyl-chitooligosaccharides.

Ultrathin Colloidal Quantum Dot Films for Optical Amplification: The Role of Modal Confinement and Heat Dissipation.

We demonstrate optical pumping lasers based on colloidal quantum dots, with a very thin geometry consisting of a ≈20 nm thick film. Obstacles in ultrasmall laser devices come from the limitation of gain materials and the size of cavities for lasing modes, which requires a minimum thickness of the gain media (typically greater than 50-100 nm). Here we introduce dielectric waveguide structures with a high refractive index, in order to reduce the thickness of quantum dot gain media as well as their threshold energy (≈39 % compared to the original gain medium). Finite-difference time-domain simulations show that the modal confinement factor of thinner quantum dot films can be improved by the presence of an adjacent waveguide layer. We also discuss the possible role of dielectric waveguide layers for efficient heat dissipation during optical pumping. Integrating an extremely thin colloidal quantum dot gain medium into optical waveguides is a promising platform for downscaling on-chip photonic integrated devices, as well as investigating extreme interactions between light and matter such as surface plasmon-photon coupling.

Dynamics of necklace beams in nonlinear colloidal suspensions

Recently, we have predicted that the modulation instability of optical vortex solitons propagating in nonlinear colloidal suspensions with exponential saturable nonlinearity leads to formation of necklace beams (NBs). Here, we investigate the dynamics of NB formation and propagation, and demonstrate a variety of optical beam structures emerging upon vortex beam propagation in engineered nonlinear colloidal medium. In particular, we show that the distance at which the NB is formed depends on the input power of the vortex beam. Moreover, we show that the NB trajectories are not necessarily tangent to the initial vortex ring, and that their velocities have components stemming both from the beam diffraction and from the beam orbital angular momentum. We also demonstrate the generation of elliptical rotating solitons and analyze the influence of losses on their propagation. Finally, we investigate the conservation of the orbital angular momentum in necklace and elliptical rotating beams. Our studies, performed in ideal lossless media and in realistic colloidal suspensions with losses, provide a detailed description of NB dynamics, and may be useful in analysis of light propagation in highly scattering colloids and biological samples.

Nanostructured Spinel Ferrites for Catalytic Combustion of Gasoline Vapors

Effect of partial substitution of Fe3+ with Sc3+ ions, in Ni–Co spinel nanoferrite, synthesized by self-combustion method, using polyvinyl alcohol as colloidal medium, on the structural and catalytic properties for the combustion of Pb-free gasoline vapors is studied. Average crystallite size decreases and specific surface area increases with increasing Sc content. Catalytic properties are influenced by the nature of cations from spinel structure and nanoparticle surface. The catalytic activity improves with increasing Sc3+ content. The Ni0.5Co0.5Sc0.2Fe1.8O4 ferrite was found to be the most active catalyst and can be a good candidate for catalytic combustion of air-diluted vapors of Pb-free gasoline at moderate temperatures (250–500 °C). High performance activity of ferrite with maximum substitution of Sc is also accompanied by favorable structure of sample (granulation, porosity, specific surface area), resulted from its preparation method.

Ultrasmall quantum dots for fluorescent bioimaging in vivo and in vitro

Photoluminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are widely used in many branches of diagnostics and biomedicine. Using ultrasmall QDs for designing fluorescent nanoprobes increases their capacity for penetrating through cell membranes, which allows one to use them for tracking intracellular processes at the molecular level. Obtaining small-size QDs is usually impeded due to the fast kinetics of reactions of their formation and growth in a colloidal medium. We propose a method of synthesizing defectless CdSe QDs with a diameter of 1.5 nm based on the injection reaction in an organic medium, with superfast termination of the growth of QDs at the early stage of their formation. Separation of QDs by means of gel-permeation chromatography allows one to completely remove the excess of cadmium precursors not entering the reaction, which ensures the subsequent obtaining of QDs with a controllable fluorescence wavelength and high quantum yield in the process of depositing protective epitaxial shells of different compositions. The obtained ultrasmall QDs may find application in developing photoluminescent nanoprobes for visualizing intranuclear processes in cells.

