Applications of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in drug and therapeutic delivery, and biotechnological advancements

• Maria Suciu,
• Corina M. Ionescu,
• Alexandra Ciorita,
• Septimiu C. Tripon,
• Dragos Nica,
• Hani Al-Salami and
• Lucian Barbu-Tudoran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1092–1109, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.94

• therefore give incorrect results. Stable and well dispersed nanoparticles are internalized to a higher extent [54]. A lot of effort has been spent in this area and today there are methods to obtain very stable SPIONs functionalized with PVA, PEG, dextran, chitosan, and poloxamers, which can be used in

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

• biotechnological and tissue engineering applications. However, there are only a few methods available for the production of biocompatible helical microfibers. Given that, we present here a simple technique for the fabrication of helical chitosan microfibers with embedded magnetic nanoparticles. Composite fibers

• were prepared by wet-spinning and coagulation in an ethanol bath. Thereby, no toxic components were introduced into the wet-spun chitosan fibers. After drying, the helical fibers had a diameter of approximately 130 µm. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of wet-spun helices revealed that the magnetic

• helical chitosan microfibers exhibited an average Young’s modulus of 14 MPa. By taking advantage of the magnetic properties of the feedstock solution, the production of the helical fibers could be automated. The fabrication of the helical fibers was achieved by utilizing the magnetic properties of the

Key for crossing the BBB with nanoparticles: the rational design

• Sonia M. Lombardo,
• Marc Schneider,
• Akif E. Türeli and
• Nazende Günday Türeli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 866–883, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.72

• both formulations were able to cross the BBB and deliver their cargo. On the other hand, in another study, coumarin-6-loaded PLGA nanoparticles coated with either chitosan or PS80 showed a better crossing ability than P188-coated nanoparticles [57]. This result seems to be in accordance with the

• transcytosis through the AMT pathway. Multiple CPPs have been used to deliver nanoparticles to the brain such as the HIV-1 trans-activating transcriptor (TAT) [77][106][107], penetratin [108] or SynB [109]. Finally, conjugating nanoparticles with positively charged polymers or proteins such as chitosan or

• brain delivery such as polycaprolactone (PCL) [68] or chitosan [80][82] but to a lesser extent than PBCA and PLA/PLGA nanoparticles. For instance, enhanced accumulation in an in vivo intracranial glioma mice model of PEG-PCL nanoparticles functionalized with angiopep-2 could be observed by real-time

Soybean-derived blue photoluminescent carbon dots

• Shanshan Wang,
• Wei Sun,
• Dong-sheng Yang and
• Fuqian Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 606–619, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.48

• luminescence properties. Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), which can be considered as a “green technology”, has been used to produce photoluminescent CDs from biomass, including glucose, sucrose, citric acid [19], chitosan [20], orange juice [21], grass [22] and soy milk [10]. For example, Sahu et al. [21

Adsorptive removal of bulky dye molecules from water with mesoporous polyaniline-derived carbon

• Hyung Jun An,
• Jong Min Park,
• Nazmul Abedin Khan and
• Sung Hwa Jhung

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 597–605, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.47

• , activated carbon. Moreover, KOH-900 had the highest Q0, compared with any reported adsorbent, so far. Additionally, KOH-900 showed a Q0 of more than 2 times that of a chitosan–alunite composite (previously the highest Q0) [71] even though the pH of adsorption solution was not the same. If the pH effect

• (vide supra, including Figure 7) is considered, the difference in Q0 between KOH-900 and chitosan–alunite composite will increase. Based on Table 2, KOH-900 was also very competitive in JGB adsorption against the reported adsorbents. To begin with, KOH-900 had a q6h for JGB 11.5 times that of AC. The

• value of more than 2 times that of a chitosan–alunite composite which previously showed the highest Q0 to date. The remarkable adsorption of AR1 and JGB over KOH-900 could be explained with combined mechanisms such as hydrophobic, π–π, electrostatic and van der Waals interactions. Finally, the PDC

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

• (e.g., dextran sulfate (DS), heparin and chitosan) and various synthetic polymers (e.g., PAH, PMA and poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI)). When a negatively charged template is dipped in a solution of positively charged PE, or vice versa, a monolayer of excessively adsorbed PEs is formed that leads to the

• between β-cyclodextrin monolayers as host and polymers modified with adamantyl groups as guests, which also resulted in stable multilayers [61]. The first stimuli-responsive supramolecular hydrogels films based on these reactions were built in 2006 using β-cyclodextrin and adamantyl modified chitosan

• material itself as a core or co-precipitation of encapsulation material within the core. Very few such studies are reported using a weak PE capsule. An anti-inflammatory drug, ibuprofen crystals of 5–40 µm in size, were encapsulated by chitosan/DS and chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose multilayers [65]. The

