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Characterization of Organic and Bioorganic Nanostructures by Physical Methods

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 9407

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Elena Balashova

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Guest Editor

Ioffe Institute, Politekhnicheskaya 26, 194021 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Interests: organic and semiorganic crystals; ferroelectric crystals and films; domain structure; dielectric properties; acoustics; phase transitions; nanostructured materials

Dr. Boris B. Krichevtsov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Ioffe Institute, Politekhnicheskaya 26, 194021 Saint Petersburg, Russia
Interests: magnetism; ferroelectricity; optics; magnetooptics; nanostrucrures; phase transitions; organic and semiorganic crystals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In connection with advances in the field of molecular biology and bioengineering, the prospect of creating new devices and systems for medicine, electronics, and energy, based on the possibility of embedding organic or bioorganic molecules into various structures, has appeared. The design of new materials, the improvement of their structure and properties, the creation of organic and bioorganic nanomaterials and nanosystems require the use of physical diagnostic tools associated with the use of electromagnetic radiation, from visible light to hard X-rays, methods based on the scattering of various particles: electrons, neutrons , ions, as well as atomic resolution methods such as atomic force microscopy, electron microscopy, etc.

The purpose of this special issue is to demonstrate the possibilities of applying such physical methods as XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, UV-VIS absorption, luminescence, impedance spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, ect., to the study of organic and bioorganic nanostructured materials. The latter may include films of nanoscale thickness, materials formed by the introduction of organic and bioorganic materials into structures with nanopores or nanotubes, the incorporation of doping organic or bioorganic molecules into the pores of crystal structure, carbon nanostructures based on fullerenes or graphene, their interaction with organic or bioorganic molecules, alive cells.

Dr. Elena Balashova
Dr. Boris B. Krichevtsov
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

organic and bioorganic materials and nanostructures
nanopores and nanotubes
fullerene and graphene nanostructures
alive cells
XRD, SEM
neutron scattering
Raman, FTIR spectroscopy
impedance spectroscopy
UV-VIS spectroscopy
luminescence spectroscopy
AFM

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

37 pages, 5936 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis and Study of Organic Nanostructures Fabricated by Inclusion of 2-Methylbenzimidazole Molecules in Nanotubes of Chrysotile Asbestos, Mesoporous Silica, and Nanopores of Borate Glasses

by Elena Balashova, Aleksandr A. Levin, Sergey Pavlov, Anatoly Starukhin, Alexander Fokin, Dmitry Kurdyukov, Daniil Eurov and Boris Krichevtsov

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(18), 13740; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813740 - 6 Sep 2023

Viewed by 763

Abstract

New organic nanostructures were synthesized by introducing 2-methylbenzimidazole (MBI) molecules from a melt, gas phase, or alcoholic solution into nanosized voids of borate porous glasses (PG), nanotubes of chrysotile asbestos (ChA), and mesoporous silica (MS). The incorporation of MBI into borate glasses with different pore sizes is accompanied by the appearance of several phases formed by nanocrystallites which have a MBI crystal structure, but somewhat differ in lattice parameters. The size of some crystallites significantly exceeds the size of nanopores, which indicates the presence of long-scale correlations of the crystal structure. The size of MBI nanocrystallites in ChA was close to the diameter of nanotubes (D ~10 nm), which shows the absence of crystal structure correlations. The XRD pattern of mesoporous silica filled by MBI does not exhibit reflections caused by MBI and a presence of MBI was confirmed only by the analysis of correlation function. The incorporation of MBI molecules into matrices is observed through optical IR absorption spectroscopy (FTIR) and photoluminescence. Introducing MBI in ChA and MS is followed by the appearance of bright green photoluminescence, the spectral structure of which is analogous to MBI crystals but slightly shifted in the blue region, probably due to a quantum-size effect. The influence of MBI inclusion in PG and ChA on the permittivity, dielectric losses, conductivity, and parameters of their hopping conductivity is analyzed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Organic and Bioorganic Nanostructures by Physical Methods)

