Selective Fabrication of Barium Carbonate Nanoparticles in the Lumen of Halloysite Nanotubes

Abstract

Barium carbonate (BaCO 3 ) materials with the controllable morphology of nanoparticles were selectively loaded into the lumen halloysite nanotubes (abbreviated as Hal) by a urease assisted catalytic implementation strategy. The Hal mineral was pre-treated through leaching by hydrochloric acid (abbreviated as A-Hal), resulting in increased defect sites and zeta potential. The negatively charged urease was loaded inside the positively charged A-Hal lumen, and then through the decomposition of urea catalyzed by urease to produce carbonate ions and ammonia. When Ba 2+ diffused in, BaCO 3 particles were selectively synthesized in the lumen of A-Hal, the pore channels of A-Hal effectively controlled the growth and aggregation of BaCO 3 nanocrystals and their geometrical morphology. The obtained BaCO 3 /A-Hal-T was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetry (DSC-TG). The BaCO 3 /A-Hal-T may provide a candidate for potential applications.

Controllable synthesis of barium carbonate nano- and microparticles for SPECT and CT imaging

“…To achieve their effective biodistribution, retention, and safety for in vivo imaging, the size and geometry of the developed BaCO 3 -based carriers should be optimized. [34][35][36] Given a lack of work on the design of spherical nano-and microcarriers based on BaCO 3 for multimodal in vivo imaging, here we aim at developing and optimizing a straightforward and cost-effective approach for the synthesis of spherical BaCO 3 microcarriers (2-3 mm, BaCO 3 MPs) and nanocarriers (o200 nm, BaCO 3 NPs) for dual SPECT and CT imaging. Owing to the attenuation characteristics of Ba-based materials to X-ray radiation, they can be effectively used as contrast agents for in vivo CT imaging.…”