Magnetic nanoparticles: recent developments in drug delivery system

Advanced strategies for CRISPR/Cas9 delivery and applications in gene editing, therapy, and cancer detection using nanoparticles and nanocarriers

Cancer remains one of the deadliest diseases, and is characterised by the uncontrolled growth of modified human cells. Unlike infectious diseases, cancer does not originate from foreign agents. Though a variety of diagnostic procedures are available; their cost-effectiveness and accessibility create significant hurdles. Non-specific cancer symptoms further complicate early detection, leading to belated recognition of certain cancer. The lack of reliable biomarkers hampers effective treatment, as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery often result in poor outcomes and high recurrence rates. Genetic and epigenetic mutations play a crucial role in cancer pathogenesis, necessitating the development of alternate treatment methods. The advent of CRISPR/Cas9 technology has transformed molecular biology and exhibits potential for gene modification and therapy in various cancer types. Nonetheless, obstacles such as safe transport, off-target consequences, and potency must be overcome before widespread clinical use. Notably, this review delves into the multifaceted landscape of cancer research, highlighting the pivotal role of nanoparticles in advancing CRISPR/Cas9-based cancer interventions. By addressing the challenges associated with cancer diagnosis and treatment, this integrated approach paves the way for innovative solutions and improved patient outcomes.

Green synthesis of iron nanoparticles: Sources and multifarious biotechnological applications

Green synthesis of iron nanoparticles is a highly fascinating research area and has gained importance due to reliable, sustainable and ecofriendly protocol for synthesizing nanoparticles, along with the easy availability of plant materials and their pharmacological significance. As an alternate to physical and chemical synthesis, the biological materials, like microorganisms and plants are considered to be less costly and environment-friendly. Iron nanoparticles with diverse morphology and size have been synthesized using biological extracts. Microbial (bacteria, fungi, algae etc.) and plant extracts have been employed in green synthesis of iron nanoparticles due to the presence of various metabolites and biomolecules. Physical and biochemical properties of biologically synthesized iron nanoparticles are superior to that are synthesized using physical and chemical agents. Iron nanoparticles have magnetic property with thermal and electrical conductivity. Iron nanoparticles below a certain size (generally 10-20 nm), can exhibit a unique form of magnetism called superparamagnetism. They are non-toxic and highly dispersible with targeted delivery, which are suitable for efficient drug delivery to the target. Green synthesized iron nanoparticles have been explored for multifarious biotechnological applications. These iron nanoparticles exhibited antimicrobial and anticancerous properties. Iron nanoparticles adversely affect the cell viability, division and metabolic activity. Iron nanoparticles have been used in the purification and immobilization of various enzymes/proteins. Iron nanoparticles have shown potential in bioremediation of various organic and inorganic pollutants. This review describes various biological sources used in the green synthesis of iron nanoparticles and their potential applications in biotechnology, diagnostics and mitigation of environmental pollutants.

Imaging of Magnetic Nanoparticles With Permeability Tomography

Magnetic nanoparticles are being increasingly used in numerous biomedical applications for diagnosis and therapy. During the course of these applications nanoparticle biodegradation and body clearance may occur. In this context, a portable, non-invasive, non-destructive and contactless imaging device can be relevant to trace the nanoparticle distribution before and after the medical procedure. We present a method for in vivo imaging the nanoparticles based on the magnetic induction technique, and we show how to properly tune it for magnetic permeability tomography, maximizing the permeability selectivity. A tomograph prototype was designed and built to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method. It includes data collection, signal processing and image reconstruction. Useful selectivity and resolution are achieved on phantoms and animals, proving that the device can be used to monitor the presence of magnetic nanoparticles without requiring any particular sample preparation. By this way, we show that magnetic permeability tomography may become a powerful technique to assist medical procedures.

