5 research outputs found
Ultra-thin gold and its applications in biomedical sensing
No full textGold nanomaterials can be engineered into various shapes, which strongly influence their optical and catalytic behaviour. This thesis focuses on quasi‑one‑dimensional gold nanotapes (AuNT) and compares them with conventional gold nanoparticles and other morphological variants. Lower‑dimensional gold nanostructures with atomic‑level thickness, including AuNT, were synthesised using a simple aqueous‑based wet‑chemical soft‑template method. Among these, AuNT was shown to possess unique plasmonic properties and high surface reactivity.
To explore their practical use, AuNT were embedded into inkjet‑printed poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels, creating reusable catalytic platforms. These printed AuNT hydrogels degraded pollutants, such as 4‑nitrophenol, more rapidly and enabled phenol oxidation under mild conditions. Their printed mesh structure improved accessibility of active sites, offering higher catalytic efficiency and consistent reusability.
AuNT also demonstrated strong enzyme‑like activity, outperforming natural peroxidase in standard colourimetric and fluorometric assays. When integrated into a glucose‑sensing system, they achieved a detection limit of 9.5 µM, showing promise for low‑cost diagnostic applications.
Overall, this work establishes gold nanotapes as a versatile class of nanomaterials with applications in water purification, biosensing, and catalytic technologies, and presents inkjet printing as a scalable route for developing practical nanozyme‑based devices
Room Temperature Catalytic Degradation of Phenolic Compounds Using Inkjet-Printed Gold Nanotape-PVA Hydrogels
No full textDataset includes all data needed for reader to create all plots found in the paper ' Room Temperature Catalytic Degradation of Phenolic Compounds Using Inkjet-Printed Gold Nanotape-PVA Hydrogels
Nanotape Catalysts: Inkjet-Printed Gold Structures for Phenol Degradation at Ambient Conditions
No full textThis dataset contains experimental data on the catalytic performance of gold nanotapes (AuNTs) embedded in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel matrices for the degradation of phenolic compounds, including 4-nitrophenol and phenol. The data were generated through a combination of batch catalytic reactions, spectrophotometric analysis, and comparative studies involving spherical gold nanoparticles and horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The dataset includes information on synthesis conditions, reaction kinetics, reusability tests, and the performance of catalysts in various formats: free suspension, drop-casted gels, and inkjet-printed hydrogel meshes. This dataset is relevant for researchers developing sustainable nanozyme-based catalytic systems, especially those interested in the use of nano enzymes for water treatment applications
Atomically thin gold embedded in inkjet-printed PVA hydrogels: flexible catalysts for ambient phenol degradation
No full textInkjet-printed gold nanotape (AuNT) structures embedded in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels provide a reusable, high-surface-area platform for catalytic degradation of phenol and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) under ambient conditions. AuNTs, featuring distinct three-dimensional "heads" and atomically thin quasi-one-dimensional "tails", enhanced catalytic activity in both reduction and oxidation reactions. Compared to spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), AuNTs are nearly twice as catalytically efficient for 4-NP reduction on a per-mass basis, reflecting the influence of anisotropic morphology on surface-sensitive electron transfer. In contrast, phenol oxidation shows weaker morphology dependence, likely proceeding through hydroxyl radical-mediated pathways that are less sensitive to catalyst shape or facet structure. To enable rapid substrate diffusion and facilitate reuse, AuNTs were formulated into PVA inks and inkjet-printed into micrometre-thick hydrogel mesh architectures (8 to 15 µm thick). Although printed meshes show reduced activity relative to free AuNTs in solution, they achieve a nearly fourfold increase in mass-normalised rate constants for 4-NP reduction compared to drop-cast gels (0.24×10⁴ vs. 0.07×10⁴ min⁻¹ g⁻¹) and achieve 26% phenol, a common water pollutant, in 4 hours at room temperature, with consistent performance over multiple cycles. These findings demonstrate the potential of inkjet-printed nanozyme hydrogels as scalable, heterogeneous catalysts. Further improvements may be achieved by optimising catalyst–matrix interactions to reduce diffusion and accessibility barriers. This work addresses a significant challenge in nanozyme catalysis: translating high-performance nanomaterials into practical, reusable formats suitable for environmental remediation
Stable, Conductive, Adhesive Polymer Patterning Inside a Microfluidic Chamber for Endothelial Cell Alignment
No full textEndothelial cells (ECs) line the inner walls of blood vessels, respond to shear stress by elongating in the direction of flow. Engineering aligned ECs in vitro is essential for modeling human vascular diseases and for drug testing. Current microfluidic approaches mainly rely on unidirectional laminar flow, uniform coating of surfaces to improve cellular adhesion or alteration of the surface topography. Challenges persist due to shear stress-induced changes in cellular behavior, especially in complex multicellular environments and the time needed for the cells to align and polarize inside the microfluidic conduits. Generally, protein coating processes and physical treatments are also not compatible with the steps required for the assembly of microfluidic devices. This approach employs aerosol jet printing (AJP) to precisely pattern poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulphonate (PEDOT:PSS) within microfluidic chambers in a single step. It is shown that the PEDOT:PSS is biocompatible and facilitates EC adhesion, patterning, elongation, and alignment. Under capillary flow, the cells retain their pattern-induced morphology over 7 d, confirming the efficacy of the approach in promoting cellular organization, eliminating the need for external pumps. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the PEDOT:PSS pattern retains structural integrity and electrical stability following oxygen plasma treatment, required for assembling of fully enclosed microfluidic devices
