Quantitative characterization of nanoparticles in blood by transmission electron microscopy with a window-type microchip nanopipet

Regulating mRNA endosomal escape through lipid rafts: A review

Messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics, enabled by lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) delivery systems, have revolutionized modern medicine by facilitating the delivery of genetic cargo to target cells. However, the efficient release of mRNA from LNPs within the endosomal pathways into the cytosol remains a major bottleneck in this field. Revisiting the formulation and function of mRNA-LNPs, it has been found that lipid rafts formed by cholesterol and distearoylphosphatidylcholine during the self-assembly process plan an essential role in the intracellular delivery and endosomal escape of mRNA-LNPs. These lipid rafts enhance the rigidity and stability of LNPs, facilitating mRNA encapsulation and closely contributing to improved intracellular delivery efficiency. By adjusting the composition or behavior of lipid rafts within LNPs-such as substituting cholesterol or altering the lipid phase-endosomal membranes can be destabilized, facilitating the escape of mRNA into the cytoplasm. This approach provides a promising strategy for rational design of mRNA delivery system and optimization of LNPs formulation. Additionally, methods for studying the mRNA escape process are summarized, as they serve as the foundation for achieving reliable and reproducible results.

Optical Microscopy and Deep Learning for Absolute Quantification of Nanoparticles on a Macroscopic Scale and Estimating Their Number Concentration

We present a simplistic and absolute method for estimating the number concentration of nanoparticles. Macroscopic volumes of a nanoparticle dispersion (several μL) are dropped on a glass surface and the solvent is evaporated. The optical microscope scans the entire surface of the dried droplet (several mm2), micrographs are stitched together (several tens), and all nanoparticles are counted (several thousand per droplet) by using an artificial neural network. We call this method evaporated volume analysis (EVA) because nanoparticles are counted after droplet volume evaporation. As a model, the concentration of ∼60 nm Tm3+-doped photon-upconversion nanoparticles coated in carboxylated silica shells is estimated with a combined relative standard uncertainty of 2.7%. Two reference methods provided comparable concentration values. A wider applicability is tested by imaging ∼80 nm Nile red-doped polystyrene and ∼90 nm silver nanoparticles. Theoretical limits of EVA such as the limit of detection, limit of quantification, and optimal working range are discussed.

Multifunctional gold nanoparticles for cancer theranostics

The diagnosis and treatment of cancer can often be challenging requiring more attractive options. Some types of cancers are more aggressive than others and symptoms for many cancers are subtle, especially in the early stages. Nanotechnology provides high sensitivity, specificity and multimodal capability for cancer detection, treatment and monitoring. In particular, metal nanoparticles (NPs) such as gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are attractive nanosystems for researchers interested in bioimaging and therapy. The size, shape and surface of AuNPs can be modified for improving targeting and accumulation in cancer cells, for example through introduction of ligands and surface charge. The interactions of AuNPs with electromagnetic radiation (e.g., visible-near-infrared, X-rays) can be used for photothermal therapy and radiation therapy, through heat generated from light absorption and emission of Auger electrons, respectively. The subsequent expansion and high X-ray attenuation from AuNPs can be used for enhancing contrast for tumor detection (e.g., using photoacoustic, computed tomography imaging). Multi-functionality can be further extended through covalent/non-covalent functionalization, for loading additional imaging/therapeutic molecules for combination therapy and multimodal imaging. In order to cover the important aspects for designing and using AuNPs for cancer theranostics, this review focuses on the synthesis, functionalization and characterization methods that are important for AuNPs, and presents their unique properties and different applications in cancer theranostics.

Toward a Better Understanding of Metal Nanoparticles, a Novel Strategy from Eucalyptus Plants

Nanotechnology is a promising tool that has opened the doors of improvement to the quality of human's lives through its potential in numerous technological aspects. Green chemistry of nanoscale materials (1-100 nm) is as an effective and sustainable strategy to manufacture homogeneous nanoparticles (NPs) with unique properties, thus making the synthesis of green NPs, especially metal nanoparticles (MNPs), the scientist's core theme. Researchers have tested different organisms to manufacture MNPs and the results of experiments confirmed that plants tend to be the ideal candidate amongst all entities and are suitable to synthesize a wide variety of MNPs. Natural and cultivated Eucalyptus forests are among woody plants used for landscape beautification and as forest products. The present review has been written to reflect the efficacious role of Eucalyptus in the synthesis of MNPs. To better understand this, the route of extracting MNPs from plants, in general, and Eucalyptus, in particular, are discussed. Furthermore, the crucial factors influencing the process of MNP synthesis from Eucalyptus as well as their characterization and recent applications are highlighted. Information gathered in this review is useful to build a basis for new prospective research ideas on how to exploit this woody species in the production of MNPs. Nevertheless, there is a necessity to feed the scientific field with further investigations on wider applications of Eucalyptus-derived MNPs.