Self-regulated cobalt zinc ferrite system as a potential nanoplatform for the synergistic effect of hyperthermia-chemo agent for cancer therapy

Magnetic hyperthermia (MH) has been studied for almost seventy-five years, but its efficacy in clinical applications is still fiercely contested. Despite this, few magnetic nanosystems are approved for clinical usage due to their strong affinity as drug carriers. The most important condition for hyperthermia applications for successful cancer therapy is magnetic nanoparticles with a controlled heating pattern (42-46 °C) for a prolonged timeframe. In the current study, cobalt-zinc nanoferrites (MNPs) having a Curie temperature of 46 ℃ with a tunable heating profile was loaded with Doxorubicin (DOX) through a surface conjugation technique (DOX-Cs-MNPs), and characterized by using multiple techniques. The magnetic hyterises (M-H) curves revealed the occurrence of superparamagnetism in the MNPs with extremely low coercivity; further, the DOX-loaded nanoparticles exhibited enhanced saturation magnetization. More importantly, the MNPs showed that they could maintain a therapeutic temperature for an indefinite amount of time. High drug loading affinity (86 %) was observed on MNPs with pH and temperature-controlled release. Under in vitro conditions, the biocompatible DOX-Cs-MNPs caused substantial apoptosis in MCF-7 cells (72 %) with overall cell death of < 95 %. The distinctive MNPs thus have the potential to be used in clinical applications.

A Detailed Review on Synthesis, Functionalization, Application, Challenges, and Current Status of Magnetic Nanoparticles in the Field of Drug Delivery and Gene Delivery System

For progression of health care system, it has always been a challenge to the researchers for formulation to a type of advanced drug delivery system which will have less toxicity, targeted delivery and will be highly biodegradable. Nano science or nanotechnology has been validated to be a successful method as of targeting the drug to its active site be due to its special physicochemical properties and size thereby reducing the dose of administration, increasing bioavailability, and also reducing toxicity. Magnetic nanoparticles recently in few decades have proved as an effective advanced drug delivery system for its elevated magnetic responsiveness, biocompatibility, elevated targeted drug delivery effectiveness, etc. The drug can be easily targeted to active site by application of external magnetic field. Among the various elements, nanoparticles prepared with magnetically active iron oxide or other iron-based spinel oxide nanoparticles are widely used due to its high electrical resistivity, mechanical hardness, chemical stability, etc. Owing to their easy execution towards drug delivery application, extensive research has been carried out in this area. This review paper has summarized all recent modifications of iron-based magnetically active nanoparticle based drug delivery system along with their synthesis, characterization, and applications.

Recent Trends and Developments in Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Cancer Theranostics

Conventional anticancer treatments, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, have significantly improved cancer therapy. Nevertheless, the existing traditional anticancer treatments have been reported to cause serious side effects and resistance to cancer and even to severely affect the quality of life of cancer survivors, which indicates the utmost urgency to develop effective and safe anticancer treatments. As the primary focus of cancer nanotheranostics, nanomaterials with unique surface chemistry and shape have been investigated for integrating cancer diagnostics with treatment techniques, including guiding a prompt diagnosis, precise imaging, treatment with an effective dose, and real-time supervision of therapeutic efficacy. Several theranostic nanosystems have been explored for cancer diagnosis and treatment in the past decade. However, metal-based nanotheranostics continue to be the most common types of nonentities. Consequently, the present review covers the physical characteristics of effective metallic, functionalized, and hybrid nanotheranostic systems. The scope of coverage also includes the clinical advantages and limitations of cancer nanotheranostics. In light of these viewpoints, future research directions exploring the robustness and clinical viability of cancer nanotheranostics through various strategies to enhance the biocompatibility of theranostic nanoparticles are summarised.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking propulsion of chemically coated magnetic microparticles

Chemically coated micro/nanoparticles are often used in medicine to enhance drug delivery and increase drug up-take into specific areas of the body. Using a recently discovered spontaneous symmetry breaking propulsion mechanism, we demonstrate that chemically coated microparticles can swim through mucus solution under precise navigation and that certain functionalizations can dynamically change propulsion behavior. For this investigation biotin, Bitotin-PEG3-amine, and biotin chitosan were chemically functionalized onto the surfaces of magnetic microparticles using an avidin-biotin complex. These chemicals were chosen because they are used prolifically in drug delivery applications, with PEG and chitosan having well known mucoadhesive effects. Coated microparticles were then suspended in mucus synthesized from porcine stomach mucins and propelled using rotating magnetic fields. The relationship between different chemical coatings, microparticle velocity, and controllability were thoroughly explored and discussed. Results indicate that the biotinylated surface coatings altered the propulsion behavior of microparticles, with performance differences interlinked to both magnetic field properties and localized mucus properties. Precisely controlled drug carrying microparticles are envisioned to help supplant traditional drug delivery methods and enhance existing medical techniques utilizing micro/nanoparticles.