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11 pages, 1591 KiB

Open AccessArticle

General Capacitance Upper Limit and Its Manifestation for Aqueous Graphene Interfaces

by Alexey V. Butko, Vladimir Y. Butko and Yurii A. Kumzerov

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 10861; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241310861 - 29 Jun 2023

Viewed by 938

Abstract

Double-layer capacitance (C_dl) is essential for chemical and biological sensors and capacitor applications. The correct formula for C_dl is a controversial subject for practically useful graphene interfaces with water, aqueous solutions, and other liquids. We have developed a model of C_dl, considering the capacitance of a charge accumulation layer (C_ca) and capacitance (C_e) of a capacitance-limiting edge region with negligible electric susceptibility and conductivity between this layer and the capacitor electrode. These capacitances are connected in series, and C_dl can be obtained from 1/C_dl = 1/C_ca + 1/C_e. In the case of aqueous graphene interfaces, this model predicts that C_dl is significantly affected by C_e. We have studied the graphene/water interface capacitance by low-frequency impedance spectroscopy. Comparison of the model predictions with the experimental results implies that the distance from charge carriers in graphene to the nearest molecular charges at the interface can be ~(0.05–0.1)nm and is about a typical length of the carbon-hydrogen bond. Generalization of this model, assuming that such an edge region between a conducting electrode and a charge accumulating region is intrinsic for a broad range of non-faradaic capacitors and cannot be thinner than an atomic size of ~0.05 nm, predicts a general capacitance upper limit of ~18 μF/cm². Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Organic and Bioorganic Nanostructures by Physical Methods)

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22 pages, 3535 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Crystal Chemistry of the Copper Oxalate Biomineral Moolooite: The First Single-Crystal X-ray Diffraction Studies and Thermal Behavior

by Ilya V. Kornyakov, Vladislav V. Gurzhiy, Mariya A. Kuz’mina, Maria G. Krzhizhanovskaya, Nikita V. Chukanov, Mikhail V. Chislov, Anatolii V. Korneev and Alina R. Izatulina

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(7), 6786; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24076786 - 5 Apr 2023

Viewed by 2358

Abstract

Moolooite, Cu(C₂O₄)·nH₂O, is a typical biomineral which forms due to Cu-bearing minerals coming into contact with oxalic acid sources such as bird guano deposits or lichens, and no single crystals of moolooite of either natural or synthetic origin have been found yet. This paper reports, for the first time, on the preparation of single crystals of a synthetic analog of the copper-oxalate biomineral moolooite, and on the refinement of its crystal structure from the single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) data. Along with the structural model, the SCXRD experiment showed the significant contribution of diffuse scattering to the overall diffraction data, which comes from the nanostructural disorder caused by stacking faults of Cu oxalate chains as they lengthen. This type of disorder should result in the chains breaking, at which point the H₂O molecules may be arranged. The amount of water in the studied samples did not exceed 0.15 H₂O molecules per formula unit. Apparently, the mechanism of incorporation of H₂O molecules governs the absence of good-quality single crystals in nature and a lack of them in synthetic experiments: the more H₂O content in the structure, the stronger the disorder will be. A description of the crystal structure indicates that the ideal structure of the Cu oxalate biomineral moolooite should not contain H₂O molecules and should be described by the Cu(C₂O₄) formula. However, it was shown that natural and synthetic moolooite crystals contain a significant portion of “structural” water, which cannot be ignored. Considering the substantially variable amount of water, which can be incorporated into the crystal structure, the formula Cu(C₂O₄)·nH₂O for moolooite is justified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Organic and Bioorganic Nanostructures by Physical Methods)

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10 pages, 2474 KiB

Open AccessArticle

FT-IR Analysis of P. aeruginosa Bacteria Inactivation by Femtosecond IR Laser Radiation

by Irina Saraeva, Eteri Tolordava, Svetlana Sheligyna, Alyona Nastulyavichus, Roman Khmelnitskii, Nikolay Pokryshkin, Dmitriy Khmelenin, Sergey Kudryashov, Andrey Ionin and Andrey Akhmatkhanov

