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

• widespread applications as drug delivery systems in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases [1][2]. Recently, upconversion nanoparticles have shown promise as optical materials [3] and a number of reviews [4][5][6] have described their applications in drug and gene delivery [7], cell labeling and

Electroviscous effect on fluid drag in a microchannel with large zeta potential

• Dalei Jing and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2207–2216, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.226

• -mechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS) have been realized and widely used. As a significant branch of MEMS/NEMS, micro/nanofluidic systems incorporating micro/nano pumps, valves, mixers, and channels have wide applications, such as micro heat exchangers, drug delivery systems, and lab-on-a-chip bioanalysis [1][2

Nanofibers for drug delivery – incorporation and release of model molecules, influence of molecular weight and polymer structure

• Jakub Hrib,
• Jakub Sirc,
• Radka Hobzova,
• Zuzana Hampejsova,
• Zuzana Bosakova,
• Marcela Munzarova and
• Jiri Michalek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1939–1945, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.198

• ; nanofibrous carriers; needle-free electrospinning; release kinetics; Introduction To date, numerous drug delivery systems have been developed, such as hydrogels that carry drugs or highly sophisticated electronic microchips [1][2]. The required release rates of the therapeutic agents depend on the medicinal

Atomic scale interface design and characterisation

• Carla Bittencourt,
• Chris Ewels and
• Arkady V. Krasheninnikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1708–1711, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.174

• , where these nanomaterials have been used as substrates for neural growth, as drug delivery systems and as electrodes for both extra cellular recordings and for in vivo recordings [21]. Finally, although carbon is often seen as the “poster child” of nanomaterials, it is important not to forget the

Analyzing collaboration networks and developmental patterns of nano-enabled drug delivery (NEDD) for brain cancer

• Ying Huang,
• Jing Ma,
• Alan L. Porter,
• Seokbeom Kwon and
• Donghua Zhu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1666–1676, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.169

• conjugates and so on [6][7][8]. Among these, the brain tumor-targeting drug delivery systems, which increase drug accumulation in the tumor region and reduce toxicity in the normal brain and peripheral tissue, are a promising new approach [9]. Collaboration fosters interactions between different actors

Structural and magnetic properties of iron nanowires and iron nanoparticles fabricated through a reduction reaction

• Marcin Krajewski,
• Wei Syuan Lin,
• Hong Ming Lin,
• Katarzyna Brzozka,
• Sabina Lewinska,
• Natalia Nedelko,
• Anna Slawska-Waniewska,
• Jolanta Borysiuk and
• Dariusz Wasik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1652–1660, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.167

• inexpensive, a lot of them are biocompatible and low-toxic, it makes them very interesting from an application point of view. So far, they have been applied in many biomedical applications including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast enhancements [1], direct drug delivery systems [2], hyperthermia

• different applications. For instance, in the case of drug delivery systems nanostructures need to exhibit rather superparamagnetic behaviour with low coercivity. On the other hand, in the case of magnetic recording media there are needed materials with a high value of coercivity. Thus, it is very important

Peptide-equipped tobacco mosaic virus templates for selective and controllable biomineral deposition

• Klara Altintoprak,
• Axel Seidenstücker,
• Alexander Welle,
• Sabine Eiben,
• Petia Atanasova,
• Nina Stitz,
• Alfred Plettl,
• Joachim Bill,
• Hartmut Gliemann,
• Holger Jeske,
• Dirk Rothenstein,
• Fania Geiger and
• Christina Wege

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1399–1412, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.145

• example, as a structural modifier or filler in rubber [1], food [2][3] or healthcare products [4], bioceramics for medical purposes [5], mesoporous nanoparticulate or tubular drug delivery systems as reviewed in [6], sensor surfaces [7], or biocatalytic formulations as reviewed in [8]. An important focus

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

• discussed drawbacks continue to be highlighted as major challenges in developing formulations for clinical use. To overcome some of these limitations, we propose drug delivery systems for new calcitriol formulations. These nanosystems, namely nanoparticles (NPs), must meet several requirements such as

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

• manifold. For example, nanomaterials find application in surgical implants to improve tissue formation or due to their antibacterial action, they may be useful for gene or drug delivery systems as well as diagnostic imaging tools [3][4][5][6][7]. On the other hand, due to the entirely new properties of NP

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

• carriers for proteins and pharmaceuticals to treat diseases by Bangham and Horne in the 1960s [1]. Since then, multidisciplinary researchers have been actively investigating advanced drug delivery systems by directing drugs and/or carriers with sustained release properties directly to a the specific site

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

• new drug delivery systems and predict functionalization-dependent health hazards that nanoparticles might exhibit. Polystyrene synthesis. Spinning disc confocal microscopy of acute monocytic leukemia THP-1 cells, differentiated THP-1 cells, and human macrophages. Cell membranes are stained with

