Browsing by Author "Heyne, Belinda J. M."

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    Interactions between Serum Albumin Proteins and Polystyrene Nanoparticles
    (2018-07-10) Bishop, Amanda Iris; Cramb, David Thomas; Heyne, Belinda J. M.; Ling, Chang-Chun; Harrison, Joe J.
    Nanoparticles (NPs) have become increasingly popular for several applications, especially regarding biomedical applications because of their unique properties. However, when a nanoparticle enters a biological medium, it is thought to become encapsulated in proteins and other biomolecules in a coating termed a “protein corona.” This coating is significant as it can change the identity and surface properties of the nanoparticle, thus affecting its fate within the biological medium. Studies on the formation of NP-protein complexes have been ongoing for years although the interactions are still not fully understood due to their dynamics and complexity. As a result, this hinders the use of NPs to their full potential in biomedical applications. The studies performed in this thesis analyze the interactions of fluorescent polystyrene nanoparticles (FS) of two different sizes with bovine serum albumin proteins (BSA) by the technique of Two-Photon Excitation Cross-correlation Spectroscopy (TPE-FCCS). These interactions were explored both thermodynamically and kinetically to gain insight into the formation of the early hard corona and the kinetics of the formation of the BSA-FS complexes. The results suggested very low binding ratios and a mechanism of protein association dependent on the size of the sphere present in solution. The results also suggested an irreversible formation of BSA-FS complexes, in which the BSA appears to stack at the surface of the FS. These findings are significant as they challenge the current beliefs on the formation of a protein corona and perceived monolayer formation, and furthermore, provides a deeper understanding of NP-protein interactions.
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    Ir-core Pt-shell Nanoparticles for the Electro-oxidation of Ethanol
    (2018-12-06) Slaby, Jachym; Birss, Viola; Shi, Yujun J.; Karan, Kunal; Heyne, Belinda J. M.
    This work was conducted in order to establish the behavior of Ir@Pt core@shell nanoparticles (NPs) during the catalysis of the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). Ir@Pt catalysts with < 1 monolayer of the Pt shell were synthesized using the well-established polyol method, which involves the use of a capping ligand. The NPs were tested for the EOR at both room and elevated (70 ̊C) temperatures, as well as acetaldehyde oxidation at room temperature. Ir was found to be more active towards the EOR at lower potentials and Pt at higher potentials. The presence of the capping ligand made it difficult to establish any cooperativity between the two metals to catalyze the EOR. Thus, similar Ir@Pt NPs were also made without a capping ligand. Unexpectedly, little to no enhancement of the EOR catalytic activity was found for these core@shell NPs. The findings were compared to similar studies of methanol oxidation.