Current Pharmaceutical Design - Volume 21, Issue 37, 2015

Material research and development studies are focused on different techniques of bringing out nanomaterials with desired characteristics and properties. From the point of view of materials development, nowadays scientists are strongly focused on obtaining materials with predefined characteristics and properties. The morphology control seems to be a determinant factor and increasing attention is devoted to this aspect. At this moment it is possible to engineer the material’s features by using different methods and materials combination for both medical and industrial applications. In the applications of chemistry and synthesis, biology, mechanics, optics solar cells and microelectronics tailoring the adjustable parameters of stoichiometry, chemical structure, shape and segregation are evaluated and opens new fields. Because of the magnetic features of nanoparticles and durable particle size, less than 100 nm, this study is aiming to describe their uses in practical applications. That’s why the whole hydrodynamic magnetic core shell topic will be reviewed on this paper. Additionally, the properties acting in general sight in solid-state physics are utilized for material selection and for defining issue connecting the core, shell structure and their producing properties. Here, in the study of core/shell nanoparticle various physical and chemical synthesis routes and the effect of electrospun method are briefly discussed. Starting from a real void of the scientific literature, the existent data related to the 1D magnetic electrospun materials are reviewed. The perspectives in the medical, environmental or energetic sector is great and bring some real advantages related to the 0D core@shell structures because both mechanical and biological properties are dependent on the morphology of the materials.

In recent years, engineered magnetic core-shell structures are playing an important role in the wide range of various applications. These magnetic core-shell structures have attracted considerable attention because of their unique properties and various applications. Also, the synthesis of engineered magnetic core-shell structures has attracted practical interest because of potential applications in areas such as ferrofluids, medical imaging, drug targeting and delivery, cancer therapy, separations, and catalysis. So far a large number of engineered magnetic coreshell structures have been successfully synthesized. This review article focuses on the recent progress in synthesis and characterization of engineered magnetic core-shell structures. Also, this review gives a brief description of the various application of these structures. It is hoped that this review will play some small part in helping future developments in important field.

Multifunctional nanoparticles based on magnetite/silica core-shell, consisting of iron oxides coated with silica matrix doped with fluorescent components such as organic dyes (fluorescein isothiocyanate - FITC, Rhodamine 6G) or quantum dots, have drawn remarkable attention in the last years. Due to the bi-functionality of these types of nanoparticles (simultaneously having magnetic and fluorescent properties), they are successfully used in highly efficient human stem cell labeling, magnetic carrier for photodynamic therapy, drug delivery, hyperthermia and other biomedical applications. Another application of core-shell-based nanoparticles, in which the silica is functionalized with aminosilanes, is for immobilization and separation of various biological entities such as proteins, antibodies, enzymes etc. as well as in environmental applications, as adsorbents for heavy metal ions. In vitro tests on human cancerous cells, such as A549 (human lung carcinoma), breast, human cervical cancer, THP-1 (human acute monocytic leukaemia) etc. , were conducted to assess the potential cytotoxic effects that may occur upon contact of nanoparticles with cancerous tissue. Results show that core-shell nanoparticles doped with cytostatics (cisplatin, doxorubicin, etc.), are easily adsorbed by affected tissue and in some cases lead to an inhibition of cell proliferation and induce cell death by apoptosis. The goal of this review is to summarize the advances in the field of core-shell materials, particularly those based on magnetite/silica with applicability in medicine and environmental protection. This paper briefly describes synthesis methods of silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles (Stöber method and microemulsion), the method of encapsulating functional groups based on aminosilanes in silica shell, as well as applications in medicine of these types of simple or modified nanoparticles for cancer therapy, MRI, biomarker immobilization, drug delivery, biocatalysis etc., and in environmental applications (removal of heavy metal ions and catalysis).

Magnetic materials based on iron oxides are extensively designed for several biomedical applications. Heterogeneous polymerization processes are powerful tools for the production of tailored micro-sized and nanosized magneto-polymeric particles. Although several polymerization processes have been adopted along the years, suspension, emulsion and miniemulsion systems deserve special attention due to its ability to produce spherical polymer particles containing magnetic nanoparticles homogeneously dispersed into the polymer thermoplastic matrices. The main objective of this paper is to review the main methods of synthesis of iron-based magnetic nanoparticles and to illustrate how typical polymerization processes in different dispersion medium can be successfully used to produce engineered magnetic core-shell structures. It is exemplified the use of suspension, emulsion and miniemulsion polymerization processes in order to support experimental methodologies required for the production of magnetic polymer particles intended for biomedical applications such as intravascular embolization treatments, drug delivery systems and hyperthermia treatment.

This review presents a comprehensive attempt to conclude and discuss various glucose biosensors based on core@shell magnetic nanomaterials. Owing to good biocompatibility and stability, the core@shell magnetic nanomaterials have found widespread applications in many fields and draw extensive attention. Most magnetic nanoparticles possess an intrinsic enzyme mimetic activity like natural peroxidases, which invests magnetic nanomaterials with great potential in the construction of glucose sensors. We summarize the synthesis of core@shell magnetic nanomaterials, fundamental theory of glucose sensor and the advances in glucose sensors based on core@shell magnetic nanomaterials. The aim of the review is to provide an overview of the exploitation of the core@shell magnetic nanomaterials for glucose sensors construction.