A Novel Microchip Technique for Quickly Identifying Nanogranules in an Aqueous Solution by Transmission Electron Microscopy: Imaging of Platelet Granules

Ultrastructural observation of biological specimens or nanogranules usually requires the use of electron microscopy. Electron microscopy takes a lot of time, requires many steps, and uses many chemicals, which may affect the native state of biological specimens. A novel microchip (K-kit) was used as a specimen kit for in situ imaging of human platelet granules in an aqueous solution using a transmission electron microscope. This microchip enabled us to observe the native human platelet granules very quickly and easily. The protocols included blood collection, platelet purification, platelet granule isolation, sample loading into this microchip, and then observation by a transmission electron microscope. In addition, these granules could still remain in aqueous solution, and only a very small amount of the sample was required for observation and analysis. We used this microchip to identify the native platelet granules by negative staining. Furthermore, we used this microchip to perform immunoelectron microscopy and successfully label α-granules of platelets with the anti-P-selectin antibody. These results demonstrate that the novel microchip can provide researchers with faster and better choices when using a transmission electron microscope to examine nanogranules of biological specimens in aqueous conditions.

Formulation of injectable glycyrrhizic acid-hydroxycamptothecin micelles as new generation of DNA topoisomerase I inhibitor for enhanced antitumor activity

To develop a new drug delivery system is one of the useful approaches to break through the limitation of hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT), a typical DNA topoisomerase I (Topo I) inhibitor in clinical appliance. Injectable glycyrrhizic acid-hydroxycamptothecin (GL-HCPT) micelles that were able to dramatically improve the solubility and stability of HCPT were prepared through self-assembly process and evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. With a mean particle size (PS) of 105.7 ± 9.7 nm and a drug loading (DL) of 9.0 ± 1.5%, GL-HCPT micelles were rapidly internalized by HepG2 cells after 1 h, significantly increasing the intracellular accumulation of HCPT. Compared with the current used HCPT injection and HCPT/GL physical mixture, GL-HCPT micelles showed enhanced antitumor activity against liver cancer cells (HepG2 and Huh7) as well as a superior suppression on the tumor growth of HepG2 tumor bearing mice. Interestingly, GL-HCPT micelles gathered in liver and simultaneously reduced the drug accumulation in normal tissues, thereby exhibiting minimal cytotoxicity to human normal liver cells (LO2). Therefore, we offered a convenient and cost-effective strategy to construct an intravenous drug delivery system (GL-HCPT micelles) as new generation of DNA Topo I inhibitor for enhanced cancer chemotherapy.

Characterization of Nanoparticles: Advances

Over the past two decades, the unique properties of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) have placed them at the centre of revolutionary advancements in many sectors of science, technology and commerce. Multi-technique and multi-disciplinary analytical approaches are required to identify, quantify, and characterize the chemical composition, size and size distribution, surface properties and the number and concentration of NPs. In this chapter, an overview of the recent advances in the characterization of NPs will be presented.

Microfluidic approaches for isolation, detection, and characterization of extracellular vesicles: Current status and future directions

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived vesicles present in body fluids that play an essential role in various cellular processes, such as intercellular communication, inflammation, cellular homeostasis, survival, transport, and regeneration. Their isolation and analysis from body fluids have a great clinical potential to provide information on a variety of disease states such as cancer, cardiovascular complications and inflammatory disorders. Despite increasing scientific and clinical interest in this field, there are still no standardized procedures available for the purification, detection, and characterization of EVs. Advances in microfluidics allow for chemical sampling with increasingly high spatial resolution and under precise manipulation down to single molecule level. In this review, our objective is to give a brief overview on the working principle and examples of the isolation and detection methods with the potential to be used for extracellular vesicles. This review will also highlight the integrated on-chip systems for isolation and characterization of EVs.

Lectin-functionalized mesoporous silica nanoparticles for endoscopic detection of premalignant colonic lesions

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-deaths worldwide. Methods for the early in situ detection of colorectal adenomatous polyps and their precursors - prior to their malignancy transformation into CRC - are urgently needed. Unfortunately at present, the primary diagnostic method, colonoscopy, can only detect polyps and carcinomas by shape/morphology; with sessile polyps more likely to go unnoticed than polypoid lesions. Here we describe our development of polyp-targeting, fluorescently-labeled mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) that serve as targeted endoscopic contrast agents for the early detection of colorectal polyps and cancer. In vitro cell studies, ex vivo histopathological analysis, and in vivo colonoscopy and endoscopy of murine colorectal cancer models, demonstrate significant binding specificity of our nanoconstructs to pathological lesions via targeting aberrant α-L-fucose expression. Our findings strongly suggest that lectin-functionalized fluorescent MSNs could serve as a promising endoscopic contrast agent for in situ diagnostic imaging of premalignant colonic lesions.

