Antitumor magnetic hyperthermia induced by RGD-functionalized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, in an experimental model of colorectal liver metastases

• Oihane K. Arriortua,
• Eneko Garaio,
• Borja Herrero de la Parte,
• Maite Insausti,
• Luis Lezama,
• Fernando Plazaola,
• Jose Angel García,
• Jesús M. Aizpurua,
• Maialen Sagartzazu,
• Mireia Irazola,
• Nestor Etxebarria,
• Ignacio García-Alonso,
• Alberto Saiz-López and
• José Javier Echevarria-Uraga

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1532–1542, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.147

• . Nanotherapy based on targeted nanoparticles could become an attractive alternative to conventional oncologic treatments as it allows a local heating in tumoral surroundings without damage to healthy tissue. RGD-peptide-conjugated MNPs have been designed to specifically target αVβ3 receptor-expressing cancer

• cells, being bound the RGD peptides by “click chemistry” due to its selectivity and applicability. The thermal decomposition of iron metallo-organic precursors yield homogeneous Fe3O4 nanoparticles that have been properly functionalized with RGD peptides, and the preparation of magnetic fluids has been

Multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids as MRI contrast agents

• Nikodem Kuźnik and
• Mateusz M. Tomczyk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1086–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.102

• period, is consistent with the abovementioned toxicity studies. Cytotoxicity and hemolysis Cytotoxicity of the nanohybrids was studied on various cell types (HeLa, HEK 293, human prostate cancer cells PC3, fibroblasts and others) and a general conclusion is the dose-dependent trend. However, the

• in the T2-weighted technique. There, darkening of the image was observed. A similar approach was taken to assess the contrast effect on the cells, where darkening of the image caused by the MWCNT hybrids was recorded in reference to untreated cells. Cancer cells exhibited from 9 up to over 100

Tight junction between endothelial cells: the interaction between nanoparticles and blood vessels

• Yue Zhang and
• Wan-Xi Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 675–684, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.60

• might cause the disruption of the barrier function in ovarian cancer cells [60]. Oxidative stress is also relevant for changes in the tight junction. In an experiment under oxidative stress, the expression levels of claudin-5, occludin, and claudin-2 were decreased, while the expression levels of

Unraveling the neurotoxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles: focusing on molecular mechanisms

• Bin Song,
• Yanli Zhang,
• Jia Liu,
• Xiaoli Feng,
• Ting Zhou and
• Longquan Shao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 645–654, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.57

• (MRC-5), concomitant with excessive MDA production [67]. After lung epithelial cancer cells (A549) were exposed to iron oxide nanoparticles, ROS production, mitochondrial impairments and autophagy were detected [68]. Autophagy in human peripheral blood monocytes can be induced by cerium dioxide

Comparison of the interactions of daunorubicin in a free form and attached to single-walled carbon nanotubes with model lipid membranes

• Dorota Matyszewska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 524–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.46

• transport daunorubicin to cancer cells [5]. Drug delivery systems are aimed at providing enhanced transport of therapeutic agents directly to the targeted organs and tissues, which enables the elimination or significant decrease in the side effects of a drug. One of the most common type of drug nanocarriers

Green and energy-efficient methods for the production of metallic nanoparticles

• Mitra Naghdi,
• Mehrdad Taheran,
• Satinder K. Brar,
• M. Verma,
• R. Y. Surampalli and
• J. R. Valero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2354–2376, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.243

• preventive or protective properties with regard to human health. They are not essential for the human body to survive but they can act as antioxidant, enzyme stimulator, or antibacterial agent, and they can interfere with DNA to prevent the multiplication of cancer cells. Researchers found that several

Silica-coated upconversion lanthanide nanoparticles: The effect of crystal design on morphology, structure and optical properties

• Uliana Kostiv,
• Miroslav Šlouf,
• Hana Macková,
• Alexander Zhigunov,
• Hana Engstová,
• Katarína Smolková,
• Petr Ježek and
• Daniel Horák

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2290–2299, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.235

• structure. The pure hexagonal phase was obtained at reaction temperatures ≥ 350 °C and annealing times above 1 h. To generate free radicals such as singlet oxygen (destructive to cancer cells) in biological experiments, the nanoparticles should emit photons at 660 nm to excite phthalocyanine, a typical

Conformational switching of ethano-bridged Cu,H₂-bis-porphyrin induced by aromatic amines

• Simona Bettini,
• Emanuela Maglie,
• Rosanna Pagano,
• Victor Borovkov,
• Yoshihisa Inoue,
• Ludovico Valli and
• Gabriele Giancane

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2154–2160, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.221

• promoting the formation of cancer cells [15]. Aromatic amine sensors with different transduction methods have also been developed [16][17][18][19]. In the present work, a copper, free-base bis-porphyrin complex of ethano-bridged bis-porphyrin (shown in the Figure 2), herewith named Cu,H2-Por2, was