Cellulose nanofibers as Scaffold-forming materials for thin film drug delivery systems

We explored the potential of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) for designing prolonged-release, thin-film drug delivery systems (TF-DDS). These delivery systems can be used as locally deployable drug-releasing scaffolds for achieving spatial and temporal control over therapeutic concentration in target tissues. Using doxorubicin (DOX) as a model anticancer drug, CNF-based TF-DDS were prepared using different film-formation processes, such as solvent casting and lyophilization. Formulations were prepared with or without the incorporation of additional macromolecular additives, such as gelatin, to include further biomechanical functionality. We studied the films for their mechanical properties, thermal stability, wettability, porosity and in vitro drug release properties. Our experimental results showed that CNF-based films, when prepared via solvent casting method, showed optimized performance in terms of DOX loading, and prolonged-release than those prepared via lyophilization-based fabrication processes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the CNF-based films showed uniform distribution of fiber entanglement, which provided the scaffolds with sufficient porosity and tortuosity contributing to the sustained release of the drug from the delivery system. We also observed that surface layering of gelatin on CNF films via dip-coating significantly increased the mechanical strength and reduced the wettability of the films, and as such, affected drug release kinetics. The performance of the TF-DDS was evaluated in-vitro against two pancreatic cancer cell lines, i.e. MIA PaCa-2 and PANC-1. We observed that, along with the enhancement of mean dissolution time (MDT) of DOX, CNF-based TF-DDS were able to suppress the proliferation of pancreatic cancer cells in a time-dependent fashion, indicating that the drug liberated from the films were therapeutically active against cancer cells. Additionally, TF-DDS were also tested ex-vivo on patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). We observed that DOX released from the TF-DDS was able to reduce Ki-67 positive, pancreatic cancer cells in these models.

Smart Magnetic Nanocarriers for Multi-Stimuli On-Demand Drug Delivery

In this study, we report the realization of drug-loaded smart magnetic nanocarriers constituted by superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles encapsulated in a dual pH- and temperature-responsive poly (N-vinylcaprolactam-co-acrylic acid) copolymer to achieve highly controlled drug release and localized magnetic hyperthermia. The magnetic core was constituted by flower-like magnetite nanoparticles with a size of 16.4 nm prepared by the polyol approach, with good saturation magnetization and a high specific absorption rate. The core was encapsulated in poly (N-vinylcaprolactam-co-acrylic acid) obtaining magnetic nanocarriers that revealed reversible hydration/dehydration transition at the acidic condition and/or at temperatures above physiological body temperature, which can be triggered by magnetic hyperthermia. The efficacy of the system was proved by loading doxorubicin with very high encapsulation efficiency (>96.0%) at neutral pH. The double pH- and temperature-responsive nature of the magnetic nanocarriers facilitated a burst, almost complete release of the drug at acidic pH under hyperthermia conditions, while a negligible amount of doxorubicin was released at physiological body temperature at neutral pH, confirming that in addition to pH variation, drug release can be improved by hyperthermia treatment. These results suggest this multi-stimuli-sensitive nanoplatform is a promising candidate for remote-controlled drug release in combination with magnetic hyperthermia for cancer treatment.

Magnetic Nanoparticles in Medicine: Progress, Problems, and Advances

The review presents an analysis of the current state of research related to the design, development, and practical application of methods for biomedical radioelectronics and nanomedicine, including the use of magnetic nanoparticles. The important role of rational scientific physical approaches and experimental methods in the design of efficient and safe magnetic nanoparticle-based agents for therapy, controlled targeted drug delivery, and diagnostics, including spatial imaging, is emphasized. Examples of successful practical application of magnetic nanoparticles in medicine based on these methods are given, and an analysis of the main problems and prospects of this area of science is conducted.

