A review report on

Development of Nanoparticles:
Properties, Applications and Uses

Submission Date: 20th April 2019

File Name: EMSA Research Review report_Development of Nanoparticles_by

Group 6 ME 2

Word Count: 4021words, 18 pages

Abstract:
Nanoparticles and Nano-scaled materials are one of the novel classes of materials
that have attracted great attention from scientist and researchers owning to their
unique physical and chemical properties. Nanoparticles hold vast potential in scope
that it can make super-computers the size of a hand, machines developed to repair
damaged tissue in bodies, treatment of deadly diseases like cancer and others is
possible by Nanoparticles, that is in case we can harness its vast potential and
make use of it properly.
Introduction:
The terms ‘Nanoparticles’ is generally used for inorganic materials that lie in the
range of 1-100 nm in scale. As the scale already mentions these particles are not
visible to naked eye and can only be seen in detail with the use of other
instruments like microscopes etc.

On comparison to an analogy we can consider nanoparticles as bricks used for

constructing a building. It is just that the size is very small that it is very difficult to
control and monitor the changes in them. But, due to their ability to change the
size, shape and composition of materials near the atomic level promises a
revolution in the realms of science and technology.

The topic of Nanoparticles is no recent study started in the 70s or 80s the
nanoparticles have been used by humans from a very long time that it can be traced
back to the ancient times. Nanoparticles are produced in nature as organic
materials (like proteins, viruses, polysaccharides etc.) and as inorganic materials
(like iron oxyhydroxides, alumino silicates etc.) that are produced in organisms,
microbial process and by volcanic eruptions, weathering of rocks, wildfires etc.

Nearly 4000 years ago the ancient Egyptians used Nanoparticles based on man-
made chemical, PbS of approx. 5nm size as dyes for hair. We can consider this to
be one of mans earliest practical application of nanoparticles.

The possibilities of nanoparticles are revolutionary but there are many major
challenges in nanoscience today i.e., in understanding the physical mechanisms
and chemical processes occurring in the nanoscale. The growth, control and
assembly of Nanoparticles are obstacles to clear, however these are the factors that
effect the surface properties, processing and potential applications of nanoparticles.

Engineered nanoparticles are specifically designed and are customized such that its
physical properties fulfill the requirements for specific applications only.
Nanoparticles can serve as an end product like sensors for pharmaceutical uses and
drugs, quantum dots, or can be served as components like in the case of carbon
black in rubber products.

For both the cases the physical properties of nanoparticles play a key role in their
performance.

Development of Nanoparticles:
Nanoparticles are in the size range of 1-100 nm and demonstrate very good
catalytic, optical, mechanical and electronic properties. The properties depend
upon the manufacturing technique used or based on the applications of the
nanoparticles. These effect the size and shape of the nanoparticles, thus making
them a very suitable option for nanoscale structures, assemblies and devices.

Miniaturization of structures using electron- beam lithography and other

mechanical techniques reaches the limit of 50nm in size. Hence, it is necessary to
develop other methods to develop nanoparticles of magnitude smaller for more
efficient and wider prospects of applications and benefits.

Synthesis:
Nanoparticles can be created in several methods, like gas condensation, attrition,
chemical precipitation, ion implantation, pyrolysis etc.

In attrition, macro or micro scale particles are ground in a ball mill, a planetary ball
mill, or other size reducing mechanism which will decrease the size of particle to
nanoscale. The resulting particles are air classified (is a process which is used for
separating particles based on their size, shape and density, using a stream of gas or
fluid.) to recover the nanoparticles.

In pyrolysis a vaporous precursor is forced through an orifice at high pressure and

burned. The resulting solid (a version of soot) is air classified and oxide particles
of by products are recovered.

A thermal plasma can be used to deliver the necessary energy to vaporize small
size particles, the temperatures created by thermal plasma is of the range 10,000 K,
which makes the solid particles vaporized easily. Nanoparticles are thus formed by
cooling the vapors in the plasma region.

Inert gas condensation process is used frequently to produce nanoparticles of

metals (metallic nanoparticles). The metal required is evaporated in a vacuum
chamber containing an inert gas. Condensation of the supersaturated metal vapor
results in creation of nanoparticles, which can be entrained in the inert gas stream
and deposited on a substrate.

Ion implantation may be used treat the surfaces of dielectric materials such as
sapphire and silica to make composites with near surface dispersions of metal or
oxide nanoparticles.

