The nascent field of nanotechnology-enabled metallurgy has great potential. However, the role of eutectic alloys and the nature of alloy solidification in this field are still largely unknown. To demonstrate one of the promises of liquid metals in the field, we explore a model system of catalytically active Bi-Sn nano-alloys produced using a liquid-phase ultrasonication technique and investigate their phase separation, surface oxidation, and nucleation.

Bacterial drug resistance has emerged as a serious global threat mandating the development of novel methodologies that allow facile modulation of antimicrobial action in a controlled fashion. Conjugating antibiotics to nanoparticles helps to meet this goal by increasing the drug’s overall avidity, bioavailability and easier internalisation into mammalian cells, targeting bacteria that otherwise escape antibacterial action by host cell-localisation.

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is a promising antibacterial material, the efficacy of which can be further enhanced by the addition of silver nanoparticles (nAg). In this study, the mechanisms of antibacterial activity of rGO–nAg nanocomposite against several important human pathogenic multidrug resistant bacteria, namely Gram-positive coccal Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative rodshaped Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis are investigated.

Original Source

A rich literature exists that has demonstrated adverse human health effects following exposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM), with strong support for an important role for ultrafine (nano-sized) particles. At present, relatively little human health or epidemiology data exists for engineered nanomaterials (NM) despite clear parallels in their physicochemical properties and biological actions in in vitro models.

Original Source

Energy harvesting performance of an efficient flexible bio-piezoelectric nanogenerator (BPNG) is demonstrated, where “bio-waste” transparent fish scale (FSC), composed of self-assembled and ordered collagen nano-fibrils, serves as a self-poled piezoelectric active component, exhibiting intrinsic piezoelectric strength of −−5.0 pC/N. The dipolar orientation (∼19%) of the self-polarized FSC collagen is confirmed by the angular dependent near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy.

Antibiotics have been considered emerging pollutants due to their continuous input and persistence in the aquatic ecosystem. The present paper addresses the degradation and removal processes applied to a specific class of micropollutants, the antibiotic tetracycline (TETRA). Photocatalytic degradation of tetracycline in aqueous suspensions of titanium dioxide in the presence of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and ultraviolet (UV) illumination was performed in a vertical circulating photocatalytic reactor. The optimum catalyst concentration was about 0.1g/L.