An Overview of Micronanoswarms for Biomedical Applications

Micronanoswarms have attracted extensive attention worldwide due to their great promise in biomedical applications. The collective behaviors among thousands, or even millions, of tiny active agents indicate immense potential for benefiting the progress of clinical therapeutic and diagnostic methods. In recent years, with the development of smart materials, remote actuation modalities, and automatic control strategies, the motion dexterity, environmental adaptability, and functionality versatility of micronanoswarms are improved. Swarms can thus be designed as dexterous platforms inside living bodies to perform a multitude of tasks related to healthcare. Existing surveys summarize the design, functionalization, and biomedical applications of micronanorobots and the actuation and motion control strategies of micronanoswarms. This review presents the recent progress of micronanoswarms, aiming for biomedical applications. The recent advances on structural design of artificial, living, and hybrid micronanoswarms are summarized, and the biomedical applications that could be tackled using micronanoswarms are introduced, such as targeted drug delivery, hyperthermia, imaging and sensing, and thrombolysis. Moreover, potential challenges and promising trends of future developments are discussed. It is envisioned that the future success of these promising tools will have a significant impact on clinical treatment.

Breast cancer drug delivery by novel drug-loaded chitosan-coated magnetic nanoparticles

Background

Breast cancer is one of the most challenging cancers among women which is considered one of the most lethal cancers to this date. From the time that cancer has been discovered, finding the best therapeutic method is still an ongoing process. As a novel therapeutic method, nanomedicine has brought a vast number of materials that could versatilely be used as a drug carrier. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel black pomegranate peel extract loaded with chitosan-coated magnetic nanoparticles to treat breast cancer cells.

Results

The morphology and size distribution of the nanoparticles studied by dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, scanning, and transitional electron microscopy showed the spherical shape of the nanoparticles and their promising size range. Studies by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer, and zeta sizer confirmed the synthesis, substantial crystallinity, magnetic potential of the nanoparticles, and their satisfactory stability. The DPPH assay revealed that the obtained black pomegranate peel extract has 60% free radical scavenging activity. The cytotoxicity studies by MTT and LDH assay carried out on NIH/3T3, MBA-MB-231, and 4T1 cells confirmed that the magnetic nanoparticles had no significant cytotoxicity on the cells. However, the drug-loaded nanoparticles could significantly eradicate cancerous cells which had more efficiency comparing to free drug. Furthermore, free drug and drug-loaded nanoparticles had no toxic effect on normal cells.

Conclusion

Owing to the results achieved from this study, the novel drug-loaded nanoparticles are compatible to be used for breast cancer treatment and could potentially be used for further in vivo studies.

Chitosan, Polyethylene Glycol and Polyvinyl Alcohol Modified MgFe2O4 Ferrite Magnetic Nanoparticles in Doxorubicin Delivery: A Comparative Study In Vitro

Cancer-based magnetic theranostics has gained significant interest in recent years and can contribute as an influential archetype in the effective treatment of cancer. Owing to their excellent biocompatibility, minute sizes and reactive functional surface groups, magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are being explored as potential drug delivery systems. In this study, MgFe₂O₄ ferrite MNPs were evaluated for their potential to augment the delivery of the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). These MNPs were successfully synthesized by the glycol-thermal method and functionalized with the polymers; chitosan (CHI), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylene glycol (PEG), respectively, as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of the single-phase cubic spinel structures while vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis confirmed the superparamagnetic properties of all MNPs. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) revealed small, compact structures with good colloidal stability. CHI-MNPs had the highest DOX encapsulation (84.28%), with the PVA-MNPs recording the lowest encapsulation efficiency (59.49%). The 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) cytotoxicity assays conducted in the human embryonic kidney (HEK293), colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2), and breast adenocarcinoma (SKBR-3) cell lines showed that all the drug-free polymerized MNPs promoted cell survival, while the DOX loaded MNPs significantly reduced cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. The DOX-CHI-MNPs possessed superior anticancer activity (<40% cell viability), with approximately 85.86% of the drug released after 72 h in a pH-responsive manner. These MNPs have shown good potential in enhancing drug delivery, thus warranting further optimizations and investigations.