Atomic force microscopy as analytical tool to study physico-mechanical properties of intestinal cells

• Christa Schimpel,
• Oliver Werzer,
• Eleonore Fröhlich,
• Gerd Leitinger,
• Markus Absenger-Novak,
• Birgit Teubl,
• Andreas Zimmer and
• Eva Roblegg

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1457–1466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.151

• leads to a decreased compliance of cancer cells [46]. Moreover, macrophages, which are also immune cells, display a similar arrangement of F-actin-rich structures, also referred as podosomes [47]. In activated state, podosomes rearrange and form a belt-shaped structure (i.e., rosette) on the outer

Natural and artificial binders of polyriboadenylic acid and their effect on RNA structure

• Giovanni N. Roviello,
• Domenica Musumeci,
• Valentina Roviello,
• Marina Pirtskhalava,
• Alexander Egoyan and
• Merab Mirtskhulava

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1338–1347, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.138

• aberrations in cancer cells [19]. Furthermore, the presence of a specific poly(rA) polymerase overexpressed in cancer cells and, more in general, the enhanced polyadenylation activity found in cancer cells, seem to indicate that poly(rA) is an important candidate for anticancer strategies [20]. Compounds that

• under investigation. A possibility to achieve the desired selectivity involves the conjugation of these binders with molecules (targeting agents) specific for receptors overexpressed on cancer cells in analogy to the work of Guaragna et al. concerning folate-conjugated drugs [21]. In this way the

• delivery of these molecular tools can be selectively directed towards cancer cells and, after their internalization, the anticancer activity could be exerted either by the entire conjugate or by the free binder after loss of the targeting agent. Thus, due to the importance of poly(rA) binders, for example

PLGA nanoparticles as a platform for vitamin D-based cancer therapy

• Maria J. Ramalho,
• Joana A. Loureiro,
• Bárbara Gomes,
• Manuela F. Frasco,
• Manuel A. N. Coelho and
• M. Carmo Pereira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1306–1318, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.135

• to the free calcitriol results. At this concentration the inhibitory effect on nontumor cells (hTERT-HPNE) decreased to 65%. This study highlights the ability of PLGA nanoparticles to deliver vitamin D3 into cancer cells, with major effects regarding cancer cell cycle arrest and major changes in the

• inhibition when compared to free calcidiol, and the PLA NPs enhanced the intracellular delivery of vitamin in breast cancer cells [14]. In another work, Bonor et al. [23] developed calcitriol-conjugated quantum dots to analyze calcitriol distribution and dynamics in mouse myoblast cells. The authors

Novel ZnO:Ag nanocomposites induce significant oxidative stress in human fibroblast malignant melanoma (Ht144) cells

• Syeda Arooj,
• Samina Nazir,
• Akhtar Nadhman,
• Nafees Ahmad,
• Bakhtiar Muhammad,
• Ishaq Ahmad,
• Kehkashan Mazhar and
• Rashda Abbasi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 570–582, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.59

• . The NPs were investigated with regard to their different photocatalytic cytotoxic effects in human malignant melanoma (HT144) and normal (HCEC) cells. The ZnO:Ag nanocomposites killed cancer cells more efficiently than normal cells under daylight exposure. Nanocomposites having higher Ag content (10

• nanocomposites could provide a new therapeutic option to selectively target cancer cells. Keywords: cancer therapy; cytotoxicity; photo-oxidation; ZnO:Ag nanocomposites; Introduction Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) exhibit an excellent photo-oxidation activity [1] and are considered as potential

• thus exciting the photosensitizer to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as singlet oxygen (1O2) and hydroxyl radicals (HO•) [6][7]. Photo-oxidation holds promises for the targeted treatment and controlled elimination of cancer cells [8]. ZnO NPs have also shown photo-oxidative anticancer

Silica micro/nanospheres for theranostics: from bimodal MRI and fluorescent imaging probes to cancer therapy

• Shanka Walia and
• Amitabha Acharya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 546–558, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.57

• cancer cells were treated and monitored under a fluorescence microscope at 405 nm excitation. Intense green fluorescence was observed from cancer cells which confirmed the internalization of NPs. Similarly, Pinho et al. [15] reported the synthesis of a bimodal MRI probe by embedding two lanthanide metal

• cytometry, confocal microscopy and MRI studies suggested that the prepared nanocomposites can be used for targeting cancer cells that overexpress folic acid. Similar strategies were also used by Peng et al. [22] by using an iridium(III) complex as fluorescent agent. Hu et al. [23] reported the synthesis of

