http://www.hindawi.comThe latest articles from Hindawi Publishing Corporation© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/389512Polyethylene terephthalate-polylactic acid copolymer (PET-PLA) was synthesized from bis (2-hydroxyethyl terephthalate) and L-lactic acid oligomer in the presence of manganese antimony glycoxide as a catalyst. The synthesized PET-PLA copolymer was used for controlled drug release systems with gold nanoparticles. Fluorouracil containing PET-PLA nanocapsules was prepared in the presence of gold nanoparticles by solvent evaporation method. The morphologies of the nanocapsules were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Controlled release of Fu and Fu@Au was carried out in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and 0.1 M HCl solution. The results indicated that the drug release for gold nanoparticles/fluorouracil (Au@Fu) incorporated PET-PLA nanocapsules was controlled and slow compared to Fu incorporated PET-PLA nanocapsules. This may be due to the interaction between the gold nanoparticles and fluorouracil in PET-PLA nanocapsules.K. Sathish Kumar, V. Selvaraj, and M. Alagar© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/156358The possibility of using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) aggregates as fluorescence sensors for pathogen recognition in drinking water treatment applications has been studied. Batch adsorption study is conducted to adsorb large concentrations of Staphylococcus aureus aureus SH 1000 and Escherichia coli pKV-11 on single-walled carbon nanotubes. Subsequently the immobilized bacteria are detected with confocal microscopy by coating the nanotubes with fluorescence emitting antibodies. The Freundlich adsorption equilibrium constant (k) for S.aureus and E.coli determined from batch adsorption study was found to be 9×108 and 2×108 ml/g, respectively. The visualization of bacterial cells adsorbed on fluorescently modified carbon nanotubes is also clearly seen. The results indicate that hydrophobic single-walled carbon nanotubes have excellent bacterial adsorption capacity and fluorescent detection capability. This is an important advancement in designing fluorescence biosensors for pathogen recognition in water systems.Venkata K. K. Upadhyayula, Soumitra Ghoshroy, Vinod S. Nair, Geoffrey B. Smith, Martha C. Mitchell, and Shuguang Deng© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/765398Discrete track media (DTM) fabricated by nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is considered as a potential technology for future hard disk drives (HDD). In the fabrication of a master mold for NIL, patterning the resist tracks with a narrow distribution in the width is the first critical step. This paper reports the challenges involved in the fabrication of high aspect ratio discrete tracks on Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) resist by means of electron beam lithography. It was observed that fabrication parameters applied for successful patterning of discrete tracks in nanoscale length were not directly suitable for the patterning of discrete tracks in micron scale. Hence different approaches such as thick layer resist coating, introducing of post exposure baking process, and varying of exposure parameters were used in order to achieve uniform sharp discrete tracks in micron scale length on the resist. The optimal parameters were used to pattern 20 μm long tracks with 70 nm track pitch on the resist.K. O. Aung, C. Shankaran, R. Sbiaa, E. L. Tan, S. K. Wong, and S. N. Piramanayagam© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/516478The liquid flame spray (LFS) method was used to make iron oxide doped alumina-zirconia nanoparticles. Nanoparticles were generated using a turbulent, high-temperature (Tmax⁡∼3000 K) H2-O2 flame. The precursors were aluminium-isopropoxide, zirconium-n-propoxide, and ferrocene in xylene solution. The solution was atomized into micron-sized droplets by high velocity H2 flow and introduced into the flame where nanoparticles were formed. The particle morphology, size, phase, and chemical composition were determined by TEM, XRD, XPS, and N2-adsorption measurements. The collected particulate material consists of micron-sized aggregates with nanosized primary particles. In both doped and undoped samples, tetragonal phase of zirconia was detected in room temperature while alumina was found to be noncrystalline. In the doped powder, Fe was oxidized to Fe2O3. The primary particle size of collected sample was approximately from 6 nm to 40 nm. Doping was observed to increase the specific surface area of the powder from 39 m2/g to 47 m2/g.Juha-Pekka Nikkanen, Helmi Keskinen, Mikko Aromaa, Mikael Järn, Tomi Kanerva, Erkki Levänen, Jyrki M. Mäkelä, and Tapio Mäntylä© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/296928An apparent enhanced solubility of single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in the deuterated form of the standard 3 : 1 sulfuric (H2SO4) to nitric (HNO3) acid mixture treatment is reported and attributed to the stronger interaction of deuterium bonds with the single-wall carbon nanotube surface. UV-Visible spectroscopy was used to characterize the apparent enhanced solubility of the SWNTs treated in deuterated forms of the acid mixture in comparison to the standard acid mix, while FTIR was used to analyze the nature of the functional groups generated on the SWNTs as a result of the different acid treatments. The apparent enhanced solubility reported here is consistent with the limited number of computational and experimental results published in the literature regarding the interaction of carbon nanotubes with deuterated