Non-magnetic shell coating of magnetic nanoparticles as key factor of toxicity for cancer cells in a low frequency alternating magnetic field

This work is devoted to studying the effects of non-magnetic shell coating on nanoparticles in a low frequency alternating magnetic field (LF AMF) on tumor cells in vitro. Two types of iron oxide nanoparticles with the same magnetic core with and without silica shells were synthesized. Nanoparticles with silica shells significantly decreased the viability of PC3 cancer cells in a low frequency alternating magnetic field according to the cytotoxicity test, unlike uncoated nanoparticles. We showed that cell death results from the intracellular membrane integrity failure, and the calcium ions concentration increase with the subsequent necrosis. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that the uncoated silica nanoparticles are primarily found in an aggregated form in cells. We believe that uncoated nanoparticles lose their colloidal stability in an acidic endosomal environment after internalization into the cell due to surface etching and the formation of aggregates. As a result, they encounter high endosomal macromolecular viscosity and become unable to rotate efficiently. We assume that effective rotation of nanoparticles causes cell death. In turn, silica shell coating increases nanoparticles stability, preventing aggregation in endosomes. Thus, we propose that the colloidal stability of magnetic nanoparticles inside cells is one of the key factors for effective magneto-mechanical actuation.

Magnetic nanoparticles for cancer theranostics: Advances and prospects

Cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Nanoparticles have been broadly studied and emerged as a novel approach in diagnosis and treatment of tumors. Over the last decade, researches have significantly improved magnetic nanoparticle (MNP)'s theranostic potential as nanomedicine for cancer. Newer MNPs have various advantages such as wider operating temperatures, smaller sizes, lower toxicity, simpler preparations and lower production costs. With a series of unique and superior physical and chemical properties, MNPs have great potential in medical applications. In particular, using MNPs as probes for medical imaging and carriers for targeted drug delivery systems. While MNPs are expected to be the future of cancer diagnosis and precision drug delivery, more research is still required to minimize their toxicity and improve their efficacy. An ideal MNP for clinical applications should be precisely engineered to be stable to act as tracers or deliver drugs to the targeted sites, release drug components only at the targeted sites and have minimal health risks. Our review aims to consolidate the recent improvements in MNPs for clinical applications as well as discuss the future research prospects and potential of MNPs in cancer theranostics.

Nano-based drug delivery systems used as vehicles to enhance polyphenols therapeutic effect for diabetes mellitus treatment

Diabetes mellitus is one of the biggest health emergencies of the 21^st century worldwide, characterized by deficiency in insulin secretion and/or action, leading to hyperglycemia. Despite the currently available antidiabetic therapeutic options, 4.2 million people died in 2019 due to diabetes. Thus, new effective interventions are required. Polyphenols are plant secondary metabolites and have been recognized for their vast number of biological activities, including potential antidiabetic effects. However, the poor bioavailability and high metabolization of polyphenols restrict their biological effects in vivo. Nanotechnology is a promising area of research to improve the therapeutic effect of several compounds. Therefore, this review provides an overview of the literature about the utility of nano-based drug delivery systems as vehicles of polyphenols in diabetes treatment. It was possible to conclude that, in general, nano-based drug delivery systems can potentiate the beneficial antidiabetic properties of polyphenols, when compared with the free compounds, opening a new field of research in diabetology.

Application of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Based on Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticles in the Treatment of Cerebrovascular Diseases

Due to its high stability and excellent performance, inorganic nanomaterials have attracted much attention in the research of disease diagnosis and treatment. Focusing on inorganic nanomaterials, high-temperature pyrolysis has been used to successfully prepare Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles with different particle sizes. The diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease have advanced, and many new diagnostic methods have been adopted clinically. In this paper, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle magnetic resonance imaging technology is used to explore the application of magnetic Fe₃O₄ inorganic nanomaterials in cerebrovascular diseases in vivo. The results show that SWI has higher sensitivity and semi-quantitative advantages than traditional T2WI imaging technology. With different critical SWI concentrations, this article lays the experimental foundation for the clinical progress of inorganic nanomaterials and plays an important role in the treatment of cerebrovascular diseases.

