Organic/inorganic nanoparticles

Su X, Zhang J, Sun L, Koo T-W, Chan S, Sundararajan N, Yamakawa M, Berlin AA (2004) Composite organic — inorganic nanoparticles (COINs) with chemically encoded optical signatures. Nano Lett 5 49... 

Sun L, Sung KB, Dentinger C, Lutz B, Nguyen L, Zhang JW, Qin HY, Yamakawa M, Cao MQ, Lu Y, Chmura AJ, Zhu J, Sn X, Berlin A A, Chan S, Knudsen B (2007) Composite organic-inorganic nanoparticles as Raman labels for tissue analysis. Nano Lett 7 351-356... 

Another advantage cited for organic electronics is their perceived low environmental impact and high expected consumer safety. This assumption is generally based on the notion that plastics are easily recycled and are considered safe to humans and animals. However, the materials used are often completely new compositions with poorly understood health and safety attributes. The assumption that all plastics are completely safe for humans is inaccurate, as is exemplified by recent concerns about the toxicity of polyvinyl chloride (PVC).39 In contrast, most inorganic nanoparticle materials are already on the consumer market and have extensive historical data on their safety in a variety of applications. Some materials, such as zinc oxide, are even considered reasonably safe for ingestion and therefore are commonly used in food and cosmetics. However, the health effects and interactions of nanoparticles on the human body are still a topic of debate.40... 

Kim J, Grate JW (2003). Single-enzyme nanoparticles armored by a nanometer-scale organic/ inorganic network. Nano Lett. 3 1219-1222. 

Landfester, K. Antonietti, M. Miniemulsions for the convenient synthesis of organic and inorganic nanoparticles and single molecule applications in materials chemistry. Colloids Colloid. Assembl., 175-215 (2004). 

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