Exploring the potential of polymers: advancements in oral nanocarrier technology

• Rousilândia de Araujo Silva,
• Igor Eduardo Silva Arruda,
• Luise Lopes Chaves,
• Mônica Felts de La Roca Soares and
• Jose Lamartine Soares Sobrinho

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1751–1793, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.122

Prospects of nanotechnology and natural products for cancer and immunotherapy

• Jan Filipe Andrade Santos,
• Marcela Bernardes Brasileiro,
• Pamela Danielle Cavalcante Barreto,
• Ligiane Aranha Rocha and
• José Adão Carvalho Nascimento Júnior

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1644–1667, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.116

• ) obtained from fungi to prepare antitumor and immunomodulatory drugs, with chitosan–glucan being an API. Chitosan–glucan is a biopolymer complex composed of chitosan, a deacetylated derivative of chitin, and glucan, a polysaccharide commonly found in fungal cell walls, cereals, and seaweed. Chitosan

Functional bio-packaging enhanced with nanocellulose from rice straw and cinnamon essential oil Pickering emulsion for fruit preservation

• Tuyen B. Ly,
• Duong D. T. Nguyen,
• Hieu D. Nguyen,
• Yen T. H. Nguyen,
• Bup T. A. Bui,
• Kien A. Le and
• Phung K. Le

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1234–1245, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.91

• dispersibility of essential oils in biopolymer matrices but also enhances the overall compatibility and performance of the biopackaging material [22]. Our previous research has demonstrated that nanocellulose can effectively encapsulate CEO into a PE with small particle sizes (<700 nm), high stability, and

• characteristic peaks confirm the presence of functional groups associated with PE-CEO and polymer interactions. The broad absorption band around 3300 cm−1 corresponds to O–H stretching vibrations, indicating hydrogen bonding between the biopolymer and PE-CEO components [24]. The intensity of the peaks at 1730 cm

• radicals [47]. The antioxidative performance of the films aligns with previous studies on essential oil-infused biopolymer matrices, confirming their potential to enhance food packaging stability by preventing oxidative degradation [48]. With increasing CEO concentration, transmittance decreased

Chitosan nanocomposite containing rotenoids: an alternative bioinsecticidal approach for the management of Aedes aegypti

• Maria A. A. Bertonceli,
• Vitor D. C. Cristo,
• Ivo J. Vieira,
• Francisco J. A. Lemos,
• Arnoldo R. Façanha,
• Raimundo Braz-Filho,
• Gustavo V. T. Batista,
• Luis G. M. Basso,
• Sérgio H. Seabra,
• Thalya S. R. Nogueira,
• Felipe F. Moreira,
• Arícia L. E. M. Assis,
• Antônia E. A. Oliveira and
• Kátia V. S. Fernandes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1197–1208, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.88

• , surpassed only by cellulose. Its relevance as a biopolymer is due to its properties such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, and nontoxicity to humans, characteristics that make it widely used in various scientific and technological fields [16][17]. Therefore, we used chitosan as the coating material for

Changes of structural, magnetic and spectroscopic properties of microencapsulated iron sucrose nanoparticles in saline

• Sabina Lewińska,
• Pavlo Aleshkevych,
• Roman Minikayev,
• Anna Bajorek,
• Mateusz Dulski,
• Krystian Prusik,
• Tomasz Wojciechowski and
• Anna Ślawska-Waniewska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 762–784, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.59

• spectrum of the FS0 sample, while they vanished in the FST spectrum. Raman spectroscopy confirmed the formation of an iron-stabilized biopolymer ionic cross-linking complex. This confirmation was based on an analysis of intensity, full width at half maximum, and band shifts. In general, both FS0 and FST

• than most other trivalent and divalent cations [67][68]. Similar effects have been reported for free ionic species of alginate in the presence of Ag nanostructures [64]. Furthermore, additional confirmation of the formation of the biopolymer ionic cross-linking complex can be inferred from the

Synthetic-polymer-assisted antisense oligonucleotide delivery: targeted approaches for precision disease treatment

• Ana Cubillo Alvarez,
• Dylan Maguire and
• Ruairí P. Brannigan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 435–463, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.34

• ) (PLL) is a cationic biopolymer, commonly employed in the delivery of ASOs because of its ability to facilitate enhanced cellular uptake [61]. Depending on desired molecular weight (Mw), molecular architecture, and molar-mass polymer dispersity (ÐM), PLL is traditionally synthesised through three

Enhancing mechanical properties of chitosan/PVA electrospun nanofibers: a comprehensive review