Safety Considerations of Cancer Nanomedicine-A Key Step toward Translation

The rate of translational effort of nanomedicine requires strategic planning of nanosafety research in order to enable clinical trials and safe use of nanomedicine in patients. Herein, the experiences that have emerged based on the safety data of classic liposomal formulations in the space of oncology are discussed, along with a description of the new challenges that need to be addressed according to the rapid expansion of nanomedicine platform beyond liposomes. It is valuable to consider the combined use of predictive toxicological assessment supported by deliberate investigation on aspects such as absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) and toxicokinetic profiles, the risk that may be introduced during nanomanufacture, unique nanomaterials properties, and nonobvious nanosafety endpoints, for example. These efforts will allow the generation of investigational new drug-enabling safety data that can be incorporated into a rational infrastructure for regulatory decision-making. Since the safety assessment relates to nanomaterials, the investigation should cover the important physicochemical properties of the material that may lead to hazards when the nanomedicine product is utilized in humans.

Implant-based direction of magnetic nanoporous silica nanoparticles - influence of macrophage depletion and infection

Implant associated infections are still key problem in surgery. In the present study, the combination of a magnetic implant with administered magnetic nanoporous silica nanoparticles as potential drug carriers was examined in mice in dependence of local infection and macrophages as influencing factors. Four groups of mice (with and without implant infection and with and without macrophage depletion) received a magnet on the left and a titanium control on the right hind leg. Then, fluorescent nanoparticles were administered and particle accumulations at implant surfaces and in inner organs as well as local tissue reactions were analyzed. Magnetic nanoparticles could be found at the surfaces of magnetic implants in different amounts depending on the treatment groups and only rarely at titanium surfaces. Different interactions of magnetic implants, particles, infection and surrounding tissues occurred. The general principle of targeted accumulation of magnetic nanoparticles could be proven.

Nanomaterials for Autophagy-Related miRNA-34a Delivery in Cancer Treatment

Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved physiological process with a fundamental role during development, differentiation, and survival of eukaryotic cells. On the other hand, autophagy dysregulation is observed in many pathological conditions, including cancer. In particular, tumor growth and progression are accompanied and promoted by increased autophagy that allows cancer cells to escape apoptosis and to proliferate also in harsh microenvironments. It is, therefore, clear that the impairment of the autophagic process may represent a valid strategy to inhibit or reduce cancer growth and progression. Among the plethora of molecular players controlling cancer growth, a group of small endogenous noncoding RNAs called microRNAs (miRNAs) has recently emerged. In fact, miRNAs can act as either oncogenes or oncosuppressors depending on their target genes. Moreover, among miRNAs, miRNA-34a has been connected with both tumor repression and autophagy regulation, and its expression is frequently lost in many cancers. Therefore, enforced expression of miRNA-34a in cancer cells may represent a valid strategy to reduce cancer growth. However, such strategy is limited by the fast biodegradation and short half-life of miRNA-34a and by the lack of an efficient intracellular delivery system. The following review describes the autophagic process and its role in cancer as well as the role of miRNAs in general and miRNA-34a in particular in regulating tumor growth by modulating autophagy. Finally, we describe the use of nanoparticles as a promising strategy to selectively deliver miRNA-34a to tumor cells for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.

Recent advances of two-dimensional materials in smart drug delivery nano-systems

Smart drug delivery nano-systems show significant changes in their physical or chemical properties in response to slight change in environmental physical and/or chemical signals, and further releasing drugs adjusted to the progression of the disease at the right target and rate intelligently. Two-dimensional materials possess dramatic status extend all over various scientific and technological disciplines by reason of their exceptional unique properties in application of smart drug delivery nano-systems. In this review, we summarized current progress to highlight various kinds of two-dimensional materials drug carriers which are widely explored in smart drug delivery systems as well as classification of stimuli responsive two-dimensional materials and the advantages and disadvantages of their applications. Consequently, we anticipate that this review might inspire the development of new two-dimensional materials with smart drug delivery systems, and deepen researchers' understanding of smart nano-carries based on two-dimensional materials.