Classification & Characteristics of Nanoparticles:

NPs are generally divided into varied classes counting on their morphology, size
and chemical properties. Based on physical and chemical characteristics, some of
the well-known classes of NPs are given as below.

1.Carbon based
Fullerenes and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent two major classes of carbon-
based NPs. Fullerenes contain nanomaterial that are made of globular hollow cage
such as allotropic forms of carbon. They have created noteworthy commercial
interest due to their electrical conductivity, high strength, structure, electron
affinity, and versatility. These materials possess arranged pentagonal and
hexagonal carbon units, while each carbon is sp2 hybridized. Fig. 3 shows some of
the well-known fullerenes consisting of C60 and C70 with the diameter of 7.114
and 7.648 nm, respectively. CNTs are elongated, tubular structure, 1–2 nm in
diameter. These can be predicted as metallic or semiconducting reliant on their
diameter telicity. These are structurally resembling to graphite sheet rolling upon
itself. The rolled sheets can be single, double or several walls and thus they named
as single-walled (SWNTs), double-walled (DWNTs) or multi-walled carbon
nanotubes (MWNTs), respectively. They are widely synthesized by deposition of
carbon precursors especially the atomic carbons, volatilised from C by optical
maser or by spark on to metal particles. Lately, they have been synthesized via
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. Due to their distinctive physical,
chemical and mechanical characteristics, these materials aren't solely utilized in
pristine kind however additionally in nanocomposites for several business
applications such as fillers efficient gas adsorbents for environmental remediation,
and as support medium for various inorganic and organic catalysts.

2.Metal based

Metal NPs are purely made of the metal’s precursors. Due to well-known localized
surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) characteristics, these NPs possess unique
optoelectrical properties. NPs of the alkali and noble metals i.e. Cu, Ag and Au
have a broad absorption band in the visible zone of the electromagnetic solar
spectrum. The facet, size and shape-controlled synthesis of metal NPs is important
in present day cutting-edge materials. Due to their advanced optical properties,
metal NPs notice applications in several analysis areas.

Gold NPs coating is widely used for the sampling of SEM, to enhance the
electronic stream, which helps in obtaining high quality SEM images (Fig. 1).
There are many other applications, which ar deeply mentioned in applications
section of this review.
3. Ceramics based

Ceramics NPs are inorganic nonmetallic solids, synthesized via heat and
successive cooling. They can be found in amorphous, polycrystalline, dense,
porous or hollow forms (Sigmund et al., 2006). Therefore, these NPs are getting
great attention of researchers thanks to their use in applications like chemical
process, photocatalysis, photodegradation of dyes, and imaging applications.

4.Semiconductor based

Semiconductor materials possess properties between metals and non-metals and

therefore they found various applications in the literature thanks to this property.
Semiconductor NPs possess wide bandgaps and therefore showed significant
alteration in their properties with bandgap tuning. Therefore, they are very
important materials in photocatalysis, photo optics and electronic devices. As an
example, variety of semiconductor NPs are found exceptionally efficient in water
splitting applications, due to their suitable bandgap and band edge positions.

5.Polymeric based

These are normally organic based NPs and, in the literature, a special term polymer
nanoparticle (PNP) collective used for it. They are mostly nanospheres or
noncapsular shaped. The former are matrix particles whose overall mass is
generally solid, and the other molecules are adsorbed at the outer boundary of the
spherical surface. In the latter case the solid mass is encapsulated at intervals the
particle completely. The PNPs are readily functionalize and thus find bundles of
applications in the literature. These NPs contain lipid moieties and effectively
using in many biomedical applications. Generally, a lipid NP is characteristically
spherical with diameter starting from ten to a thousand nm. Like polymeric NPs,
lipid NPs possess a solid core made of lipid and a matrix contains soluble
lipophilic molecules. Surfactants

or emulsifiers stabilized the external core of these NPs. Lipid nanotechnology is a

special field, which focus the designing and synthesis of lipid NPs for varied
applications like drug carriers and delivery and RNA release in cancer therapy.
Physicochemical properties of NPs:

As discussed earlier, various physicochemical properties such as large surface area,

mechanically strong, optically active and with chemicals reactive create NPs
distinctive and appropriate candidates for various applications. Some of their
important properties are discuss in the following section.