Preparation and in vivo evaluation of glyco-gold nanoparticles carrying synthetic mycobacterial hexaarabinofuranoside

• Gennady L. Burygin,
• Polina I. Abronina,
• Nikita M. Podvalnyy,
• Sergey A. Staroverov,
• Leonid O. Kononov and
• Lev A. Dykman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 480–493, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.39

• -dextran [79] and chitosan [80] have been reported to bind to GNPs in a pH-dependent manner as the energy of the Au–N interaction is intermediate between those of Au–S and Au–O [81]. The affinity of different functional groups to the surface of GNPs decreases in the series Au–S > Au–NH2 > Au–COOH [82

Brome mosaic virus-like particles as siRNA nanocarriers for biomedical purposes

• Alfredo Nuñez-Rivera,
• Pierrick G. J. Fournier,
• Danna L. Arellano,
• Ana G. Rodriguez-Hernandez,
• Rafael Vazquez-Duhalt and
• Ruben D. Cadena-Nava

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 372–382, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.28

• viruses were incubated for 24 h with MDA-MB-231 cells, using 2.6 × 107 viruses per cell. A similar concentration has been used in cell viability tests with CCMV [25][39] and glycol chitosan nanoparticles [40]. The flow cytometry results showed around 90% cell survival after treatment with both viruses

Poly(1-vinylimidazole) polyplexes as novel therapeutic gene carriers for lung cancer therapy

• Gayathri Kandasamy,
• Elena N. Danilovtseva,
• Vadim V. Annenkov and
• Uma Maheswari Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 354–369, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.26

• –imidazole polyamide system was found to inhibit prostate cancer progression through interfering with the expression and function of the androgen receptor [13]. Chitosan–imidazole derivatives have been also explored for gene transfection in HEK293 cells [14]. In recent years, poly(vinylimidazole)-based

Rational design of block copolymer self-assemblies in photodynamic therapy

• Maxime Demazeau,
• Laure Gibot,
• Anne-Françoise Mingotaud,
• Patricia Vicendo,
• Clément Roux and
• Barbara Lonetti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 180–212, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.15

• catalase and chitosan showed a stability change in response to the pH value. Between 7.4 in phosphate buffer (comparable to the cytoplasm environment) and pH 5.5 in acetate buffer (comparable to the lysosome environment) the diameter of nanoparticles decreased dramatically in the first 60 min [68]. The

• reactive amine bonds. Not all of the lysine units should be modified to guarantee water solubility and enzymatic activation [83]. PEGylation could also improve solubility, but it was also proved to be detrimental regarding quenching [84]. More recently, polysaccharides based on chitosan or heparin have

• negatively charged catalase or bovine serum albumin and positively charged chitosan or poly(allylamine)-coated MnO2 have been exploited to obtain pH-sensitive nanovectors [68][69]. The low concentration of endogenous H2O2 together with the instability of catalase in physiological environments containing

The different ways to chitosan/hyaluronic acid nanoparticles: templated vs direct complexation. Influence of particle preparation on morphology, cell uptake and silencing efficiency

• Arianna Gennari,
• Julio M. Rios de la Rosa,
• Erwin Hohn,
• Maria Pelliccia,
• Enrique Lallana,
• Roberto Donno,
• Annalisa Tirella and
• Nicola Tirelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2594–2608, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.250

• 6EU London, United Kingdom 10.3762/bjnano.10.250 Abstract This study is about linking preparative processes of nanoparticles with the morphology of the nanoparticles and with their efficiency in delivering payloads intracellularly. The nanoparticles are composed of hyaluronic acid (HA) and chitosan

• two-step process based on intermediate (template) particles produced via ionotropic gelation of chitosan with triphosphate (TPP), which are then incubated with HA, or B) through direct polyelectrolyte complexation of chitosan and HA. Here we demonstrate that HA is capable to quantitatively replace TPP

• in the template process and significant aggregation takes place during the TPP–HA exchange. The templated chitosan/HA nanoparticles therefore have a mildly larger size (measured by dynamic light scattering alone or by field flow fractionation coupled to static or dynamic light scattering), and above

Advanced hybrid nanomaterials

• Andreas Taubert,
• Fabrice Leroux,
• Pierre Rabu and
• Verónica de Zea Bermudez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2563–2567, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.247

• (ethylene oxide)-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PEO-b-PAA) and an oligo-chitosan-type polyamine was used as a structure-directing agent to prepare ordered mesoporous silica materials in the work “pH-mediated control over the mesostructure of ordered mesoporous materials templated by polyion complex micelles” [22

