Provided is a composition for forming a plating base on which plating is applied without a pretreatment, especially any activation process for the plating base, conventionally believed to be necessary, as well as a thus-formed plating base and a method of forming a plating coat over the plating base. The plating base is a coating film formed by applying and drying a metal nanoparticle dispersion liquid or a metal nanoparticle dispersion ink in which metal nanoparticles are protected with a small amount of protecting agent. Thus, a metal film can be formed by plating without operations such as substrate cleaning or catalyst imparting and activating. Since it is not necessary to wash the substrate with acid or base solution or to heat-treat it at a high temperature, many variations of materials become available for the substrate.

A metallic nanoparticle dispersion includes metallic nanoparticles and a compound according to Formula I, ##STR00001##
wherein X represents the necessary atoms to form a substituted or unsubstituted ring. The presence of small amounts of the compound according to Formula I increases the conductivity of metallic layers or patterns formed from the metallic nanoparticle dispersions at moderate curing conditions.

A metallic nanoparticle composition includes metallic nanoparticles and a non-aqueous polar protic solvent. The non-aqueous polar protic solvent has two hydroxyl groups, a boiling point of at least 280° C. at 760 mm Hg, and a viscosity in a range of 45 cP to 65 cP at 20° C. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is present on the metallic nanoparticle surfaces. A concentration of metals in the metallic nanoparticle composition is in a range of 60 wt% to 90 wt% and a concentration, in aggregate, of solvents having a boiling point of less than 280° C. at 760 mm Hg in the metallic nanoparticle composition does not exceed 3 wt%.

Provided is a composition including a plurality of multi-metallic nanoparticles each consisting essentially of a core including at least one first metal (Me1) and a continuous shell including atoms of at least one second metal (Me2). Optionally, the continuous shell of Me2 atoms protects the Me1 atoms from oxidation at all temperatures less than 150° C.

Provided is a composition including a plurality of multi-metallic nanoparticles each consisting essentially of a core including at least one first metal (Me1) and a continuous shell including atoms of at least one second metal (Me2). Optionally, the continuous shell of Me2 atoms protects the Me1 atoms from oxidation at all temperatures less than 150° C.

A problem is to provide a silver paste which can produce, without variation in resistivity value, a conductive silver coating film exhibiting resistivity substantially equivalent to the resistance value of bulk silver in low-temperature sintering. The problem is solved by providing a silver paste including a silver nanoparticle aqueous dispersion prepared by using a compound having a polyethyleneimine skeleton as a protective agent, a compound having a functional group reactable with nitrogen atoms in the polyethyleneimine, and at least one compound selected from the group consisting of a compound having an amine functional group and a compound having an amide functional group.

Methods and apparatus for producing a magnetic nanoparticle suitable for additive manufacturing techniques includes providing a solution having a plurality of metallic precursors to produce magnetic nanoparticles, a coordinating solvent, and a chelating agent. The solution is mixed and heated to grow nanoparticles wherein magnetic nanoparticles are formed. The solution is then cooled and a magnetic field is applied to the solution wherein ferrite nanoparticles are at least partially separated by size.

Methods and apparatus for producing a magnetic nanoparticle suitable for additive manufacturing techniques includes providing a solution having a plurality of metallic precursors to produce magnetic nanoparticles, a coordinating solvent, and a chelating agent. The solution is mixed and heated to grow nanoparticles wherein magnetic nanoparticles are formed. The solution is then cooled and a magnetic field is applied to the solution wherein ferrite nanoparticles are at least partially separated by size.

A material and method are disclosed such that the material can be used to form functional metal pieces by producing an easily sintered layered body of dried metal paste. On a microstructural level, when dried, the metal paste creates a matrix of porous metal scaffold particles with infiltrant metal particles, which are positioned interstitially in the porous scaffold's interstitial voids. For this material to realize mechanical and processing benefits, the infiltrant particles are chosen such that they pack in the porous scaffold piece in a manner which does not significantly degrade the packing of the scaffold particles and so that they can also infiltrate the porous scaffold on heating. The method of using this paste provides a technique deposition/removal process.

The presently disclosed subject matter is directed to a method of treating cancer, such as (but not limited to) metastatic bladder and breast cancer. The disclosed method comprises using two treatment modalities to synergistically treat primary and secondary tumor cells in a subject. The first element of the method comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of a plasmonics-active metal nanoparticle to a subject comprising a primary cancer and a distant metastatic site, wherein the nanoparticle concentrates at the primary cancer. The method further comprises exposing the subject to photon radiation at the site of the primary cancer. The second element of the disclosed method comprises administering a therapeutically effective amount of an immune checkpoint modulator to the subject. The synergistic combination provides a rapid, safe, and effective treatment of local and distant lesions, better than each modality alone.