Gaser N. Abdelrasoul

Induced growth of dendrite gold nanostructure by controlling self-assembly aggregation dynamics

Self-assembly of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) is an important growth mode for fabricating functional materials. In this work we report a dendrite structure formed by slowing down the aggregation dynamics of AuNPs self-assembly. The obtained results show that the aggregation dynamics is dominated by the Reaction Limited Aggregation Model (RLA) more than the Diffusion Limited Aggregation Model (DLA). In which the repulsion due to electrostatic forces is dominant by the Van Der Walls attraction forces, and low sticking probability of nanoparticles. The aggregation dynamics of AuNPs can be slowed down if the water evaporation of the drop casted colloidal AuNPs on a quartz substrate is slowed. Slowing down the evaporation allows electrostatic repulsion forces to decrease gradually. At certain point, the attraction forces become higher than the electrostatic repulsion and hence cluster aggregation take place slowly. The slow aggregation dynamics allows the nanoparticles to sample all possible orientation in the sticking site, searching for the lowest energy configuration. The size distribution of the nanoparticles in liquid is confirmed using dynamic light scattering based on Stokes-Einstein equation for diffusion coefficient in water. X-ray and photoluminescence (PL) spectra of the sample after aggregation showed a shift which is related to the aggregation compared with non-aggregated colloidal nanoparticles in the solution. The study shows that dendrite self similar structure can be formed by slowing down the aggregation dynamics of nanoparticles as a result of minimizing the Helmholtz free surface energy of the system.

PEGylated gold nanorods as optical trackers for biomedical applications: an in vivo and in vitro comparative study.

Gold nanorods (AuNRs) are eligible for a variety of biological applications including cell imaging, sensing, and photothermal therapy thanks to their optical properties. The aim of this work is to show how AuNRs could be employed as non-photobleachable optical contrast agents for biomedical applications. In order to demonstrate the feasibility of their use as optical trackers, we employed two-photon emission confocal microscopy on cells incubated with PEGylated AuNRs. Remarkably, AuNRs were localized mostly in the perinuclear zone and microscopy characterization showed the presence of a considerable number of rods inside cell nuclei. Furthermore, we estimated the toxicity and the efficiency of cellular uptake of the PEGylated AuNRs as a function of administered dose on HeLa/3T3 cell lines and on zebrafish during development, employed as an in vivo model. Eventually, we observed good agreement between in vivo and in vitro experiments. The employed AuNRs were prepared through a photochemical protocol here improved by tuning the amount of the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide for the achievement of AuNRs at two different aspect ratios. Furthermore we also investigated if the AuNR aspect ratio influenced the toxicity and the efficiency of cellular uptake of the PEGylated AuNRs in HeLa/3T3 cell lines and in zebrafish embryos.

Effect of Anderson localization on light emission from gold nanoparticle aggregates

The localization of light known as Anderson localization is a common phenomenon characterizing aggregates of metallic nanostructures. The electromagnetic energy of visible light can be localized inside nanostructures below the diffraction limit by converting the optical modes into nonradiative surface plasmon resonances. The energy of the confined photons is correlated to the size and shape of the nanostructured system. In this work, we studied the photoluminescence dependence of aggregates of 14 nm diameter gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) synthesized by drop-casting a liquid suspension on two different substrates of glass and quartz. The AuNP aggregates were characterized by electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The dielectric constant of the surrounding medium plays a crucial role in determining the aggregate geometry, which affects the Anderson localization of light in the aggregates and hence causes a red-shift in the plasmonic resonance and in the photoluminescence emission. The geometry of the gold nanoparticle aggregates determine the strength of the Anderson localization, and hence, the light emission from the aggregates. The photoluminescence lifetime was found to be dependent on the AuNP aggregate geometry and the dielectric constant of the medium.

Gold nanoparticle-filled biodegradable photopolymer scaffolds induced muscle remodeling: in vitro and in vivo findings

Therapeutic stem cell transplantation bears the promise of new directions in organ and tissue replacement, but a number of its difficulties and perils are also well known. Our goal was to develop a method of transplantation by which the transplanted cells remain confined to the transplantation site and induce favorable processes. With the help of mask-projection excimer laser stereolithography, 3D hybrid nanoscaffolds were fabricated from biodegradable, photocurable PPF:DEF resin with incorporated gold nanoparticles (Au NPs). The scaffolds were tested in vitro and in vivo in order to find out about their biocompatibility and fitness for our purposes. In vitro, macrophages and mouse autologous adipose stem cells (ASCs) were seeded over the hybrid scaffolds and non-hybrid (with Au NPs) scaffolds for 4days. The hybrid nanocomposite greater stem cell dispension and stem cell adhesion than PPF scaffolds without Au NPs, but such a difference was not seen in the case of macrophages. In vivo, stem cells, scaffoldings and scaffoldings covered in stem cells were transplanted under the back skin of mice. After 14days, blood samples were taken and the affected skin area was excised. Cytokine and chemokine profiling did not indicate elevated immunomediators in the sera of experimental animals. Interestingly, the autologous-stem-cell-seeded hybrid nanocomposite scaffold induced muscle tissue regeneration after experimental wound generation in vivo. We could not observe such stem cell-induced tissue regeneration when no scaffolding was used. We conclude that PPF:DEF resin nanoscaffolds with incorporated gold nanoparticles offer a safe and efficient alternative for the enhancement of local tissue remodeling. The results also support the idea that adipose derived stem cells are an optimal cell type for the purposes of regenerative musculoskeletal tissue engineering.