Magnetic nanoparticles with tailored surface chemistry are widely used for a number of different in vivo applications, ranging from tissue repair and magnetic cell separation through to cancer-hyperthermia, drug delivery and magnetic resonance imaging contrast enhancement. A major requirement for all these biomedical applications is that these nanoparticles must have high magnetization values and sizes smaller than 100 nm with a narrow particle size distribution. Thus nanoparticles must have uniform physical and chemical properties. For these applications, a tailored surface coating/shell needs to be engineered, which has to be non-toxic, biocompatible and make allowance for targetable drug delivery with particle localization in a targeted area. Most work in this field has been done on improving the biocompatibility of the nanoparticles. Only a few scientific investigations have been carried out on improving the quality of magnetic nanoparticles with specific focus on the nanoparticle’s surface chemistry, size distribution and shape (which directly influences the magnetic properties). All these particles also need to be properly characterized in order to get a protocol for the quality control of these particles, the nature of the surface coatings and their subsequent geometric arrangement. This will ultimately determine the overall size of the colloids and also plays a significant role in biokinetics and biodistribution of nanoparticles in the body. This review highlights recent advances in the synthetic chemistry, magnetic characterization and biological applications of inorganic/organic - core/shell FexOy based magnetic nanoparticles with specific focus on using the two popular surfactants for producing MNPs namely oleic acid and/or oleylamine as capping agents. Although the main nano-magnets under discussion are magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles, maghemite (γ-Fe2O3) is also briefly mentioned.

Magnetic nanoparticles are considered as the ideal substrate to selectively isolate target molecules or organisms from sample solutions in a wide variety of applications including bioassays, bioimaging and environmental chemistry. The broad array of these applications in fields requires the accurate magnetic characterization of nanoparticles for a variety of solution based-conditions. Because the freshly synthesized magnetic nanoparticles demonstrated a perfect magnetization value in solid form, they exhibited a different magnetic behavior in solution. Here, we present simple quantitative method for the measurement of magnetic mobility of nanoparticles in solution-based condition. Magnetic mobility of the nanoparticles was quantified with initial mobility of the particles using UV-vis absorbance spectroscopy in water, ethanol and MES buffer. We demonstrated the efficacy of this method through a systematic characterization of four different core-shell structures magnetic nanoparticles over three different surface modifications. The solid nanoparticles were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and saturation magnetization (Ms). The surfaces of the nanoparticles were functionalized with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid and bovine serum albumin BSA was selected as biomaterial. The effect of the surface modification and solution media on the stability of the nanoparticles was monitored by zeta potentials and hydrodynamic diameters of the nanoparticles. Results obtained from the mobility experiments indicate that the initial mobility was altered with solution media, surface functionalization, size and shape of the magnetic nanoparticle. The proposed method easily determines the interactions between the magnetic nanoparticles and their surrounding biological media, the magnetophoretic responsiveness of nanoparticles and the initial mobilities of the nanoparticles.

The fluorescent carbon dot (C-dot) is a new class of carbon nanomaterials. It has a discrete or quasispherical structure, typically measures less than 10 nm and contains sp2/sp3 carbon, oxygen/nitrogen-based groups and surface-modified functional groups. Compared with semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), C-dots offer much lower toxicity and a better biocompatibility profile. Their other favorable features include easy and inexpensive synthesis and surface modification potential. C-dots can be morphologically classified into graphene-based quantum dots (GQDs) and amorphous carbon nanodots (ACNDs). Numerous methods have been developed to synthesize C-dots, and are mainly divided into ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ routes. In the top-down route, C-dots (mostly GQDs) is derived from the separation of large carbon precursors. The ‘bottom-up’ method primarily involves the dehydration, polymerization and carbonization of small molecules to form the GQDs and ACNDs through thermal/hydrothermal synthesis, microwave irradiation, and solution chemistry. Potential applications of C-dots have been explored in a number of cellular and in-vivo imaging approaches. However, some difficulties remain, including limited penetration depth and poorly controlled in-vivo pharmacokinetics, which depends on multiple factors such as the morphology, physiochemical properties, surface chemistry and formulation of C-dots. The exact mechanism of in-vivo biodistribution, cellular uptake and long-term toxicological effect of C-dots still need to be elucidated. An integrated multi-disciplinary approach involving chemists, pharmacologists, toxicologists, clinicians, and regulatory bodies at the early stage is essential to enable the clinical application of C-dots.

Superparamagnetic iron oxides, as magnetite (Fe3O4) or maghemite (γ-Fe2O3), are primary materials with intrinsic properties that enable them, as single components or as special composites, to base advanced techniques in medical clinical practices, as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as magneticallyinduced hyperthermic heat generator, and as a magnetic guide to locally deliver drugs to specific sites in the human body. An interesting approach to developing nanoplatforms for those applications consists in manufacturing core@shell nanostructures, in which the precursor magnetic iron oxide (usually, magnetite) acts as a core, and an organic, or inorganic compound is used as a shell in a multifunctional composite. In this review, we report the current advances in the use of magnetite-based core@shell nanostructures, including Fe3O4@SiO2 and Fe3O4@polymers, in MRI, magnetic hyperthermia and drug delivery systems for diagnosis and therapy of tumor cells. The development of nanoplatforms for combined therapy and diagnostic (theranostic) is also addressed.

In this review, Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) has been focused as a novel molecular target for potential treatment of gliomas. The properties of NRP-1 were described briefly. The role of NRP-1 in gliomas was explored in details, including relationships of NRP-1 expression and glioma prognosis, Sema3A-NRP-1 signaling in gliomas, NRP-1 signaling and VEGF/VEGFR128;PlGF128;TGF-β128;PDGF128;LD22-4 of FGF2128;autocrine of HGF/SF128;p130Cas tyrosine phosphorylation and integrin-associated tumor microenvironment in gliomas, NRP-1 intracellular trafficking, NRP-1 and glioma stem-like cells, as well as magnetic nanoparticles related to targeting gliomas. NRP-1, a multifunctional-receptors protein, would mediate diverse cellular signaling pathways in gliomas, and might potentially act as a novel therapeutic target. In future, magnetic nanoparticles coated with NRP-1 may play a vital role on diagnosis and therapy of gliomas.