Temperature-dependent breakdown of hydrogen peroxide-treated ZnO and TiO₂ nanoparticle agglomerates

• Sinan Sabuncu and
• Mustafa Çulha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1897–1903, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.193

• quantities is nearly impossible using current approaches, the surface chemistry can only be considered as an alternative to reduce the possible toxic effects. An appropriate functional group on the NP surface may improve biocompatibility and stability in various environments. In our previous study, we

Synthesis, characterization and in vitro biocompatibility study of Au/TMC/Fe₃O₄ nanocomposites as a promising, nontoxic system for biomedical applications

• Hanieh Shirazi,
• Maryam Daneshpour,
• Soheila Kashanian and
• Kobra Omidfar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1677–1689, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.170

• . Moreover, the results of the MTT assay showed no significant cytotoxicity effect when the Au/TMC/Fe3O4 nanocomposites were applied in vitro. These TMC-containing magnetic nanoparticles are well-coated by Au nanoparticles and have good biocompatibility and can thus play the role of a platform or a label in

• ), polycyanoacrylate, alginate, gelatin, and chitosan [19][23][24]. Among these polymers, chitosan has received significant commercial attention due to its outstanding properties such as nontoxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, adsorption, and its ability to form films and to chelate metal ions [25][26]. This

• biocompatibility), they can be utilized as catalysts, labels, and as a protective substrate, especially for immobilization of biomolecules in various fields of modern science [29][30]. Au nanoparticles are extensively used in the design and construction of fuel cells and many types of sensors (e.g

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

• biocompatibility, biodegradability, mechanical strength, FDA approval and low synthesis complexity. One of the most attractive candidates is poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), which is a copolymer of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(glycolic acid) (PGA) [18][19]. We expect that vitamin D3 encapsulation in these

Tattoo ink nanoparticles in skin tissue and fibroblasts

• Colin A. Grant,
• Peter C. Twigg,
• Richard Baker and
• Desmond J. Tobin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1183–1191, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.120

• toxicity or biocompatibility of nanoparticles is an extremely important consideration for many of the aforementioned proposed applications. In particular carbon nanotubes, commonly used in applications such as drug delivery [10] and directed growth of neuron cells [11], have been shown to exhibit

Mapping of elasticity and damping in an α + β titanium alloy through atomic force acoustic microscopy

• M. Kalyan Phani,
• Anish Kumar,
• T. Jayakumar,
• Walter Arnold and
• Konrad Samwer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 767–776, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.79

• to the good corrosion resistance and biocompatibility, Ti-6Al-4V is also widely used in making load-bearing metal implants [20]. Different studies have been reported on phase transformations [21] and mechanical property variations with various phases [22] in Ti-6Al-4V. Kumar et al. [1] have

Influence of gold, silver and gold–silver alloy nanoparticles on germ cell function and embryo development

• Ulrike Taylor,
• Daniela Tiedemann,
• Christoph Rehbock,
• Wilfried A. Kues,
• Stephan Barcikowski and
• Detlef Rath

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 651–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.66

• ] and have also been noted to cause a drop in sperm motility [62]. Therefore, BSA-coating might be a suitable way to increase nanoparticle biocompatibility. Sperm membrane integrity and morphology, two further important sperm viability parameters, remained unaffected by any of the nanoparticle

Self-assembled anchor layers/polysaccharide coatings on titanium surfaces: a study of functionalization and stability

• Ognen Pop-Georgievski,
• Dana Kubies,
• Josef Zemek,
• Neda Neykova,
• Roman Demianchuk,
• Eliška Mázl Chánová,
• Miroslav Šlouf,
• Milan Houska and
• František Rypáček

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 617–631, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.63

• strength, appropriate Young’s modulus, outstanding biocompatibility and excellent corrosion resistance make commercially pure titanium a highly favored, biocompatible, metallic material [2]. The biocompatibility and corrosion resistance of titanium surfaces is closely related to the presence of a

Entropy effects in the collective dynamic behavior of alkyl monolayers tethered to Si(111)

• Christian Godet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 583–594, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.60

• surface chemistry, surface energy, biocompatibility, friction, corrosion, liquid chromatography, interfacial interactions and electronic transport [1][2][3][4][5][6]. More recent studies have been focused on the functionalization of nanostructures. However, in spite of a large number of experimental and

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

• potential cytotoxicity, biocompatibility and biosafety of such particles in vitro as well as in vivo. Experimental Reagents Acetic acid, DMSO, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt dihydrate (Na2EDTA·2H2O), FeSO4, L-glutamine, hydrochloric acid (HCl), mannitol, penicillin-G, polyethylene glycol (PEG