Nanoencapsulation of ultra-small superparamagnetic particles of iron oxide into human serum albumin nanoparticles

• Matthias G. Wacker,
• Mahmut Altinok,
• Stephan Urfels and
• Johann Bauer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2259–2266, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.235

• Technische Universität Darmstadt, Technical Chemistry, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany Merck KGaA, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.5.235 Abstract Human serum albumin nanoparticles have been utilized as drug delivery systems for a variety of medical applications. Since ultra-small superparamagnetic

Imaging the intracellular degradation of biodegradable polymer nanoparticles

• Anne-Kathrin Barthel,
• Martin Dass,
• Melanie Dröge,
• Jens-Michael Cramer,
• Daniela Baumann,
• Markus Urban,
• Katharina Landfester,
• Volker Mailänder and
• Ingo Lieberwirth

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1905–1917, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.201

• ), University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Langenbeckstraße 1, 55131 Mainz, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.5.201 Abstract In recent years, the development of smart drug delivery systems based on biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles has become of great interest. Drug-loaded nanoparticles

• is not to be expected. Therefore, the degradation behavior of nano-sized PLLA materials should be very interesting as many drug delivery systems are currently being investigated for their use in vitro and in vivo. Investigations of in vivo degradation of PLLA are currently restricted to at least

• , biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles are a promising vehicle for smart drug delivery systems and to this regard, it is even more important to examine intracellular degradation dynamics of these bio-polymers. The objective of this work is to follow the fate of intracellular PLLA nanoparticles over a long time

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

• localise in the lungs, liver and spleen [79], and that the urinary system excrete them [80]. Hydrogels and thin-films based on NDs have also been used as drug delivery systems by virtue of their ease of surface functionalisation and small size. They have been reported for successfully delivering several

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

• ]. SiO2 nanoparticles are employed in the fabrication of electric and thermal insulators [6], as drug-delivery systems in nanomedicine [7][8], as anticaking and thickener agents in food production [9][10], as well as in cosmetics, drugs and printer toners [11]. Human exposure to these nanoparticles arises

Nanodiamond-DGEA peptide conjugates for enhanced delivery of doxorubicin to prostate cancer

• Amanee D Salaam,
• Patrick Hwang,
• Roberus McIntosh,
• Hadiyah N Green,
• Ho-Wook Jun and
• Derrick Dean

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 937–945, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.107

• targeted drug delivery systems can provide an avenue to overcome these issues. Nanodiamonds (ND), in particular, have been researched over the past five years for use in various drug delivery systems but minimal work has been done that incorporates targeting capability. In this study, a novel targeted drug

Morphological characterization of fullerene–androsterone conjugates

• Alberto Ruiz,
• Margarita Suárez,
• Nazario Martin,
• Fernando Albericio and
• Hortensia Rodríguez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 374–379, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.43

• ][7], nucleotides, sugars and steroids [8][9], have allowed the solubilization of these hybrid derivatives in aqueous media, thus enhancing certain biological activities. For the potential use of C60 derivatives as drug delivery systems, the size of the particles is important. In general, fast drug

Extracellular biosynthesis of gadolinium oxide (Gd₂O₃) nanoparticles, their biodistribution and bioconjugation with the chemically modified anticancer drug taxol

• Shadab Ali Khan,
• Sanjay Gambhir and
• Absar Ahmad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 249–257, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.27

• fungus based approach for the synthesis of this material for the first time. We show that the thermophilic fungus Humicola sp. can be used for the synthesis of Gd2O3 nanoparticles at 50 °C. Since Gd2O3 nanoparticles have proved their value in site-specific drug delivery systems for cancer therapy, we

• relaxation, and can be useful as a multimodal contrast agent for in vivo imaging [5]. It can also be easily doped with other lanthanides and exploited as a fluorescent tag, thus replacing other fluorescent organic molecules. Gadolinium oxide nanoparticles are also employed in site-specific drug delivery

• systems for cancer therapy. Gadolinium compounds are used in neutron capture therapy (NCT) as an alternative for boron-10 [6][7]. NCT is mainly associated with tumor-specific delivery systems and involves the production of localized cytotoxic radiations by a non-radioactive nuclide delivered to tumor

En route to controlled catalytic CVD synthesis of densely packed and vertically aligned nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube arrays

• Slawomir Boncel,
• Sebastian W. Pattinson,
• Valérie Geiser,
• Milo S. P. Shaffer and
• Krzysztof K. K. Koziol

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 219–233, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.24

• be used as high surface area electrodes. Apart from this, the ‘bamboo’-like N-CNTs obtained here could provide a new opening in drug delivery systems due to their rigid ‘needle-like’ morphology. These N-CNTs with a high content of ferromagnetic nanoparticles could potentially serve as magnetically