• Nur Areisman Mohd Salleh,
• Amalina Muhammad Afifi,
• Fathiah Mohamed Zuki and
• Hanna Sofia SalehHudin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 286–307, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.22

• from researchers [26]. It is abundantly found in the shells of crustaceans and is the most abundant biopolymer after cellulose [27]. Figure 2 shows the chemical structure of chitosan. Chitosan has been studied extensively and is recognized as a prominent material in the fields of medicine, food, and

Probing the potential of rare earth elements in the development of new anticancer drugs: single molecule studies

• Josiane A. D. Batista,
• Rayane M. de Oliveira,
• Carlos H. M. Lima,
• Milton L. Lana Júnior,
• Virgílio C. dos Anjos,
• Maria J. V. Bell and
• Márcio S. Rocha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 187–194, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.15

• chemotherapeutic drugs by characterizing the binding of three rare earths (ytterbium, neodymium, and erbium) to double-stranded DNA, which is one of the main targets for these drugs inside cells. The three elements presented a significant interaction with the biopolymer in buffers of physiological relevance

• (ytterbium, neodymium, and erbium) to interact with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in buffers of physiological relevance. This is an important issue since dsDNA is one of the main targets of anticancer drugs inside cells; hence, a compound that interacts significantly with the biopolymer presents an interesting

• (ytterbium, neodymium, and erbium) with double-stranded DNA molecules. They exhibited a significant interaction with the biopolymer, binding with very high equilibrium association constants (106 to 107 M−1) at the DNA grooves. In addition, it was verified that neodymium and erbium can also induce DNA

Nanocarriers and macrophage interaction: from a potential hurdle to an alternative therapeutic strategy

• Naths Grazia Sukubo,
• Paolo Bigini and
• Annalisa Morelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 97–118, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.10

Enhanced catalytic reduction through in situ synthesized gold nanoparticles embedded in glucosamine/alginate nanocomposites

• Chi-Hien Dang,
• Le-Kim-Thuy Nguyen,
• Minh-Trong Tran,
• Van-Dung Le,
• Nguyen Minh Ty,
• T. Ngoc Han Pham,
• Hieu Vu-Quang,
• Tran Thi Kim Chi,
• Tran Thi Huong Giang,
• Nguyen Thi Thanh Tu and
• Thanh-Danh Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1227–1237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.99

• [10][11][12]. Sodium alginate, derived from marine algae, consists of β-ᴅ-mannuronic acid and its stereoisomer α-ʟ-guluronic acid, forming a linear block copolymer with branched chains [13][14]. This biopolymer possesses metal-binding functional groups that readily cross-link through strong

Unveiling the potential of alginate-based nanomaterials in sensing technology and smart delivery applications

• Shakhzodjon Uzokboev,
• Khojimukhammad Akhmadbekov,
• Ra’no Nuritdinova,
• Salah M. Tawfik and
• Yong-Ill Lee

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1077–1104, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.88

• . Current biomedical and pharmaceutical science has one focus on developing nanoparticle-based sensors, especially biopolymeric nanoparticles. Alginate is a widely used biopolymer in a variety of applications. The hydrogel-forming characteristic, the chemical structure with hydroxy and carboxylate moieties

• drug delivery and sensing applications because of their properties. Sodium alginate is a biopolymer from the sea, and it is one of the most commonly utilized natural materials in several pharmaceutical applications such as smart delivery systems and sensors [11][19]. The chemical structure of alginate

• , especially biopolymer nanoparticles, are applied to drug delivery methods, the aforementioned drawbacks faced by traditional drug delivery today can be overcome. The evolution of nanoparticle-based drug delivery techniques Drug delivery via nanoparticles has transformed the world of medicine in recent

Curcumin-loaded albumin submicron particles with potential as a cancer therapy: an in vitro study

• Nittiya Suwannasom,
• Netsai Sriaksorn,
• Chutamas Thepmalee,
• Krissana Khoothiam,
• Ausanai Prapan,
• Hans Bäumler and
• Chonthida Thephinlap

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1127–1140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.93

• poorly water-soluble CUR. An effective submicron particle fabrication technique, namely co-precipitation–cross-linking–dissolution (CCD), has been established to produce biopolymer particles [24][25][26]. In this method, biopolymer particles are produced via co-precipitation, by simply mixing MnCl2 and

• Na2CO3 solutions in the presence of albumin [26][27]. This approach has been shown to have high effectiveness for entrapping various biopolymers (e.g., proteins and hemoglobin) into carbonate particles before dissolving with EDTA to obtain pure biopolymer submicron particles. The CCD technique is a

Nanoarchitectonics to entrap living cells in silica-based systems: encapsulations with yolk–shell and sepiolite nanomaterials