1. Electronic and optical properties

The optical and electronic properties of NPs are interdependent to greater extent.
For instance, noble metals NPs have size dependent optical properties and exhibit a
powerful UV–visible extinction band that's not gift within the spectrum of the bulk
metal. This excitation band results when the incident photon frequency is constant
with the collective excitation of the conduction electrons and is known as the
localized surface plasma resonance (LSPR). LSPR excitation results in the
wavelength selection absorption with extremely large molar excitation coefficient
resonance Ray light scattering with efficiency equivalent to that of ten
fluorophores and enhanced local electromagnetic fields near the surface of NPs
that enhanced spectroscopies. It is well established that the peak wavelength of the
LSPR spectrum is dependent upon the size, shape and interparticle spacing of the
NPs as well as its own dielectric properties and people of its native setting together
with the substrate, solvents and adsorbates. Gold colloidal NPs are accountable for
the rusty colours seen in blemished glass door/windows, while Ag NPs are
typically yellow. Actually, the free electrons on the surface in these NPs (d
electrons in Ag and gold) are freely transportable through the nanomaterial. The
mean free path for Ag and gold is 50 nm, which is more than the NPs size of these
materials. Thus, no scattering is expected from the bulk, upon light interaction,
instead they set into a standing resonance conditions, which is responsible for
LSPR in these NPs.

2. Magnetic properties:

Magnetic NPs are of nice curiosity for investigators from associate degree eclectic
range of disciplines, which include heterogenous and homogenous catalysis,
biomedicine, magnetic fluids, data storage magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and
environmental remediation such as water decontamination. The literature revealed
that NPs perform best once the scale is <critical value i.e. 10–20 nm. At such low
scale the magnetic properties of NPs dominated effectively, which make this
particle priceless and can be used in different applications. The uneven electronic
distribution in NPs leads to magnetic property. These properties are also smitten by
the artificial protocol and numerous artificial methods like solvothermal,
coprecipitation, micro-emulsion, thermal decomposition, and flame spray synthesis
are often used for his or her preparation

3. Mechanical properties:

The distinct mechanical properties of NPs enable researchers to look for novel
applications in many important fields such as tribology, surface engineering,
nanofabrication and nanomanufacturing. Different mechanical parameters such as
elastic modulus, hardness, stress and strain, adhesion and friction can be surveyed
to know the exact mechanical nature of NPs. Beside these parameters surface
coating, coagulation, and lubrication conjointly aid to mechanical properties of
NPs. NPs show dissimilar mechanical properties as compared to microparticles and
their bulk materials. Moreover, in a lubricated or greased contact, the contrast in
the stiffness between NPs and the contacting external surface controls whether the
NPs are indented into the plan surface or deformed when the pressure at contact is
significantly large. This important information could divulge how the NPs perform
in the contact situation. Decent controls over mechanical features of NPs and their
interactions with any kind of surface are vital for enlightening the surface quality
and elevating material removal. Fruitful outcomes in these fields generally need a
deep insight into the basics of the mechanical properties of NPs, such as elastic
modulus and hardness, movement law, friction and interfacial adhesion and their
size dependent characteristics.

4. Thermal properties:

It is well-known fact that metals NPs have thermal conductivities higher than those
of fluids in solid form. For example, the thermal physical phenomenon of copper at
temperature is regarding 700 times bigger than that of water and regarding 3000
times greater than that of engine oil. Even oxides such as alumina (Al2O3) have
thermal conductivity higher than that of water. Therefore, the fluids containing
suspended solid particles are expected to display significantly enhanced thermal
conductivities relative to those of conventional heat transfer fluids. Nanofluids are
produced by dispersing the nanometric scales solid particles into liquid such as
water, ethylene glycol or oils. Nanofluids are expected to exhibit superior
properties relative Figure twelve Graphical illustration illustrative the localized
surface plasmon (LSPR) on nanoparticle outer surface.

Nanocrystals based on Shapes and Sizes:

Nano crystals are basically differentiated based on their lengths, shapes and sizes
as most properties differ from one Nano crystal to another based on their physical
differences. Scaling factors are not the reason for the change in the properties at
this length scale. It is based on various causes in various types of materials. It
results from the further confinement of the electronic motion to a length scale that
is comparable to or smaller than the length scale characterizing the electronic
motion in bulk semiconducting material in the case of semiconductors.

They also vary in colour based on their sizes and compositions due to Surface
Plasmon Absorption which is based on the different types of oscillations produced
which result in different wavelengths of light being absorbed. This phenomenon is
not understood completely but has been used since the 1600s. Various applications
of this phenomenon can be seen in various European Churches and Chinese
artefacts. This phenomenon is also based on the surface to volume ratio of different
nanocrystals.