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

• biocompatibility of these NPs was investigated by standard MTT cell proliferation assay. Studies suggested that the cell viability was maintained at 83% even after a high dose of 500 µg·mL−1 of the nanocomposites. To check the applicability of these nanocomposites as fluorescence imaging agents, Gastric SGC7901

• was more prominent than that of LSMO@SiF@Si-w, which was attributed to the fact that the latter contains less fluorescein. To check the biocompatibility of these nanocomposites, in vitro studies were carried out on HeLa cells and primary skin fibroblasts. The studies suggested that the HeLa cells

• NPs was 4.0 emu/g. To observe the biocompatibility of these nanocomposites, both in vitro and in vivo studies were performed with HEK293 cells (human embryonic kidney 293 cells) and mice, respectively. Studies on HEK293 showed reasonable growth on treatment with 50 µg/mL dose of these hybrid

Conformal SiO₂ coating of sub-100 nm diameter channels of polycarbonate etched ion-track channels by atomic layer deposition

• Nicolas Sobel,
• Christian Hess,
• Manuela Lukas,
• Anne Spende,
• Bernd Stühn,
• M. E. Toimil-Molares and
• Christina Trautmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 472–479, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.48

• silica nanopores sculptured by electron or kiloelectronvolt-ion beams, mesoscopic silica, or silica nanotubes. Such systems are of interest for numerous applications due to their facile surface functionalization, hydrophilic nature, and biocompatibility [29]. For the deposition of SiO2 on polymer

Comparative evaluation of the impact on endothelial cells induced by different nanoparticle structures and functionalization

• Lisa Landgraf,
• Ines Müller,
• Peter Ernst,
• Miriam Schäfer,
• Christina Rosman,
• Isabel Schick,
• Oskar Köhler,
• Hartmut Oehring,
• Vladimir V. Breus,
• Thomas Basché,
• Carsten Sönnichsen,
• Wolfgang Tremel and
• Ingrid Hilger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 300–312, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.28

• better insight into general rules determining the biocompatibility of gold, Janus and semiconductor (quantum dot) nanoparticles. Endothelial cells were subject of this study, since blood is the first barrier after intravenous nanoparticle application. In particular, stronger effects on the viability of

• by caveolae-mediated endocytosis and nanoparticles with a size of 40 nm are taken up by clathrin-mediated internalization and macropinocytosis. Our results can be summarized to formulate five general rules, which are further specified in the text and which determine the biocompatibility of

• nanoparticles on endothelial cells. Our findings will help to design new nanoparticles with optimized properties concerning biocompatibility and uptake behavior with respect to the respective intended application. Keywords: cell viability; gold nanoparticles; internalization; Janus particles; quantum dots

The effect of surface charge on nonspecific uptake and cytotoxicity of CdSe/ZnS core/shell quantum dots

• Vladimir V. Breus,
• Anna Pietuch,
• Marco Tarantola,
• Thomas Basché and
• Andreas Janshoff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 281–292, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.26

• -particle tracking), was shown to compromise the integrity of the cytoskeletal and plasma membrane dynamics, as evidenced by electric cell–substrate impedance sensing. Keywords: biocompatibility; CdSe/ZnS; cytotoxicity; ECIS; quantum dots; single-particle tracking; Introduction Quantum dots (QDs) are

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

• 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

Release behaviour and toxicity evaluation of levodopa from carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotubes

• Julia M. Tan,
• Jhi Biau Foo,
• Sharida Fakurazi and
• Mohd Zobir Hussein

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 243–253, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.23

• intense research for theranostic delivery systems, especially in the field of cancer chemotherapy [7][8][9]. Their attractive properties such as good biocompatibility and excellent chemical and thermal stability ensure the stability and solubility of drugs in aqueous environments. Furthermore, their

• , and at the same time, further enhance their degree of biocompatibility [7]. This is because non-functionalized CNTs tend to aggregate into bundles due to van der Waals interactions and hence, they might induce apoptosis (cell death) after administration into the human body. Parkinson’s disease (PD) or

The distribution and degradation of radiolabeled superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and quantum dots in mice

• Denise Bargheer,
• Artur Giemsa,
• Barbara Freund,
• Markus Heine,
• Christian Waurisch,
• Gordon M. Stachowski,
• Stephen G. Hickey,
• Alexander Eychmüller,
• Jörg Heeren and
• Peter Nielsen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 111–123, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.11

