title: Facile synthesis of amino-functionalized hollow silica microspheres and their potential application for ultrasound imaging.
abstract: By using the positive charged polystyrene (PS) microsphere as template, mono-disperse amino-(-NH(2)) functionalized hollow silica microspheres (HSMS-NH(2)) with ~1310 nm in diameter and uniform shells were successfully prepared with a modified sol-gel process. The amino functionalized silica were coated on the PS microspheres via ammonia catalysis, co-hydrolysis and condensation of TEOS and APTES, and then the PS templates were selectively dissolved in THF solution to form the functional hollow microspheres. The controllable thickness (35-85 nm) and amino density (2.46×10(-5)-6.18×10(-5) mol/g) of the shells could be facilely tuned by changing the amount of TEOS and APTES. In vitro ultrasound images of as-prepared HSMS-NH(2) with different concentrations in the physiological saline solution were further investigated. The obvious signal enhancement indicates that as-prepared HSMS-NH(2) has a great potential application for ultrasound imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Shanghai Normal University, No. 100, Guilin Road, Shanghai 200234, PR China.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: An
authors.forename: Antao
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Xuejian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Shiping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Huixia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000588:Amines / Q000737:chemistry; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008863:Microspheres; D011137:Polystyrenes; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D011137:Polystyrenes; D012822:Silicon Dioxide