Many experiments are being made to discover the various properties that are added
or changed due to size and length differences of various nanocrystals. These can be
used in many applications such as medical, sensors, diagnostics, homogeneous
catalysis, photonics, optoelectronics, etc.

There are many changes that are based on thermal, optics and electric properties of
nanocrystals based on their shapes and sizes. There are also relations between the
Electron-Proton relaxation rates, power pump rates, and shape and size values of a
nanocrystal.

Applications of nanocrystals:
In today’s times nanocrystals are being used in many fields some of them are

 Nanomedicine
 Chemo-, Bio-sensing
 Optical
 Electric
 Optoelectrical

1. In the Optoelectrical field here is an example

Efficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Nanoflower like ZnO
Photoelectrode

ZnO nanoflower (ZNFs) were prepared for efficient dye-sensitized solar cell
(DSSC). This distinctive structure can remarkably increase the specific surface
area and amount of light absorption, leading to a higher short-circuit current
density. The overall power conversion has an efficiency of 5.96% with
photoanodes of 8.5 μm thickness.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) are very efficient alternatives because of their
cheap, environmentally friendly, and easy fabrication when compared to
conventional solar cells. A porous-structured wide band gap metal oxide film
(generally TiO2, ZnO, and SnO2) as a photoanode is a crucial component of a
DSSC, which regulates the light-harvesting capability, charge diffusion, and
collection efficiency of the Solar cell. ZnO has similar electronic band-gap level
and higher electron mobility with respect to conventional photoanode material
(TiO2).

Scanning electron Microscope photograph of ZnF powder.

 2. Biodegradable and Bulletproof: Modelling cellulose nanocrystals for success
Cellulose nanocrystals, often termed CNCs, are found naturally within trees. These
are extracted directly from wood pulp, a by-product of the paper industry. So, these
are easily available, biodegradable, non-toxic which makes them convenient for us
to use.

The main problem comes in what is lost while translating from the nanoscale to the
bulk scale as these tiny components should be fabricated into macroscopic
technology such as body armour or glass, due to which their properties change.
The strength and transparency make the cellulose nanocrystals an ideal
replacement for synthetic products. In recent studies they found that the strongest
cellulose nanocrystals were between 4.8 and 5.6 nanometres thick, between 6.2 and
7.3 nanometres wide.

Representation of cellulose nanocrystals

3. Nanocrystal Memories
IBM first proposed the discrete Nanocrystal memory inn 1995 and in early 2000’s
scientists have considered that the Nanocrystals as the capable material which can
be used to resolve the present scaling problem. The metal oxide semiconductor
(MOS) memory structures which are based on Si Nanocrystals have potential
applications in flash memory, the main reason being Si Nanocrystals are implanted
as 124 Nanocrystals – Synthesis, Characterization and Applications charge storage
nodes in an oxide layer between the control gate and tunnelling layer that reduces
the difficulty of charge loss which can generally see in conventional flash
memories. Si nanocrystals provide faster write/remove speeds, small injection
oxides and little operating voltages and has very good stamina.

(a) Floating gate non-volatile memory structure. (b) Nanocrystals non-volatile memory structure.

(c) Program and erase mode of the NC memory device

Semiconductors Nanocrystals: Structure, Properties and Band gap:

Semiconductors are the which that has the behavior in between the conductors and
the insulators. The semiconductors nanocrystals are the tiny fine crystalline
particles that ay exhibit the properties of the optical, electricity and some more
other properties. Bulk semiconductors will be exhibited the band gap energy that is
the minimum energy require to excite an electron from the valence band to the
conduction band.

Shape:

The most important consequence of the quantum confinement effect is the size
dependence of the band gap for nanocrystalline semiconductors. By confining the
exciton of a semiconductor, the band gap may be tuned to a precise energy
depending on the dimensionality and degree of confinement. An increase in the
number of confined dimensions yields a stronger degree of electronic confinement
and thus a wider range of tunability in the band gap, although exceptions to this
trend have been reported for CdTe nanocrystals.