• ][23]. In addition, most tissues contain substantial concentration of background iron that can be higher than the amount of injected nanoparticulate iron. For use in animal studies and for the eventual transfer to clinical applications, more detailed information on the biocompatibility, in vivo

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

• biocompatibility. The mPEG–DSPE/BNNTs suspension was expected to be stable in water because fatty acids from DSPE should noncovalently interact with BNNTs and the hydrophilic mPEG could aid in the dispersion of the BNNTs in water. Indeed, the mPEG–DSPE/BNNTs were highly dispersed in water and slightly so in

• isothiocyanate (FITC). Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were treated with this complex. It was found that the coated BNNTs had specific molecular recognition capability [70]. Glycol chitosan (GC) is widely used due to its biocompatibility and good solubility over a broad pH range [71]. The BNNTs were coated

• studied and found that the BNNTs were significantly toxic at 200 µg/mL. The biocompatibility tests indicated that the pure BNNTs were good candidates at nontoxic concentrations for pharmacological applications [76]. The cell lines A549, RAW264.7, 3T3-L1 and HEK293 were exposed to BNNTs. The authors

Mammalian cell growth on gold nanoparticle-decorated substrates is influenced by the nanoparticle coating

• Christina Rosman,
• Sebastien Pierrat,
• Marco Tarantola,
• David Schneider,
• Eva Sunnick,
• Andreas Janshoff and
• Carsten Sönnichsen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2479–2488, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.257

• addition to live cell imaging, a biocompatibility test was performed based on detecting the cell shape fluctuations of subconfluent cells cultured on small gold electrodes of 250 μm diameter, the so-called micromotion assay [18][19]. Electric cell–substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) is an electrochemical

• ] used for particle synthesis. These CTAB molecules can be replaced by the inert polymer poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) known for its biocompatibility [23]. Using PEG chains exhibiting either amine (NH2–PEG) or carboxy groups (COOH–PEG), the influence of exposed reactive groups was investigated. A strong

• substrate, it is assumed that the interaction between the cell membrane and the nanoparticles was not strong enough to overcome the van der Waals forces keeping the particles attached to the substrate. The other stabilizer investigated, PEG, is considered to be biocompatible [23]. This biocompatibility

Functionalized polystyrene nanoparticles as a platform for studying bio–nano interactions

• Cornelia Loos,
• Tatiana Syrovets,
• Anna Musyanovych,
• Volker Mailänder,
• Katharina Landfester,
• G. Ulrich Nienhaus and
• Thomas Simmet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2403–2412, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.250

• investigated. Due to their large surface to volume ratio, nanoparticles usually exhibit properties that differ from those of bulk materials. Particularly, the surface chemistry of the nanoparticles is crucial for their durability and solubility in biological media as well as for their biocompatibility and

• also often made from polystyrene [1][2][3]. Due to the biocompatibility of polystyrene, it is widely used for laboratory equipment. After production, equipment made out of polystyrene can be easily sterilized by UV light or ethylene oxide and surface-modified to introduce various polar groups to suit

• Harvard Center for Risk Assessment concluded that there is no reason for concern from exposure to polystyrene materials used in food-contact applications [16]. Due to its inertness and biocompatibility, polystyrene together with polycarbonate is widely used for the production of biomedical devices and

Inorganic Janus particles for biomedical applications

• Isabel Schick,
• Steffen Lorenz,
• Dominik Gehrig,
• Stefan Tenzer,
• Wiebke Storck,
• Karl Fischer,
• Dennis Strand,
• Frédéric Laquai and
• Wolfgang Tremel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2346–2362, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.244

• activity, the magnetic properties, as well as their biocompatibility and interaction with human blood serum. Keywords: bioimaging (CT; MRI; Multi-photon); hetero-nanoparticles; Janus particles; protein corona; synthesis; Introduction In the recent years, there has been an increasing interest in design

• ]. The stability of the silica coated particles against aggregation and biocompatibility is enhanced by surface modification using a PEG-silane conjugate. Therefore, the particles remain stable at all stages of the preparation as confirmed by DLS measurements of hydrophobic Au nanoparticles, Au@Fe3O4

• simple systems. They may be viewed as test cases for developing new synthetic methods. Janus particles with practical applicability can be envisioned by integrating specific functions, such as superparamagnetism, fluorescence, biocompatibility, or catalysis, stimulus-responsiveness, and dispersibility in

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

• interest in the fields of nanotechnology and biomedicine [1][2][3]. Special attention has been paid to biomimetic membranes that convey biocompatibility to the hybrid materials [4][5][6][7]. One of the building blocks used to construct nanomaterials are carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which are allotropes of