• Celia Martín-Morales,
• Jorge Fernández-Méndez,
• Pilar Aranda and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 522–534, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.43

• for cancer treatment [31]. Results and Discussion Sepiolite–biopolymer microalgal biohybrids Sepiolite, a microfibrous hydrated magnesium silicate with the formula Si12O30Mg8(OH,F)4(H2O)4·8H2O [32][33][34], shows interesting surface properties and high viscosity [27][33][34][35]. These properties make

• to be tested as immobilization matrices of microalgae. Sepiolite–alginate beads, sepiolite–chitosan/alginate thin films, and sepiolite–chitosan foams were produced (Figure 1). Sepiolite and biopolymer concentration, synthesis temperature, and microorganism concentration were modified to study their

• –alginate biohybrid beads strongly limit the diffusion of metabolites, as we determined by means of diffusion studies using Congo red and crystal violet dyes (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S1). It can be concluded that the developed sepiolite–biopolymer nanostructured materials exhibit interesting

Quercetin- and caffeic acid-functionalized chitosan-capped colloidal silver nanoparticles: one-pot synthesis, characterization, and anticancer and antibacterial activities

• Akif Hakan Kurt,
• Elif Berna Olutas,
• Fatma Avcioglu,
• Hamza Karakuş,
• Mehmet Ali Sungur,
• Cansu Kara Oztabag and
• Muhammet Yıldırım

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 362–376, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.31

• treatment, nanoparticles have an important place to overcome the physiological limitations and to improve therapeutic efficiency [8][9]. Chitosan is a natural polysaccharide biopolymer of different molecular weights bearing amino and hydroxy functional groups [10]. It is the main component of shellfish such

Orally administered docetaxel-loaded chitosan-decorated cationic PLGA nanoparticles for intestinal tumors: formulation, comprehensive in vitro characterization, and release kinetics

• Sedat Ünal,
• Osman Doğan and
• Yeşim Aktaş

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1393–1407, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.115

• -/microscale systems [25]. Chitosan is a natural biopolymer that is widely used in oral nanoparticulate formulations to provide increased drug concentration in the colon and to achieve improved therapy for the colon [26][27][28]. The degradation of chitosan occurs through the lysis of glycosidic bonds by the

Biomimetic chitosan with biocomposite nanomaterials for bone tissue repair and regeneration

• Se-Kwon Kim,
• Sesha Subramanian Murugan,
• Pandurang Appana Dalavi,
• Sebanti Gupta,
• Sukumaran Anil,
• Gi Hun Seong and
• Jayachandran Venkatesan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1051–1067, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.92

• modelling and clinical imaging of the scaffolds will assist in the establishment of its micro- and nanoarchitecture, which will aid in the regulation and activation of the immune system for bone tissue repair and regeneration. Conclusion Chitosan is a naturally occurring biopolymer with appropriate

Engineered titania nanomaterials in advanced clinical applications

• Padmavati Sahare,
• Paulina Govea Alvarez,
• Juan Manual Sanchez Yanez,
• Gabriel Luna-Bárcenas,
• Samik Chakraborty,
• Sujay Paul and
• Miriam Estevez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 201–218, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.15

• ]. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., quercetin, ibuprofen, dexamethasone, aspirin, indomethacin) have been successfully loaded and eluted locally from TNTs in vitro in titania-based implants. Surface modifications such as biopolymer coating, polymeric micelle encapsulation, and periodic

Bacterial safety study of the production process of hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers

• Axel Steffen,
• Yu Xiong,
• Radostina Georgieva,
• Ulrich Kalus and
• Hans Bäumler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 114–126, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.8

• chemically modified, cross-linked, polymerized, or encapsulated by various methods [1][2][3]. We produce biopolymer microparticles as HBOC with the simple coprecipitation–cross-linking–dissolution (CCD) technique while utilizing hemoglobin. Depending on the biopolymer used, there are also various other

• concept for the production of HbMP for the potential use as an artificial oxygen carrier and blood substitute. Conclusion In conclusion, we could show that HbMP can be safely produced with respect to bacterial contamination. Biopolymer particles can be produced with the simple CCD technique and promise a

• wide range of biomedical applications, depending on the biopolymer used. The application of HbMP as artificial oxygen carriers came into focus. Initial preclinical studies yielded promising results. In these particles (i.e., HbMP), hemoglobin is used for particle production and EDTA and glutaraldehyde

Wet-spinning of magneto-responsive helical chitosan microfibers

• Dorothea Brüggemann,
• Johanna Michel,
• Naiana Suter,
• Matheus Grande de Aguiar and
• Michael Maas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 991–999, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.83