• silica-encapsulated hydrophobic Mn3O4 NPs in which the silica surface was further modified by fluorescent rhodamine B and aptamer (AS411) as a targeting ligand. The in vitro confocal imaging and in vivo MRI studies showed that NPs specifically targeted the cancer cells. The histopathological and

Nanoparticle shapes by using Wulff constructions and first-principles calculations

• Georgios D. Barmparis,
• Zbigniew Lodziana,
• Nuria Lopez and
• Ioannis N. Remediakis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 361–368, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.35

• daily basis. Nowadays, nanoparticles can be found in sensors, especially with biomedical interest, as agents to induce the death of cancer cells, as drug delivery vehicles, in emerging energy technologies, either in harvesting or for storage, as additives for fuels, in optics, and as part of smart

Overview about the localization of nanoparticles in tissue and cellular context by different imaging techniques

• Anja Ostrowski,
• Daniel Nordmeyer,
• Alexander Boreham,
• Cornelia Holzhausen,
• Lars Mundhenk,
• Christina Graf,
• Martina C. Meinke,
• Annika Vogt,
• Sabrina Hadam,
• Jürgen Lademann,
• Eckart Rühl,
• Ulrike Alexiev and
• Achim D. Gruber

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 263–280, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.25

• models following exposure with silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NP) [12][13][14]. Inorganic SiO2-NP hold great potential for several biomedical applications, including the selective targeting of cancer cells as well as drug or gene delivery systems due to their favorable biocompatibility and modification

• deposits in HE-stained sections of glioblastomas (Figure 1a), a common brain tumor with high clinical relevance [45]. Such particles have similarly been visualized after targeting prostate cancer cells in humans [46]. Iron oxide nanoparticles have been introduced as diagnostic tool or for the treatment of

• of cancer cells as well as drug or gene delivery systems due to their favorable biocompatibility and modification possibilities [15][16]. However, labeling of NP always possesses the risk of changing their bioreactivity [20]. Thus, the site of labeling and the properties of the fluorochrome may have

Caveolin-1 and CDC42 mediated endocytosis of silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles in HeLa cells

• Nils Bohmer and
• Andreas Jordan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 167–176, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.16

• , nanoparticles were mostly found in macrophages than in the cancer cells themselves [25]. In the respective study it was not crucial for successful treatment that the nanoparticles were specifically taken up by the tumor cells, because they were injected directly into the tumor and had no further payload

• attached to the surface. But for drug delivery applications and intravenous injections it would be very useful to understand, how cancer cells internalize iron oxide nanoparticles and which pathways are involved. Insights in the principles of nanoparticle endocytosis would be very helpful to develop

• the internalization behavior of HeLa cells in vitro. Discussion The aim of the study was to elucidate, how human cancer cells internalize iron oxide nanoparticles with silica shells, which have no target function for a special application or receptor. Therefore the human cervical cancer cell line HeLa

Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes and their applications

• Saban Kalay,
• Zehra Yilmaz,
• Ozlem Sen,
• Melis Emanet,
• Emine Kazanc and
• Mustafa Çulha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 84–102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.9

• composites in the presence and absence of a magnetic field [84]. The BNNT–NaGdF4:Eu composites simultaneously show fluorescent and magnetic properties. Thus, imaging and targeting of the composites can be more easily achieved. Human LNCaP prostate cancer cells were treated with the BNNT–NaGdF4:Eu composites

• in the presence and absence of a magnetic field and higher cell-associated uptake was found in the presence of a magnetic field. Then, the composites were loaded with doxorubicin (dox) to investigate the viability of LNCaP prostate cancer cells in the magnetic field. It was found that dox-loaded BNNT

• pH dependent and both negatively and positively charged structures had the same dox loading capacity. The BNNT–MS–NH2 had higher uptake potential in LNCaP prostate cancer cells due to its charge. Thus, it had a higher toxicity towards LNCaP prostate cancer cells. It was concluded that the prepared

Nanobioarchitectures based on chlorophyll photopigment, artificial lipid bilayers and carbon nanotubes

• Marcela Elisabeta Barbinta-Patrascu,
• Stefan Marian Iordache,
• Ana Maria Iordache,
• Nicoleta Badea and
• Camelia Ungureanu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2316–2325, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.240

• largely used as drug delivery vehicles, showing potential in targeting specific cancer cells [18] with a necessary dosage lower than conventional drugs, without harming healthy cells and significantly reduced side effects. Another interesting property of carbon nanotubes is their antioxidant activity

Anticancer efficacy of a supramolecular complex of a 2-diethylaminoethyl–dextran–MMA graft copolymer and paclitaxel used as an artificial enzyme

• Yasuhiko Onishi,
• Yuki Eshita,
• Rui-Cheng Ji,
• Masayasu Onishi,
• Takashi Kobayashi,
• Masaaki Mizuno,
• Jun Yoshida and
• Naoji Kubota

