An Approach for Magnetic Halloysite Nanocomposite with Selective Loading of Superparamagnetic Magnetite Nanoparticles in the Lumen

A sustainable gateway to access 1,8-dioxo-octahydroxanthene scaffolds via a surface-engineered halloysite-based magnetically responsive catalyst

A covalently modified, surface-engineered Cu(ii)@DCH@CPTMS@MHNT nanocatalyst is synthesized, which showed incredible catalytic activity in accessing a library of xanthene scaffolds.

Multifunctional Electrospun Nanofibers Based on Biopolymer Blends and Magnetic Tubular Halloysite for Medical Applications

Tubular halloysite (HNT) is a naturally occurring aluminosilicate clay with a unique combination of natural availability, good biocompatibility, high mechanical strength, and functionality. This study explored the effects of magnetically responsive halloysite (MHNT) on the structure, morphology, chemical composition, and magnetic and mechanical properties of electrospun nanofibers based on polycaprolactone (PCL) and gelatine (Gel) blends. MHNT was prepared via a simple modification of HNT with a perchloric-acid-stabilized magnetic fluid–methanol mixture. PCL/Gel nanofibers containing 6, 9, and 12 wt.% HNT and MHNT were prepared via an electrospinning process, respecting the essential rules for medical applications. The structure and properties of the prepared nanofibers were studied using infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and electron microscopy (SEM, STEM) along with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), magnetometry, and mechanical analysis. It was found that the incorporation of the studied concentrations of MHNT into PCL/Gel nanofibers led to soft magnetic biocompatible materials with a saturation magnetization of 0.67 emu/g and coercivity of 15 Oe for nanofibers with 12 wt.% MHNT. Moreover, by applying both HNT and MHNT, an improvement of the nanofibers structure was observed, together with strong reinforcing effects. The greatest improvement was observed for nanofibers containing 9 wt.% MHNT when increases in tensile strength reached more than two-fold and the elongation at break reached a five-fold improvement.

Application of Halloysite Nanotubes in Cancer Therapy-A Review

Halloysite, a nanoclay characterized by a unique, tubular structure, with oppositely charged interior and exterior, suitable, nanometric-range size, high biocompatibility, and low cost, is recently gaining more and more interest as an important and versatile component of various biomaterials and delivery systems of biomedical relevance. One of the most recent, significant, and intensely studied fields in which halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) found diverse applications is cancer therapy. Even though this particular direction is mentioned in several more general reviews, it has never so far been discussed in detail. In our review, we offer an extended survey of the literature on that particular aspect of the biomedical application of HNTs. While historical perspective is also given, our paper is focused on the most recent developments in this field, including controlled delivery and release of anticancer agents and nucleic acids by HNT-based systems, targeting cancer cells using HNT as a carrier, and the capture and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with nanostructured or magnetic HNT surfaces. The overview of the most up-to-date knowledge on the HNT interactions with cancer cells is also given.

From Single-Core Nanoparticles in Ferrofluids to Multi-Core Magnetic Nanocomposites: Assembly Strategies, Structure, and Magnetic Behavior

Iron oxide nanoparticles are the basic components of the most promising magnetoresponsive nanoparticle systems for medical (diagnosis and therapy) and bio-related applications. Multi-core iron oxide nanoparticles with a high magnetic moment and well-defined size, shape, and functional coating are designed to fulfill the specific requirements of various biomedical applications, such as contrast agents, heating mediators, drug targeting, or magnetic bioseparation. This review article summarizes recent results in manufacturing multi-core magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) systems emphasizing the synthesis procedures, starting from ferrofluids (with single-core MNPs) as primary materials in various assembly methods to obtain multi-core magnetic particles. The synthesis and functionalization will be followed by the results of advanced physicochemical, structural, and magnetic characterization of multi-core particles, as well as single- and multi-core particle size distribution, morphology, internal structure, agglomerate formation processes, and constant and variable field magnetic properties. The review provides a comprehensive insight into the controlled synthesis and advanced structural and magnetic characterization of multi-core magnetic composites envisaged for nanomedicine and biotechnology.