• polysaccharides such as alginate, hyaluronic acid or chitosan, are widely used as biocompatible materials since they are biochemically similar to the native extracellular matrix (ECM) [16]. Chitosan is a biopolymer that combines excellent biocompatibility, low toxicity and antibacterial properties with a low

Multilayer capsules made of weak polyelectrolytes: a review on the preparation, functionalization and applications in drug delivery

• Varsha Sharma and
• Anandhakumar Sundaramurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 508–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.41

• /biopolymer systems in applications such as therapeutics, biosensing, bioimaging, bioreactors, vaccination, tissue engineering and gene delivery. This review gives an emerging outlook on the advantages and unique responsiveness of weak polyelectrolyte based systems that can enable their widespread use in

Layered double hydroxide/sepiolite hybrid nanoarchitectures for the controlled release of herbicides

• Ediana Paula Rebitski,
• Margarita Darder and
• Pilar Aranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1679–1690, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.163

• for agricultural applications. In order to achieve a more controlled release of the herbicide and to act for several days on the surface of the soil, the hybrid nanoarchitectures were encapsulated in a biopolymer matrix of alginate/zein and shaped into spheres. In in vitro tests carried out in

• interest for agricultural purposes. Given that the amount of initial release of MCPA in all the formulations is quite high, the encapsulation of the hybrid nanoarchitectures in a protective biopolymer matrix was proposed to afford a better control over the release of the herbicide. In a previous study [49

• ], a biopolymer mixture of alginate and zein incorporating the MCPAie-LDH hybrid prepared by ion exchange was able to reduce the initial release of MCPA by approximately 10–15% in the first 8 h. In the current work, the MCPA-LDH/Sep0.5:1_60C nanoarchitecture was selected, as it releases 100% of the

Multicomponent bionanocomposites based on clay nanoarchitectures for electrochemical devices

• Giulia Lo Dico,
• Bernd Wicklein,
• Lorenzo Lisuzzo,
• Giuseppe Lazzara,
• Pilar Aranda and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1303–1315, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.129

• properties of the bionanocomposite materials were evaluated in stress–strain measurements (Figure S5, Supporting Information File 1), analysing the influence of the nanofiller content on the elastic behaviour as it has been described in related biopolymer-based nanocomposites [26]. The results show that the

• conferring robustness to these systems as the Young’s modulus of 0.2 MPa for a foam without chitosan (with the composition of 1:1:1:0.3 in HNTs/SEP/GNPs/MWCNTs) increases to 3.5 MPa after incorporation of the biopolymer (45 wt %). This increase can be correlated to the strong interaction between the chitosan

• the different components integrated in the bionanocomposite materials, i.e., (A) sepiolite fibrous clay, (B) halloysite nanotubes, (C) graphene nanoplatelets, (D) multiwalled carbon nanotubes, and (E) chitosan biopolymer, prepared in aqueous media under ultrasound irradiation (US). The resulting

Polydopamine-coated Au nanorods for targeted fluorescent cell imaging and photothermal therapy

• Boris N. Khlebtsov,
• Andrey M. Burov,
• Timofey E. Pylaev and
• Nikolai G. Khlebtsov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 794–803, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.79

• silica shells. However, PDA coating makes the functionalization with any amine-containing ligand very simple and robust. It is sufficient to incubate PDA-coated nanorods with a desired functionalization component (for example, with folate and R123). Furthermore, the biocompatibility of the PDA biopolymer

Accurate control of the covalent functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes for the electro-enzymatically controlled oxidation of biomolecules

• Naoual Allali,
• Veronika Urbanova,
• Mathieu Etienne,
• Xavier Devaux,
• Martine Mallet,
• Brigitte Vigolo,
• Jean-Joseph Adjizian,
• Chris P. Ewels,
• Sven Oberg,
• Alexander V. Soldatov,
• Edward McRae,
• Yves Fort,
• Manuel Dossot and
• Victor Mamane

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2750–2762, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.257

• nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydride (NADH) [6][8][13][19]. The CNTs and mediator are co-deposited on the GCE using a polymer. Chitosan is often used as a cheap biodegradable biopolymer with good compatibility with CNTs for making adequate suspensions before deposition on the GCE [20]. The main problem

Nanocellulose: Recent advances and its prospects in environmental remediation

• Katrina Pui Yee Shak,
• Yean Ling Pang and
• Shee Keat Mah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2479–2498, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.232

• -based alternatives for wastewater purification. These flocculants are expected to be degradable and prevent secondary pollution to the natural environment. Biopolymer-based flocculants such as chitosan, tannins, cellulose and alginate are attracting wide interest from many researchers. Bio-based