Ultrasmall Quantum Dots: A Tool for in Vitro and in Vivo Fluorescence Imaging

Fluorescence bioimaging is an increasingly popular approach in biomedical research and diagnosis, where semiconductor nanocrystals or quantum dots (QDs) have proved to be excellent fluorescent labels. The use of ultrasmall QDs in nanoprobes extends the possibilities of bioimaging owing to an enhanced capacity for penetrating through cell membranes. However, the QDs synthesis is accompanied by the rapid growth of nanocrystals in colloidal medium what prevents obtaining sufficiently small QDs prepared by conventional approaches. Here, a one-pot injection technique of QD synthesis in an organic medium, with the reaction terminated at an early crystal growth stage and excess precursors eliminated by gel permeation chromatography, is proposed. This technique yields defect-free cadmium selenide QD cores about 1.5 nm in size emitting at the wavelengths less than 500 nm. Coating of these QDs with epitaxial shells of different compositions ensures a photoluminescence quantum yield approaching 100%. The resultant ultrasmall QDs are promising components of nanoprobes to be used for imaging intracellular and intranuclear events down to the molecular level.

Circular dispersive shock waves in colloidal media

A dispersive shock wave (DSW), with a circular geometry, is studied in a colloidal medium. The colloidal particle interaction is based on the repulsive theoretical hard sphere model, where a series in the particle density, or packing fraction is used for the compressibility. Experimental results show that the particle interactions are temperature dependent and can be either repulsive or attractive, so the second term in the compressibility series is modified to allow for temperature dependent effects, using a power-law relationship. The governing equation is a focusing nonlinear Schrödinger-type equation with an implicit nonlinearity. The initial jump in electric field amplitude is resolved via a DSW, which forms before the onset of modulational instability. A semi-analytical solution for the amplitude of the solitary waves in a DSW of large radius, is derived based on a combination of conservation laws and geometrical considerations. The effect of temperature and background packing fraction on the evolution of the DSW and the amplitude of the solitary waves is discussed and the semi-analytical solutions are found to be very accurate, when compared with numerical solutions.

Optical dispersive shock waves in defocusing colloidal media

The propagation of an optical dispersive shock wave, generated from a jump discontinuity in light intensity, in a defocusing colloidal medium is analysed. The equations governing nonlinear light propagation in a colloidal medium consist of a nonlinear Schrödinger equation for the beam and an algebraic equation for the medium response. In the limit of low light intensity, these equations reduce to a perturbed higher order nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Solutions for the leading and trailing edges of the colloidal dispersive shock wave are found using modulation theory. This is done for both the perturbed nonlinear Schrödinger equation and the full colloid equations for arbitrary light intensity. These results are compared with numerical solutions of the colloid equations.

Cesium lead halide ( CsPbX 3, X = Cl , Br, I) perovskite quantum dots-synthesis, properties, and applications: a review of their present status

Metal halide-based perovskite quantum dots (QDs) have emerged as promising materials for optoelectronics and future energy applications. Among them, cesium lead halide-based perovskite quantum dots (Cs-LHQDs) have been found to be potential luminescent candidates and alternatives for the II–VI and I−III−VI2 groups semiconductor nanoparticles. These perovskites provide an excellent quantum yield (90%) larger than any other semiconductor QDs. At present, synthesis of Cs-LHQDs has been successfully achieved through a traditional colloidal-based hot-injection method and a room temperature precipitation method. Some of the interesting results in their structural, optical, and morphological properties are being analyzed to understand their energy-transfer mechanism in the colloidal state. Morphology of nanoplates, nanowires, nanocube, and nanosheets in these materials confirms their physical parameters-dependent self-assembly nature in a colloidal medium. Their potential use for light emitting diodes, photodetectors, and lasers is also highly motivated. This review provides a collective view of recent developments made in the synthesis of Cs-LHQDs and their properties.