Surface Properties:

The optical properties will be dependent on the particle size, the internal structure
of the nanocrystals, as when the crystal become smaller in the size then the number
of atoms on the surface gets increased that gets an impact in the behavior of the
nanocrystals. The atom that are been on the surface are been incompletely bonded
with the crystal lattice. Most nanocrystals are highly faceted and each surface
contains a periodic array of orbitals with two-dimensional translational symmetry,
which may form a band structure similar to that of the three-dimensional crystal
itself. If the surface energy of this are been lied within the semiconductors band
gap so that they can have the ability to trap the charge carriers on the surface of the
atoms, thereby it will cause the reducing in the overlap between the electrons and
holes that may be produced I the semiconductor materials, increasing the
probability of nonradioactive decay events. In practice, however, most
semiconductor nanocrystals are not used in vacuum, but instead are either
embedded within a solid matrix such as another crystal or a glass.

Optical Properties:

Unlike solid state crystals and small-molecule chromophores and fluorophores, one
of the most striking features is the random on-and-off blinking phenomenon
exhibited by single particles. In addition, illumination at high energies may result
in the production of many charge carriers in a single particle, which may increase
the efficiency of photovoltaic and light-emitting devices.
Development of Nanoparticles for medical applications:
During the recent years there has been much interest in using nanoparticles for
medical purposes like in case of delivery of therapeutic drugs, for antimicrobial
drug delivery, for gene delivery, for treatment of acute diseases like cancer and
more.

Some nanoparticles have already been in use for medical purposes since a long
time like Nanoparticles containing Iron oxide has been used as iron supplement in
MRI for nearly 20 years. Albumin and liposomal- based products containing
anticancer drugs have been in use for several years as well.

Antimicrobial drug delivery:

There are numerous drugs that have been prescribed to kill or inhibit the growth of
microbes such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. Even though these drugs have been
efficient and in use for several decades, there is still inefficient delivery which
could result in inadequate cure for the disease, side-effects and others.

Nanostructured bio-materials that have been designed for medical purposes have
unique physicochemical properties such as their small and controllable size, very
high surface area to mass ratio, very high reactivity and optimized structure for
specific functions. These properties can be used to deliver and facilitate
administration of antimicrobial drugs, hence overcoming the limitations of
traditional antimicrobial therapeutics.

Nanoparticles usage in medical purposes has emerged as an innovative and a very

promising alternative that enhances therapeutic efficiency of medical drugs and
reduces the undesirable side effects of drugs.

But, the current progress and challenges in synthesizing nanoparticles as a platform

to deliver drugs needs to brought into more attention.

Mechanism of nanoparticle- based drug delivery in bodies.

(a) Nanoparticles fuse with the cell wall or cell membrane of the cell and release the
transported drugs within the cell wall or membrane.
(b) Nanoparticles bind to the cell wall and serve as a drug depot, which continuously releases
drug molecules which then diffuse into the interior of the microorganisms.
These kind of applications of drugs can be put into great practical application for
diseases like cancer in which a part of functional cells mutate into particles that
bring harm to the host. The nanoparticles which carry the drug can be designed to
be reactive to the cancer cells and react with them to make them in active or stop
their growth.

Difficulties in clinical application of nanoparticles- based therapy:

There are several factors that are to be considered when we plan to use
nanoparticles for drug delivery since the nanoparticles will be sent into a living
body, we should consider not only the transport of the drug using nanoparticles but
the after effects by that as well.

Biodegradation of nanoparticles is one of the primary factors for the clinical

application of nanoparticles- based drug delivery. There are a few candidates that
can be used considering the above problem these are:

- Polypeptide-based cationic polymers

- Poly(lactic-co-glycolic-acid) nanoparticles
- Nature polymers, such as cyclodextrin and chitosan have high compatibility
- Lipid based nanoparticles are one of the extensively explored gene- delivery
for its optimal properties including high biocompatibility and penetration
into the cells.

The aggregation and nonspecific adsorption by non-desired tissues are two serious
problems which hinder clinical applications of nanoparticle-based gene delivery.
This is mainly caused by the massive positive charges present on the surface of
cationic nanocarriers. PEGylation of these carriers is an essential strategy for
reducing non specific interactions with serum proteins in the bloodstream and
avoiding recognition by immune system components.

The lack of targeting ability when delivered to the desired tissues is a problem for
practical application of drug delivery using nanoparticles. To overcome this
drawback, development of specific ligand receptor mediated active targeting
strategy for gene delivery system is required.
One of the main causes of concern is that the clinical development of nanoparticles
for gene/ drug delivery. Even though main clinical trail’s and gene therapy are
ongoing worldwide none of the therapeutics based on nanoparticles have been
approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

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