Iron-Based Nanozymes in Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

Iron-based nanozymes are currently one of the few clinical inorganic nanoparticles for disease diagnosis and treatment. Overcoming the shortcomings of natural enzymes, such as easy inactivation and low yield, combined with their special nanometer properties and magnetic functions, iron-based nanozymes have broad prospects in biomedicine. This minireview summarizes their preparation, biological activity, catalytic mechanism, and applications in diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Finally, challenges to their future development and the trends of iron-based nanozymes are discussed. The purpose of this minireview is to better understand and reasonably speculate on the rational design of iron-based nanozymes as an increasingly important new paradigm for diagnostics.

A multiparametric model for the industrialization of co-precipitation synthesis of nano-commodities

Magnetite superparamagnetic nanoparticles (MNP) are becoming one of the firsts nanocommodity products. MNP find a number of applications and they are been produced at relatively large scale. The co-precipitation method presents many technical and economical advantages among alternative processes. However, the relationships between physical and chemical reaction conditions during the co-precipitation process and the resulting properties of obtained MNP are not yet fully understood. The novelty of this contribution is the establishment of the cross-dependency effects of the main physical and chemical parameters of the co-precipitation reaction on the properties of resulting MNP. The conditions were varied by following an experimental design. The crystallite size, particle size and magnetization of the MNP and the Z-potential and size of their aggregates were selected as main response properties. A set of equations in the form of 4D surface responses in the space of co-precipitation process variables was obtained and analyzed in terms of the resulting properties. The set of equations is useful to predict, optimize and tailor very precisely the properties of resulting MNP as a function of reaction conditions.

<p>Recent Advances of Magnetic Nanomaterials in the Field of Oncology</p>

Nanomagnetic devices, such as nano-field effect transistor biosensors and radio frequency magnetic induction therapies, came into being with the development of medical nanomaterials. The application of nanomagnetic materials in the treatment of cancers is rapidly becoming increasingly important because of its ability to target therapy and diagnose early. In this review, an untechnical overview of the fundamental of magnetism in nanomaterials and an illustration of how these materials are applied are presented. The applications of nano-field effect transistor biosensors for the detection of tumor biomarker nanomaterials in the therapy and diagnosis of cancers and nanomagnetic materials are summarized in this paper. A systemic summary of the use of nanomagnetic materials and nano-filed effect transistor biosensors for the treatment and diagnosis of tumors is also provided in the review.

Biodistribution, biocompatibility and targeted accumulation of magnetic nanoporous silica nanoparticles as drug carrier in orthopedics

BACKGROUND

In orthopedics, the treatment of implant-associated infections represents a high challenge. Especially, potent antibacterial effects at implant surfaces can only be achieved by the use of high doses of antibiotics, and still often fail. Drug-loaded magnetic nanoparticles are very promising for local selective therapy, enabling lower systemic antibiotic doses and reducing adverse side effects. The idea of the following study was the local accumulation of such nanoparticles by an externally applied magnetic field combined with a magnetizable implant. The examination of the biodistribution of the nanoparticles, their effective accumulation at the implant and possible adverse side effects were the focus. In a BALB/c mouse model (n = 50) ferritic steel 1.4521 and Ti90Al6V4 (control) implants were inserted subcutaneously at the hindlimbs. Afterwards, magnetic nanoporous silica nanoparticles (MNPSNPs), modified with rhodamine B isothiocyanate and polyethylene glycol-silane (PEG), were administered intravenously. Directly/1/7/21/42 day(s) after subsequent application of a magnetic field gradient produced by an electromagnet, the nanoparticle biodistribution was evaluated by smear samples, histology and multiphoton microscopy of organs. Additionally, a pathohistological examination was performed. Accumulation on and around implants was evaluated by droplet samples and histology.

RESULTS

Clinical and histological examinations showed no MNPSNP-associated changes in mice at all investigated time points. Although PEGylated, MNPSNPs were mainly trapped in lung, liver, and spleen. Over time, they showed two distributional patterns: early significant drops in blood, lung, and kidney and slow decreases in liver and spleen. The accumulation of MNPSNPs on the magnetizable implant and in its area was very low with no significant differences towards the control.

