Biomedical subjects

Xiao-Min Lin

Publications and source records attributed to Xiao-Min Lin.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Structure, wrinkling, and reversibility of Langmuir monolayers of gold nanoparticles.

The assembly of nanoparticles into large, two-dimensional structures provides a route for the exploration of collective phenomena among mesoscopic building blocks. We characterize the structure of Langmuir monolayers of dodecanethiol-ligated gold nanoparticles with in situ optical microscopy and X-ray scattering. The interparticle spacing increases with thiol concentration and does not depend on surface pressure. The correlation lengths of the Langmuir monolayer crystalline domains are on the order of five to six particle diameters. Further compression of the monolayers causes wrinkling; however, we find that wrinkled monolayers with excess thiol can relax to an unwrinkled state following a reduction of surface pressure. A theoretical model based on van der Waals attraction and tunable steric repulsion is adopted to explain this reversibility.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Kinetically driven self assembly of highly ordered nanoparticle monolayers.

When a drop of a colloidal solution of nanoparticles dries on a surface, it leaves behind coffee-stain-like rings of material with lace-like patterns or clumps of particles in the interior. These non-uniform mass distributions are manifestations of far-from-equilibrium effects, such as fluid flows and solvent fluctuations during late-stage drying. However, recently a strikingly different drying regime promising highly uniform, long-range-ordered nanocrystal monolayers has been found. Here we make direct, real-time and real-space observations of nanocrystal self-assembly to reveal the mechanism. We show how the morphology of drop-deposited nanoparticle films is controlled by evaporation kinetics and particle interactions with the liquid-air interface. In the presence of an attractive particle-interface interaction, rapid early-stage evaporation dynamically produces a two-dimensional solution of nanoparticles at the liquid-air interface, from which nanoparticle islands nucleate and grow. This self-assembly mechanism produces monolayers with exceptional long-range ordering that are compact over macroscopic areas, despite the far-from-equilibrium evaporation process. This new drop-drying regime is simple, robust and scalable, is insensitive to the substrate material and topography, and has a strong preference for forming monolayer films. As such, it stands out as an excellent candidate for the fabrication of technologically important ultra thin film materials for sensors, optical devices and magnetic storage media.

Colloids↗

PubMed2005

Scattered light interference from a single metal nanoparticle and its mirror image.

The spatial distribution of surface plasmon scattering from a single nanoparticle changes dramatically near a metal surface as a result of interference from the direct scattered light and indirect scattered light from the mirror reflection. The unique interference patterns have been reproduced by simulations based on Huygens-Fresnel wave propagation theory. The large spectral width of the surface plasmon scattering enables a vertical distance measurement with 10 nm resolution through this nonintrusive far field interferometry.

Letter↗

PubMed2005

Ligand effect on the growth and the digestion of Co nanocrystals.

The reaction product of cobalt carbonyl decomposition depends on the concentration of the oleic acid ligand. With a low concentration of ligand, nanocrystals nucleate and grow to large ferromagnetic particles through the process of Ostwald ripening and coalescence coarsening. With a high concentration of ligand, stable cluster complexes are formed. Addition or removal of ligand from the reaction products can interchange the formation of cluster complexes and nanocrystals.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Dynamical self-assembly of nanocrystal superlattices during colloidal droplet evaporation by in situ small angle x-ray scattering.

The nucleation and growth kinetics of highly ordered gold nanocrystal superlattices during the evaporation of nanocrystal colloidal droplets was elucidated by in situ time-resolved small-angle x-ray scattering. We demonstrated for the first time that the evaporation rate can affect the dimensionality of the superlattices. The formation of two-dimensional nanocrystal superlattices at the liquid-air interface of the droplet has exponential growth kinetics that originates from interface crushing.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Percolating through networks of random thresholds: finite temperature electron tunneling in metal nanocrystal arrays.

We investigate how temperature affects transport through large networks of nonlinear conductances with distributed thresholds. In monolayers of weakly coupled gold nanocrystals, quenched charge disorder produces a range of local thresholds for the onset of electron tunneling. Our measurements delineate two regimes separated by a crossover temperature T*. Up to T* the nonlinear zero-temperature shape of the current-voltage curves survives, but with a threshold voltage for conduction that decreases linearly with temperature. Above T* the threshold vanishes and the low-bias conductance increases rapidly with temperature. We develop a model that accounts for these findings and predicts T*.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

Conducting nanowires built by controlled self-assembly of amyloid fibers and selective metal deposition.

Recent research in the field of nanometer-scale electronics has focused on the operating principles of small-scale devices and schemes to realize useful circuits. In contrast to established "top-down" fabrication techniques, molecular self-assembly is emerging as a "bottom-up" approach for fabricating nanostructured materials. Biological macromolecules, especially proteins, provide many valuable properties, but poor physical stability and poor electrical characteristics have prevented their direct use in electrical circuits. Here we describe the use of self-assembling amyloid protein fibers to construct nanowire elements. Self-assembly of a prion determinant from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the N-terminal and middle region (NM) of Sup35p, produced 10-nm-wide protein fibers that were stable under a wide variety of harsh physical conditions. Their lengths could be roughly controlled by assembly conditions in the range of 60 nm to several hundred micrometers. A genetically modified NM variant that presents reactive, surface-accessible cysteine residues was used to covalently link NM fibers to colloidal gold particles. These fibers were placed across gold electrodes, and additional metal was deposited by highly specific chemical enhancement of the colloidal gold by reductive deposition of metallic silver and gold from salts. The resulting silver and gold wires were approximately 100 nm wide. These biotemplated metal wires demonstrated the conductive properties of a solid metal wire, such as low resistance and ohmic behavior. With such materials it should be possible to harness the extraordinary diversity and specificity of protein functions to nanoscale electrical circuitry.

Amyloid↗