Scaling up using biological additive to control the formation of magnetite and silica nanoparticles.

当考虑纳米材料的新合成时，重要的是对形成的颗粒的尺寸和形态具有高度的控制。已经开发出可以满足这一标准的技术，但它们对生态不友好，需要大量的能量（加热/真空）和有毒前体。该项目的目的是从MTB中的二氧化硅开发过程和天然生物矿化蛋白质中获得灵感，开发添加剂的“分子工具箱”。这些化合物将能够通过成核或表面相互作用影响正在形成的颗粒来影响Fe 3 O 4纳米颗粒的形状和尺寸性质，最终目标是能够合成MNP以设定标准。这将首先涉及筛选多类化合物以确定进一步研究的合适起点，在酸性官能团在成核中起作用和碱性官能团似乎在合成材料中存在的晶面中起作用的理解下操作。通过尽可能彻底地控制反应条件和量，可以可视化和比较每种添加剂对粒度的影响。一旦确定了合适的添加剂，将进行研究，以了解其作用机制和添加剂的理想浓度，以优化其对颗粒性能的影响。将研究一种可能的MNP形成的替代方法，利用连续流微流体装置。该装置必须被设计成克服批量合成技术的合成缺点和在用于磁铁矿形成的微流体应用中的先前问题（难以获得同轴流动、泄漏等）。如果时间允许，分批/连续放大的研究将开始，最终目标是以环保的方式每天合成20-100 g优化的MNP。

When considering the novel synthesis of nanomaterials, it is important to have a high degree of control over the size and morphology of particles formed. Techniques have been developed that can meet this criteria, however they are ecologically unfriendly, requiring both large amounts of energy (heating/vacuum) and toxic precursors.The aim of this project is to take inspiration from the both the silica development process and the native biomineralisation proteins in MTB to develop a 'molecular toolbox' of additives. These compounds will be able to influence the shape and size properties of Fe3O4 nanoparticles by influencing the developing particles either through nucleation or surface interaction, with the end goal of being able to synthesise MNPs to set criterion.This will initially involve the screening of multiple classes of compounds to ascertain suitable starting points for further investigation, operating under the understanding that acidic functionalities play a role in nucleation and basic functionalities appear to play a role in the crystal faces present in synthesised materials. By controlling the reaction conditions and quantities as thoroughly the effect of each additive on the particle size can be visualised and compared. Once suitable additives have been identified, studies will be carried out to understand their mechanism of action and the ideal concentrations of additive to optimise their effect on particle properties.A possible alternative method of MNP formation is to be investigated, utilising a continuous flow microfluidic rig. This rig must be designed to overcome the synthetic short-comings of both the batch synthesis technique, and prior issues in the application of microfluidics for magnetite formation (difficulty in attaining co-axial flow, leakage, etc.). Time permitting, investigation into batch/ continuous scale-up will begin with the end goal of synthesising 20-100 g of optimised MNPs daily in an environmentally conscious manner.