CONCLUSION

Despite massive nanoparticle capture by the mononuclear phagocyte system, no significant pathomorphological alterations were found in affected organs. This shows good biocompatibility of MNPSNPs after intravenous administration. The organ uptake led to insufficient availability of MNPSNPs in the implant region. For that reason, among others, the nanoparticles did not achieve targeted accumulation in the desired way, manifesting future research need. However, with different conditions and dimensions in humans and further modifications of the nanoparticles, this principle should enable reaching magnetizable implant surfaces at any time in any body region for a therapeutic reason.

Synthesis and modification of uniform PEG-neridronate-modified magnetic nanoparticles determines prolonged blood circulation and biodistribution in a mouse preclinical model

Magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles with uniform sizes of 10, 20, and 31 nm were prepared by thermal decomposition of Fe(III) oleate or mandelate in a high-boiling point solvent (>320 °C). To render the particles with hydrophilic and antifouling properties, their surface was coated with a PEG-containing bisphosphonate anchoring group. The PEGylated particles were characterized by a range of physicochemical methods, including dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and magnetization measurements. As the particle size increased from 10 to 31 nm, the amount of PEG coating decreased from 28.5 to 9 wt.%. The PEG formed a dense brush-like shell on the particle surface, which prevented particles from aggregating in water and PBS (pH 7.4) and maximized the circulation time in vivo. Magnetic resonance relaxometry confirmed that the PEG-modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles had high relaxivity, which increased with increasing particle size. In the in vivo experiments in a mouse model, the particles provided visible contrast enhancement in the magnetic resonance images. Almost 70% of administrated 20-nm magnetic nanoparticles still circulated in the blood stream after four hours; however, their retention in the tumor was rather low, which was likely due to the antifouling properties of PEG.

Missing-in-metastasis protein promotes internalization of magnetic nanoparticles via association with clathrin light chain and Rab7

BACKGROUND

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been widely used in biomedical applications. Proper control of the duration of MNPs in circulation promises to improve further their applications, in particularly drug delivery. It is known that the uptake of tissue-associated MNPs is mainly carried out by macrophages. Yet, the molecular mechanism to control MNPs internalization in macrophages remains to be elusive. Missing-in-metastasis (MIM) is a scaffolding protein that is highly expressed in macrophages and regulates receptor-mediated endocytosis. We hypothesize that uptake of MNPs may also involve the function of MIM.

METHODS

We investigated the effect of MIM expression on the intracellular trafficking of MNPs by transmission electronic microscopy, flow cytometry, o-phenanthroline photometric analysis, Perl's staining, immunofluorescence microscopy and co-immunoprecipitation. To explore the molecular events in MIM-mediated MNPs uptake, we examined the effect of MNPs on the interaction of MIM with clathrin, Rab5 and Rab7.

RESULTS

Uptake of MNPs was significantly enhanced in cells overexpressing MIM. Upon exposure to MNPs, MIM was associated with clathrin light chain in endocytic vesicles and Rab7, a protein that regulates late endosomes. However, MNPs caused dissociation of MIM with Rab5, an early endosome-associated protein.

CONCLUSIONS

MIM regulates internalization of MNPs via promoting their trafficking from plasma membrane to late endosomes.

GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

Our data unveiled a novel pathway which MNPs internalization and intracellular trafficking in macrophages. This new pathway may allow us to control the uptake of MNPs within cells by targeting MIM, thereby improving their medical applications.

The synthesis and characterization of glutathione-modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and their distribution in rat brains after injection in substantia nigra

Glutathione-modified superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (GSH-SPIONs) were prepared by conjugating glutathione (GSH) on the surface of the PEG (Polyethylene glycol)/PEI (polyethyleneimine)-SPIONs which were synthesized by thermal decomposition method. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the mass fraction of GSH on the surface of SPIONs was 30.64 wt%. GSH-SPIONs in PBS were injected into the substantia nigra of rat brains. The subcellular distributions of the nanoparticles in the brains was examined by the transmission electron microscope (TEM). A remarkable amount of GSH-SPIONs were found in vesicles inside cell bodies and axons, and in mitochondria. TEM pictures show that GSH-SPIONs enter the neuronal cells by endocytosis and travel through axoplasmic transport. GSH-SPIONs have great potential as drug delivery agents in the brain to treat diseases or study brain function via mitochondria-targeting way or axoplasmic transport way.