solvents; however, a detailed understanding of the underlying mechanism responsible for this observation is currently lacking. The apparent increased solubility observed here could potentially be utilized in many applications where carbon nanotube dispersion is required.T. Ramanathan, Frank T. Fisher, Rodney S. Ruoff, and L. Catherine Brinson© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/974072The fluorescence of emitters embedded in a photonic crystal is known to be inhibited by the presence of an incomplete photonic band gap or pseudogap acting in their emission range. Here, we present a study of the angular dependence of the fluorescence emission of emitters embedded in a photonic crystal. Our results clearly show an angular dependence of the fluorescence emission, which is caused by the presence of an incomplete 3D band gap.Kasper Baert, Branko Kolaric, Wim Libaers, Renaud A. L. Vallée, Marcel Di Vece, Peter Lievens, and Koen Clays© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/756843Ammonium nitrate was added to the spraying solution as a foaming agent to reduce the particle size of nanoparticles synthesized in the spray-pyrolysis process. Ammonium nitrate was effective in breaking the aerosol droplet size and generating nanoparticles that were of approximately one order-of-magnitude (from 200 to 20 nm) smaller diameter than those created in the absence of ammonium nitrate in the feed solution. This technique makes it possible to control the particle diameter of metallic nanoparticles below 20 nm.Kalyana C. Pingali, Shuguang Deng, and David A. Rockstraw© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/789153Devices based on nanomaterials are emerging as a powerful and general class of ultrasensitive sensors for the direct detection of biological and chemical species. In this work, we report the preparation and the full characterization of nanomaterials such as gold nanowires and TiO2 nanostructured films to be used for assembling of electrochemical biosensors. Gold nanowires were prepared by electroless deposition within the pores of polycarbonate particle track-etched membranes (PTMs). Glucose oxidase was deposited onto the nanowires using self-assembling monolayer as an anchor layer for the enzyme molecules. Finally, cyclic voltammetry was performed for different enzymes to test the applicability of gold nanowires as biosensors. Considering another interesting nanomaterial, the realization of functionalised TiO2 thin films on Si substrates for the immobilization of enzymes is reported. Glucose oxidase and horseradish peroxidase immobilized onto TiO2-based nanostructured surfaces exhibited a pair of well-defined and quasireversible voltammetric peaks. The electron exchange between the enzyme and the electrodes was greatly enhanced in the TiO2 nanostructured environment. The electrocatalytic activity of HRP and GOD embedded in TiO2 electrodes toward H2O2 and glucose, respectively, may have a potential perspective in the fabrication of third-generation biosensors based on direct electrochemistry of enzymes.Antonella Curulli and Daniela Zane© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/853253Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) is a valuable in situ spectroscopic analysis technique that provides a direct portrait of the electron transport properties of a molecular species. In the past, IETS has been applied to small molecules. Using self-assembled nanoelectronic junctions, IETS was performed for the first time on a large polypeptide protein peptide in the phosphorylated and native form, yielding interpretable spectra. A reproducible 10-fold shift of the I/V characteristics of the peptide was observed upon phosphorylation. Phosphorylation can be utilized as a site-specific modification to alter peptide structure and thereby influence electron transport in peptide molecular junctions. It is envisioned that kinases and phosphatases may be used to create tunable systems for molecular electronics applications, such as biosensors and memory devices.Alessandra Luchini, David P. Long, Iosif I. Vaisman, Emanuel F. Petricoin, David H. Geho, and Lance A. Liotta© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/527294This report describes the viability of a strategy for manipulating the assembly/disassembly processes of DNA-Au nanoparticles by molecular intervention. Using the temperature-induced assembly and disassembly processes of DNAs and gold nanoparticles as a model system, the introduction of a molecular recognition probe is demonstrated to lead to the intervention of the assembly/disassembly processes depending on its specific biorecognition. This process can be detected by monitoring the change in the optical properties of gold nanoparticles and their DNA assemblies. Implications of the preliminary results to exploration of the resulting nanostructures for fine-tuning of the interfacial reactivities in DNA-based bioassays and biomaterial engineering are also discussed.I-Im S. Lim, Lingyan Wang, Uma Chandrachud, Susannah Gal, and Chuan-Jian Zhong© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/GetArticle.aspx?doi=10.1155/2008/827174We report a method of patterning the 1D and 2D arrays of gold nanoparticles on the DNA self-assembled scaffolds. The 5 nm gold nanoparticle was well positioned at the center of each 4×4 tile motif of the DNA scaffold. The precisely located gold particles can form 1D and 2D arrays. This controllable scaffolding technology may become a promising tool for nanoscaled fabrication of electronics and photonic devices.Immensee Cheng, Bryan Wei, Xunyun Zhang, Yongjian Wang, and Yongli Mi© 2008, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.