Author Description

This dissertation, "Synthesis, Characterization and Biological Applications of Inorganic Nanomaterials" by Rong, Chen,, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND BIOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS OF INORGANIC NANOMATERIALS Submitted by Chen Rong for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong in March 2006 Nanomaterials, which are materials where at least one dimension is in the nanometer range (1 100 nm), exhibit properties and functions that are significantly different from those of the corresponding bulk materials. They have an extremely broad range of potential applications, especially in biological systems. The antimicrobial activities of silver nanoparticles against common and periodontal pathogens were investigated. Silver nanoparticles showed higher antimicrobial activities towards a selection of microorganisms than silver nitrate did under identical concentrations. This result, together with their low toxicity and ease of delivery, suggests that silver nanoparticles could be valuable antimicrobial agents suitable for sustained release and localized delivery in the treatment of wounds or periodontitis. Both atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy data demonstrate that silver nanoparticles are bound easily, or subsequently uptake by the microorganisms effectively. Silver nanoparticles can also inhibit HIV-1 reverse transcriptase and HBV replication in vitro with low effective inhibitory concentration (in micromolar range). Silver nanoparticles exhibited low cytotoxicities towar