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

• , multicomponent conductive nanoarchitectured materials integrating halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and chitosan (CHI) have been developed. The resulting nanohybrid suspensions could be easily formed into films or foams, where each individual component plays a critical role in the

• ]. Interestingly, HNTs are known to maintain their ability to act as nanocontainers even when dispersed in a multicomponent system included in polymer matrices [22]. It has been observed that positively charged polymers such as chitosan (CHI) can electrostatically incorporate the previously loaded halloysite

• Figure 3A, while SEM images (Figure 3D,F) reveal that the components are uniformly distributed throughout the film and are organized as a compact particle assembly within the chitosan matrix. Furthermore, the film cross section (Figure 3F) displays the typical layered structure of films solvent-cast from

Scavenging of reactive oxygen species by phenolic compound-modified maghemite nanoparticles

• Małgorzata Świętek,
• Yi-Chin Lu,
• Rafał Konefał,
• Liliana P. Ferreira,
• M. Margarida Cruz,
• Yunn-Hwa Ma and
• Daniel Horák

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1073–1088, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.108

• Abstract Maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles obtained through co-precipitation and oxidation were coated with heparin (Hep) to yield γ-Fe2O3@Hep, and subsequently with chitosan that was modified with different phenolic compounds, including gallic acid (CS-G), hydroquinone (CS-H), and phloroglucinol (CS-P

• . In conclusion, the high cellular uptake and the antioxidant properties associated with the phenolic moieties in the modified particles allow for a potential application in biomedical areas. Keywords: antioxidants; chitosan; maghemite nanoparticles; oxidative stress; phenolic compound; Introduction

• ][10][11]. To enhance the antioxidant properties of inorganic particles, they should be surface-modified with antioxidants or antioxidant-modified polymers. These types of polymers include chitosan, which is a product of chitin deacetylation and is composed of D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine

Synthesis of novel C-doped g-C₃N₄ nanosheets coupled with CdIn₂S₄ for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

• Jingshuai Chen,
• Chang-Jie Mao,
• Helin Niu and
• Ji-Ming Song

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 912–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.92

• -light irradiation. Results and Discussion Preparation and characterization of photocatalysts The preparation procedure of CdIn2S4/CCN photocatalysts is demonstrated in Figure 1. Firstly, carbon-bridged g-C3N4 (CCN) was prepared by a simple supramolecular self-assembly process using melamine and chitosan

• deionized water with continuous stirring. Subsequently, 0.01 g of chitosan was dissolved in this solution. The resultant solution was stirred for 4 h at room temperature, and dried at 80 °C. Finally, the mixture was ground into powder and calcined at 550 °C for 4 h with a heating rate of 5 °C min−1 under

• air atmosphere. After cooling down to room temperature naturally, the obtained g-C3N4 product (CCN) was collected. For comparison, pure g-C3N4 was also prepared following the same steps without chitosan, which was labeled as g-C3N4. The CdIn2S4/CCN composites were synthesized via a hydrothermal method

The systemic effect of PEG-nGO-induced oxidative stress in vivo in a rodent model

• Qura Tul Ain,
• Samina Hyder Haq,
• Abeer Alshammari,
• Moudhi Abdullah Al-Mutlaq and
• Muhammad Naeem Anjum

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 901–911, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.91

• restricts its use for biomedical applications. Scientists have overcome this challenge through the oxidation of graphene by an improved Hummer’s method [3]. Graphene oxide (GO), due to its hydrophilic nature, can host a large number of biocompatible polymers, such as chitosan [4], polyethylene glycol (PEG

• a chitosan 3D scaffold and enhanced its bioactivity, mechanical properties, and pore formation with GO for optimal bone tissue engineering [15]. Zhang et al. improved the chemotherapy efficacy of anticancer drugs with polyethyleneimine (PEI)-grafted GO [16]. Liu et al. discussed the antibacterial

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

• functionalization with Fc, was tested first. The electrode was prepared by dispersing the carbon material in a 0.5 wt % chitosan solution. A layer of this chitosan composite was deposited on the GCE and a second layer of chitosan containing diaphorase was additionally deposited on the top. The GCE was used as the

• could have related the mode of oxidation (HNO3 or H2SO4) or the linker size for the ETGn spacer with the electrocatalytic response. The electrochemical response was most probably controlled by the availability of Fc on the surface, which mainly depended on the dispersion of the tubes in the chitosan

Cytotoxicity of doxorubicin-conjugated poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide]-modified γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles towards human tumor cells

• Zdeněk Plichta,
• Yulia Kozak,
• Rostyslav Panchuk,
• Viktoria Sokolova,
• Matthias Epple,
• Lesya Kobylinska,
• Pavla Jendelová and
• Daniel Horák

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2533–2545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.236