• pristine and f-CNTs do not induce toxicity in mice [14][15][16][17]. On the other hand, biocoating SWCNTs with biomolecules such as phospholipids conveys biocompatibility and less toxicity to carbon nanotubes. Moreover, SWCNTs are characterized by less accumulation in body as compared to multi-walled

• carbon nanotubes [18]. Bianco et al. [19] showed that carbon nanotube biofunctionalization lead not only to the improved solubility and biocompatibility of CNTs, but also transformed them into platforms for biomedical applications. Carbon nanotubes are generally considered biocompatible and of low

Biopolymer colloids for controlling and templating inorganic synthesis

• Laura C. Preiss,
• Katharina Landfester and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2129–2138, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.222

• . Because of the biodegradability and biocompatibility, chitosan can be considered as a “green material”. In addition to the common applications in food and biotechnology, chitosan can also be used as a support for catalysts. Chitosan–silica [69] and chitosan–titania [70] catalysts were prepared by applying

• which biocompatibility or biodegradability are an issue, such as biomedical applications. In addition, biopolymers may be also good model systems. In this sense, for instance, peptides or nucleic acids of defined length and structure can be very convenient models for studying polyelectrolyte systems

Carbon nano-onions (multi-layer fullerenes): chemistry and applications

• Juergen Bartelmess and
• Silvia Giordani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1980–1998, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.207

• capacitors and lithium-ion batteries and will be discussed in the corresponding part of this review article. Toxicological aspects In the context of applications in biology and medicine, newly employed nanomaterials should be carefully evaluated with regard to biocompatibility, environmental health and

• safety, secure processing and sustainable engineering. In the case of CNOs, limited data regarding their biocompatibility has been published. An initial report, investigating the toxicity of large CNOs with a diameter of about 30 nm was published in 2005 by Chen et al. [50]. They probed the effects of

• first report investigating the toxicity of small CNOs dates back to 2010, when Echegoyen et al. investigated the biocompatibility of PEGylated CNOs by exposing rat dermal fibroblasts to different CNO concentrations [37]. The authors could show almost 100% viability of cells for concentrations of 30 and

PVP-coated, negatively charged silver nanoparticles: A multi-center study of their physicochemical characteristics, cell culture and in vivo experiments

• Sebastian Ahlberg,
• Alexandra Antonopulos,
• Jörg Diendorf,
• Ralf Dringen,
• Matthias Epple,
• Rebekka Flöck,
• Wolfgang Goedecke,
• Christina Graf,
• Nadine Haberl,
• Jens Helmlinger,
• Fabian Herzog,
• Frederike Heuer,
• Stephanie Hirn,
• Christian Johannes,
• Stefanie Kittler,
• Manfred Köller,
• Katrin Korn,
• Wolfgang G. Kreyling,
• Fritz Krombach,
• Jürgen Lademann,
• Kateryna Loza,
• Eva M. Luther,
• Marcelina Malissek,
• Martina C. Meinke,
• Daniel Nordmeyer,
• Anne Pailliart,
• Jörg Raabe,
• Fiorenza Rancan,
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser,
• Eckart Rühl,
• Carsten Schleh,
• Andreas Seibel,
• Christina Sengstock,
• Lennart Treuel,
• Annika Vogt,
• Katrin Weber and
• Reinhard Zellner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1944–1965, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.205

• (HaCaT). In conclusion, the data obtained on the effects of this well-defined type of silver nanoparticles on various biological systems clearly demonstrate that cell-type specific properties as well as experimental conditions determine the biocompatibility of and the cellular responses to an exposure

Carbon-based smart nanomaterials in biomedicine and neuroengineering

• Antonina M. Monaco and
• Michele Giugliano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1849–1863, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.196

• , which results in a limited dispersion in organic matrices. To overcome this problem and to improve the biocompatibility, or to specify the targeting of the particles, functionalisation methods have been developed and successfully used in the past decade. In the following paragraphs, we review some of

• . Given the nature of their applications, biocompatibility of CNTs is a crucial, yet still controversial point. How physicochemical characteristics (i.e., length, diameter, and surface functionalisation) affect the toxicity of CNTs [43], and by what mechanisms CNTs can enter the cellular cytoplasm, and

• where they are localised once internalised [44], remain open questions. In fact, both toxicity and biocompatibility have been reported and discussed extensively for CNTs in recent literature. Inhalation of pristine raw SWCNTs has been described to result in changes in pulmonary functions, inflammatory