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(6), 5119; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24065119 - 7 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1388

Abstract

We report the successful inactivation of P. aeruginosa strain by femtosecond infrared (IR) laser radiation at the resonant wavelengths of 3.15 μm and 6.04 μm, chosen due to the presence of characteristic molecular vibrations in the main structural elements of the bacterial cells in these spectral ranges: vibrations of amide groups in proteins (1500–1700 cm⁻¹), and C-H vibrations in membrane proteins and lipids (2800–3000 cm⁻¹). The underlying bactericidal structural molecular changes were revealed by the stationary Fourier-transform IR spectroscopy, with the spectral peaks parameters being obtained by Lorentzian fitting with the hidden peaks revealed by the second derivative calculations, while no visible damage to the cell membranes was identified by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Organic and Bioorganic Nanostructures by Physical Methods)

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16 pages, 2705 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Formation of Morphologically Stable Lipid Nanocarriers for Glioma Therapy

by Rais Pavlov, Elvira Romanova, Denis Kuznetsov, Anna Lyubina, Syumbelya Amerhanova, Alexandra Voloshina, Daina Buzyurova, Vasily Babaev, Irina Zueva, Konstantin Petrov, Svetlana Lukashenko, Gulnara Gaynanova and Lucia Zakharova

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(4), 3632; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043632 - 11 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1608

Abstract

Cerasomes are a promising modification of liposomes with covalent siloxane networks on the surface that provide outstanding morphological stability while maintaining all the useful traits of liposomes. Herein, thin film hydration and ethanol sol injection methods were utilized to produce cerasomes of various composition, which were then evaluated for the purpose of drug delivery. The most promising nanoparticles obtained by the thin film method were studied closely using MTT assay, flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy on T98G glioblastoma cell line and modified with surfactants to achieve stability and the ability to bypass the blood–brain barrier. An antitumor agent, paclitaxel, was loaded into cerasomes, which increased its potency and demonstrated increased ability to induce apoptosis in T98G glioblastoma cell culture. Cerasomes loaded with fluorescent dye rhodamine B demonstrated significantly increased fluorescence in brain slices of Wistar rats compared to free rhodamine B. Thin film hydration with Tween 80 addition was established as a more reliable and versatile method for cerasome preparation. Cerasomes increased the antitumor action of paclitaxel toward T98G cancer cells by a factor of 36 and were able to deliver rhodamine B over the blood–brain barrier in rats. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Organic and Bioorganic Nanostructures by Physical Methods)

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16 pages, 6264 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Octafluoro-Substituted Phthalocyanines of Zinc, Cobalt, and Vanadyl: Single Crystal Structure, Spectral Study and Oriented Thin Films

by Aleksandr Sukhikh, Darya Klyamer, Dmitry Bonegardt and Tamara Basova

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(3), 2034; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24032034 - 19 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1732

Abstract

In this work, octafluoro-substituted phthalocyanines of zinc, vanadyl, and cobalt (MPcF₈, M = Zn(II), Co(II), VO) were synthesized and studied. The structures of single crystals of the obtained phthalocyanines were determined. To visualize and compare intermolecular contacts in MPcF₈, an analysis of Hirshfeld surfaces (HS) was performed. MPcF₈ nanoscale thickness films were deposited by organic molecular beam deposition technique and their structure and orientation were studied using X-ray diffraction. Comparison of X-ray diffraction patterns of thin films with the calculated diffractograms showed that all three films consisted of a single crystal phase, which corresponded to a phase of single crystals. Only one strong diffraction peak corresponding to the plane (001) was observed on the diffraction pattern of each film, which indicated a strong preferred orientation with the vast majority of crystallites oriented with a (001) crystallographic plane parallel to the substrate surface. The effect of the central metals on the electronic absorption and vibrational spectra of the studied phthalocyanines as well as on the electrical conductivity of their films is also discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Characterization of Organic and Bioorganic Nanostructures by Physical Methods)

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Characterization of Organic and Bioorganic Nanostructures by Physical Methods

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