Chapters authored
Structure and Applications of Gold in Nanoporous Form
Nanoporous gold (np-Au) has many interesting and useful properties that make it a material of interest for use in many technological applications. Its biocompatible nature and ability to serve as a support for self-assembled monolayers of alkanethiols and their derivative make it a suitable support for the immobilization of carbohydrates, enzymes, proteins, and DNA. Its chemically inert, physically robust and conductive high-surface area makes it useful for the design of electrochemistry-based chemical/bio-sensors and reactors. Furthermore, it is also used as solid support for organic molecular synthesis and biomolecules separation. Its enhanced optical property has application in design of plasmonics-based sensitive biosensors. In fact, np-Au is one of the few materials that can be used as a transducer for both optical and electrochemical biosensing. Due to the presence of low-coordination surface sites, np-Au shows remarkable catalytic activity for oxidation of molecules like carbon monoxide and methanol. Owing to the importance of np-Au, in this chapter we will highlight different strategies of fabrication of np-Au and its emerging applications based on its unique properties.
Part of the book: Noble and Precious Metals
Monolayers of Carbohydrate-Containing Lipids at the Water- Air Interface
Glycolipids are important members of the glycoconjugate family that are distributed on cell surfaces and are important in aspects of cellular behavior including signal transduction, protein trafficking, cell surface recognition and cell adhesion. Errors in the synthesis or mutations of these glycoconjugates are often linked with various human pathological conditions. The complex nature of their molecular structures coupled with the complexity of cellular structure make their study a challenging process, which can be simplified by fabrication of model membrane systems. Liposomes and monolayers of lipids at the air-water interface are two of the most frequently used model membrane systems. Techniques for fabrication of monolayer models and methods used for their studies are discussed with a focus on glycolipids.
Part of the book: Cell Culture