Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscopy Confirms Controlled Synthesis of Cadmium Sulfide Nanocrystals within Lecithin Vesicles

Kennedy, Michael T.; Korgel, Brian A.; Monbouquette, Harold G.; Zasadzinski, Joseph A.

doi:10.1021/cm970744k

Cited by 26 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…[1] Cryo-TEM has become a common tool for the investigation of water/surfactant systems [2] and nucleation of inorganic crystals in solution. [3,4] We present for the first time direct imaging rearrangement is initiated by the presence of a heteroatom and there must be other reactions similar to this one. In recent years the use of zeolites, crystalline aluminum silicates, has been an alternative or complement to common biochemical methods in the purification of proteins.…”

mentioning

confidence: 91%

Cryo-TEM Snapshots of Ferritin Adsorbed on Small Zeolite Crystals

Klint

Karlsson

Bovin

1999

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.

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mentioning

confidence: 91%

Cryo-TEM Snapshots of Ferritin Adsorbed on Small Zeolite Crystals

Klint

Karlsson

Bovin

1999

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.

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“…A number of model systems have been used to investigate crystal growth within small volumes, although virtually all of these offer either a poorly characterized environment or the pore volumes cannot be accurately controlled over a large range so they do not provide an opportunity for the systematic study of the influence of microenvironment on crystal growth. Amphiphilic systems used include vesicles, [7] reverse micelles, and microemulsions. [8,9] The particles precipitated within vesicles are typically small in comparison to the vesicle diameter due to low ionic encapsulation, while micelles and microemulsions are dynamic systems and thus poorly defined.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Precipitation of Calcium Carbonate in Confinement

Loste¹,

Park²,

Warren³

et al. 2004

Adv Funct Materials

153

193

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In contrast to the regular morphologies displayed by synthetic single crystals, biogenic single crystals frequently exhibit unusual forms and curved surfaces. Such controlled mineralization in biology occurs within restricted volumes constructed for this purpose and there is significant evidence that some crystals with complex morphologies may form via an amorphous precursor phase. We here investigate morphological control of single crystals, using these biological mechanisms as inspiration. Calcite was precipitated within the cylindrical pores of track‐etch membranes via an amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC) precursor phase. Perfect replication of the pore channel to yield rod‐shaped single crystals of calcite was only achieved when the ACC precursor particles entirely filled the pore channels prior to crystallization, a process dependent on the pore diameter. Misshapen particles were formed in all pore diameters in the absence of an ACC phase. This system provides an ideal opportunity to carry out a systematic study into the effect of pore diameter, and the presence of an ACC precursor phase on crystal growth.

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“…In the case of CdS, the size of the crystals (2-6 nm) formed from CdCl 2 and (NH 4 ) 2 S could be controlled by the amount of CdCl 2 entrapped inside the vesicles and the vesicle diameter; the vesicles were prepared from egg yolk PC (Kogel and Monbouquette, 1996). Each vesicle contained one nanocrystal (Kennedy et al, 1998). The formation of even more complex nanocrystals inside vesicles is also possible (Korgel and Monbouquette, 2000).…”

Section: Surfactant Aggregates As Templatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surfactant Assemblies and their Various Possible Roles for the Origin(S) of Life

Walde

2006

Orig Life Evol Biosph

139

110

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A large number of surfactants (surface active molecules) are chemically simple compounds that can be obtained by simple chemical reactions, in some cases even under presumably prebiotic conditions. Surfactant assemblies are self-organized polymolecular aggregates of surfactants, in the simplest case micelles, vesicles, hexagonal and cubic phases. It may be that these different types of surfactant assemblies have played various, so-far underestimated important roles in the processes that led to the formation of the first living systems. Although nucleic acids are key players in the formation of cells as we know them today (RNA world hypothesis), it is still unclear how RNA could have been formed under prebiotic conditions. Surfactants with their self-organizing properties may have assisted, controlled and compartimentalized some of the chemical reactions that eventually led to the formation of molecules like RNA. Therefore, surfactants were possibly very important in prebiotic times in the sense that they may have been involved in different physical and chemical processes that finally led to a transformation of non-living matter to the first cellular form(s) of life. This hypothesis is based on four main experimental observations: (i) Surfactant aggregation can lead to cell-like compartimentation (vesicles). (ii) Surfactant assemblies can provide local reaction conditions that are very different from the bulk medium, which may lead to a dramatic change in the rate of chemical reactions and to a change in reaction product distributions. (iii) The surface properties of surfactant assemblies that may be liquid- or solid-like, charged or neutral, and the elasticity and packing density of surfactant assemblies depend on the chemical structure of the surfactants, on the presence of other molecules, and on the overall environmental conditions (e. g. temperature). This wide range of surface characteristics of surfactant assemblies may allow a control of surface-bound chemical reactions not only by the charge or hydrophobicity of the surface but also by its "softness". (iv) Chiral polymolecular assemblies (helices) may form from chiral surfactants. There are many examples that illustrate the different roles and potential roles of surfactant assemblies in different research areas outside of the field of the origin(s) of life, most importantly in investigations of contemporary living systems, in nanotechnology applications, and in the development of drug delivery systems. Concepts and ideas behind many of these applications may have relevance also in connection to the different unsolved problems in understanding the origin(s) of life.

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Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscopy Confirms Controlled Synthesis of Cadmium Sulfide Nanocrystals within Lecithin Vesicles

Cited by 26 publications

References 29 publications

Cryo-TEM Snapshots of Ferritin Adsorbed on Small Zeolite Crystals

Cryo-TEM Snapshots of Ferritin Adsorbed on Small Zeolite Crystals

Precipitation of Calcium Carbonate in Confinement

Surfactant Assemblies and their Various Possible Roles for the Origin(S) of Life

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