• high molecular weight, such as silica, chitosan, poly(amino acids), poly(acrylic acid), hyaluronic acid, alginic acid, poly(vinyl alcohol), polyethylenimine, dextran, or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) [10][11][12]. The latter one is known to escape recognition by reticuloendothelial system prolonging thus

Enhanced antineoplastic/therapeutic efficacy using 5-fluorouracil-loaded calcium phosphate nanoparticles

• Shanid Mohiyuddin,
• Saba Naqvi and
• Gopinath Packirisamy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2499–2515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.233

• with 5-FU and resulted in enhanced cellular uptake and efficacy [18]. Furthermore, a chitosan/gold nanocomposite was employed as a load carrier for 5-FU with an encapsulation efficiency of 96% [19]. Interestingly, monomeric self-assembled nucleoside nanoparticles (SNNPs) loaded with 5-FU were shown to

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

Electrodeposition of reduced graphene oxide with chitosan based on the coordination deposition method

• Mingyang Liu,
• Yanjun Chen,
• Chaoran Qin,
• Zheng Zhang,
• Shuai Ma,
• Xiuru Cai,
• Xueqian Li and
• Yifeng Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1200–1210, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.111

• ) with chitosan. In this method, a 2-hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride-based chitosan-modified rGO material was prepared. This material disperses homogenously in the chitosan solution, forming a deposition solution with good dispersion stability. Subsequently, the modified rGO material was

• deposited on an electrode through codeposition with chitosan, based on the coordination deposition method. After electrodeposition, the homogeneous, deposited rGO/chitosan films can be generated on copper or silver electrodes or substrates. The electrodeposition method allows for the convenient and

• controlled creation of rGO/chitosan nanocomposite coatings and films of different shapes and thickness. It also introduces a new method of creating films, as they can be peeled completely from the electrodes. Moreover, this method allows for a rGO/chitosan film to be deposited directly onto an electrode

Nanoparticle delivery to metastatic breast cancer cells by nanoengineered mesenchymal stem cells

• Liga Saulite,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 321–332, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.32

• natural compounds, such as chitosan and hyaluronic acid, or synthetic agents, such as polyHEMA and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) [14][36]. PolyHEMA has been widely used to induce spheroid formation in cancer cells and cells from healthy tissue [37][38]. Notably, the cell morphology and even phenotype changes

Liquid-crystalline nanoarchitectures for tissue engineering

• Baeckkyoung Sung and
• Min-Ho Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 205–215, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.22

• [36] and drug delivery systems [37]. For tissue regeneration, the mostly studied biomaterials are collagen and chitin, which are, respectively, protein-based and glucose-based biopolymers [38][39]. When denatured, collagen and chitin can be transformed into gelatin and chitosan, respectively, which

• cholesteric droplets of concentrated suspensions of α-chitin and chitosan have been reported [45], and nematic order was also confirmed in the solutions of collagen type IV [46]. Similarly, the cholesteric phase behavior of cellulose fibrils is well established. For all these cases, the isotropic–nematic

Luminescent supramolecular hydrogels from a tripeptide and nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots

• Maria C. Cringoli,
• Slavko Kralj,
• Marina Kurbasic,
• Massimo Urban and
• Silvia Marchesan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1553–1562, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.157

• environmental applications [12][13]. Carbohydrates such as chitosan [14][15], alginate [16], and agarose [7][17] hydrogels have also been used to incorporate CNDs. Only a very few studies have incorporated CNDs into supramolecular hydrogels obtained from low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs). Relative to

A biofunctionalizable ink platform composed of catechol-modified chitosan and reduced graphene oxide/platinum nanocomposite

• Peter Sobolewski,
• Agata Goszczyńska,
• Małgorzata Aleksandrzak,
• Karolina Urbaś,
• Joanna Derkowska,
• Agnieszka Bartoszewska,
• Jacek Podolski,
• Ewa Mijowska and
• Mirosława El Fray

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1508–1514, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.151

• , Szczecin, Poland 10.3762/bjnano.8.151 Abstract We present an ink platform for a printable polymer–graphene nanocomposite that is intended for the development of modular biosensors. The ink consists of catechol-modified chitosan and reduced graphene oxide decorated with platinum nanoparticles (rGO–Pt). We

• modified the chitosan with catechol groups, in order to obtain adhesive properties and improve solubility. Dispersions of rGO–Pt in ethylene glycol were admixed with an aqueous solution of modified chitosan to yield an ink that is suitable for non-contact piezoelectric printing using a commercial

• polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products and low non-specific binding. Our results demonstrate that catechol-modified chitosan/rGO–Pt nanocomposites can be used as inks for piezoelectric printing and facilitate the attachment of biorecognition elements for biosensor applications. Keywords: biosensing