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2293–2307, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.238

• complex that was used as an artificial enzyme against multi-drug-resistant cancer cells was confirmed. A complex of diethylaminoethyl–dextran–methacrylic acid methylester copolymer (DDMC)/paclitaxel (PTX), obtained with PTX as the guest and DDMC as the host, formed a nanoparticle 50–300 nm in size. This

• cancer cells; paclitaxel; supramolecular complex; Review Introduction As a means of delivering a drug to a target effectively, the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect and reticuloendothelial system (RES) were enabled by using a polymer drug delivery system (DDS), and it is thought to

• revealed the activation of several genes downstream of EGR1 and TXNIP. Six hours after administration, CYR61, which is involved in resistance to PTX in breast cancer, became more active and continued to be influenced by EGR1. In this way, cancer cells exposed to anticancer drugs acquire resistance to the

Biocompatibility of cerium dioxide and silicon dioxide nanoparticles with endothelial cells

• Claudia Strobel,
• Martin Förster and
• Ingrid Hilger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1795–1807, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.190

• nanoparticles were also found to be cytotoxic in other cell types, such as human bronchial epithelial cells [25][27] or human lung cancer cells [26]. The extent of the adverse effects of CeO2 nanoparticles on cells seems to be cell type-dependent. This applies also for subsets of endothelial cells which have

Precise quantification of silica and ceria nanoparticle uptake revealed by 3D fluorescence microscopy

• Adriano A. Torrano and
• Christoph Bräuchle

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1616–1624, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.173

• . In this section, we want to present in detail how Particle_in_Cell-3D was used to study the cell type-dependent uptake of 310 nm silica nanoparticles into human vascular endothelial cells (HUVEC) and cancer cells derived from the cervix carcinoma (HeLa). The nanoparticle uptake by single cells was

Donor–acceptor graphene-based hybrid materials facilitating photo-induced electron-transfer reactions

• Anastasios Stergiou,
• Georgia Pagona and
• Nikos Tagmatarchis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1580–1589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.170

• demonstrates the usage of a GO–coumarin conjugate as an activated fluorescent imaging probe with high sensitivity in the visualization of cancer cells [54]. The fluorescence of the probe can be switched off or on during intracellular imaging. Normally, the probe shows no or weak fluorescence (off) due to the

In vitro interaction of colloidal nanoparticles with mammalian cells: What have we learned thus far?

• Moritz Nazarenus,
• Qian Zhang,
• Mahmoud G. Soliman,
• Pablo del Pino,
• Beatriz Pelaz,
• Susana Carregal-Romero,
• Joanna Rejman,
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser,
• Martin J. D. Clift,
• Reinhard Zellner,
• G. Ulrich Nienhaus,
• James B. Delehanty,
• Igor L. Medintz and
• Wolfgang J. Parak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1477–1490, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.161

• . Scheme depicting the different mechanisms of cellular endocytosis. Reproduced with permission from [41]. Copyright (2011) Elsevier. Fluorescence microscopy image showing the granular structure of internalized NPs inside A549 lung cancer cells (two types of iron oxide NPs with different surface chemistry

Protein-coated pH-responsive gold nanoparticles: Microwave-assisted synthesis and surface charge-dependent anticancer activity

• Dickson Joseph,
• Nisha Tyagi,
• Christian Geckeler and
• Kurt E.Geckeler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1452–1462, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.158

• studied by using pH-dependent zeta potential titration. Cytotoxicity studies revealed anticancerous effects of the AuNPs at a certain micromolar concentration by constraining the growth of cancer cells with different efficacies due to the use of different proteins as capping agents. The positively charged

• targeted drug and gene delivery [29][30][31]. Hence, MTT assays were used to study the cell viabilities of fibroblasts and cancer cells after treatment with AuNPs to check the cytotoxicity and the anticancer properties of the AuNPs for their future biomedical applications. Results and Discussion Synthesis

• prepared AuNPs as an effective anticancer agent, MTT assays were performed against three different cancer cells lines (human colorectal cancer cells (HCT116), human cervical cancer cells (HeLa) and squamous carcinoma cells (SCC-7)) by treating them with AuNPs. The results are shown in Figure 4B, 4C and 4D

PEGylated versus non-PEGylated magnetic nanoparticles as camptothecin delivery system

• Paula M. Castillo,
• Mario de la Mata,
• Maria F. Casula,
• José A. Sánchez-Alcázar and
• Ana P. Zaderenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1312–1319, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.144

• promising as delivery systems due to their low toxicity and their ability to be used both in cancer diagnosis and therapy [21][22][23]. SPION can be effectively used as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging [24][25], as carriers for chemotherapeutic drugs [26][27][28] and to destroy cancer cells by