Quantitative imaging of 2 nm monolayer-protected gold nanoparticle distributions in tissues using laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS)

Functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have unique properties that make them important biomedical materials. Optimal use of these materials, though, requires an understanding of their fate in vivo. Here we describe the use of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) to image the biodistributions of AuNPs in tissues from mice intravenously injected with AuNPs. We demonstrate for the first time that the distributions of very small (∼2 nm core) monolayer-protected AuNPs can be imaged in animal tissues at concentrations in the low parts-per-billion range. Moreover, the LA-ICP-MS images reveal that the monolayer coatings on the injected AuNPs influence their distributions, suggesting that the AuNPs remain intact in vivo and their surface chemistry influences how they interact with different organs. We also demonstrate that quantitative images of the AuNPs can be generated when the appropriate tissue homogenates are chosen for matrix matching. Overall, these results demonstrate the utility of LA-ICP-MS for tracking the fate of biomedically-relevant AuNPs in vivo, facilitating the design of improved AuNP-based therapeutics.

Stable water layers on solid surfaces

A water layer adhered to a microchannel wall is 100 to 170 nm thick and stable against surface tension. The water layer thickness was measured using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and the water layer structure was characterized by using a quantitative nanoparticle counting technique.

Direct-Writing of Cu Nano-Patterns with an Electron Beam

We demonstrate direct electron beam writing of a nano-scale Cu pattern on a surface with a thin aqueous layer of CuSO4 solution. Electron beams are highly maneuverable down to nano-scales. Aqueous solutions facilitate a plentiful metal ion supply for practical industrial applications, which may require continued reliable writing of sophisticated patterns. A thin aqueous layer on a surface helps to confine the writing on the surface. For this demonstration, liquid sample holder (K-kit) for transmission electron microscope (TEM) was employed to form a sealed space in a TEM. The aqueous CuSO4 solution inside the sample holder was allowed to partially dry until a uniform thin layer was left on the surface. The electron beam thus reduced Cu ions in the solution to form the desired patterns. Furthermore, the influence of e-beam exposure time and CuSO4(aq) concentration on the Cu reduction was studied in this work. Two growth stages of Cu were shown in the plot of Cu thickness versus e-beam exposure time. The measured Cu reduction rate was found to be proportional to the CuSO4(aq) concentration.

Nanoparticle counting: towards accurate determination of the molar concentration

Innovations in nanotechnology have brought tremendous opportunities for the advancement of many research frontiers, ranging from electronics, photonics, energy, to medicine. To maximize the benefits of nano-scaled materials in different devices and systems, precise control of their concentration is a prerequisite. While concentrations of nanoparticles have been provided in other forms (e.g., mass), accurate determination of molar concentration, arguably the most useful one for chemical reactions and applications, has been a major challenge (especially for nanoparticles smaller than 30 nm). Towards this significant yet chronic problem, a variety of strategies are currently under development. Most of these strategies are applicable to a specialized group of nanoparticles due to their restrictions on the composition and size range of nanoparticles. As research and uses of nanomaterials are being explored in an unprecedented speed, it is necessary to develop universal strategies that are easy to use and are compatible with nanoparticles of different sizes, compositions, and shapes. This review outlines the theories and applications of current strategies to measure nanoparticle molar concentration, discusses the advantages and limitations of these methods, and provides insights into future directions.

Electron transparent graphene windows for environmental scanning electron microscopy in liquids and dense gases

Due to its ultrahigh electron transmissivity in a wide electron energy range, molecular impermeability, high electrical conductivity and excellent mechanical stiffness, suspended graphene membranes appear to be a nearly ideal window material for in situ (in vivo) environmental electron microscopy of nano- and mesoscopic objects (including bio-medical samples) immersed in liquids and/or in dense gaseous media. In this paper, taking advantage of a small modification of the graphene transfer protocol onto metallic and SiN supporting orifices, reusable environmental cells with exchangeable graphene windows have been designed. Using colloidal gold nanoparticles (50 nm) dispersed in water as model objects for scanning electron microscopy in liquids as proof of concept, different conditions for imaging through the graphene membrane were tested. Limiting factors for electron microscopy in liquids, such as electron beam induced water radiolysis and damage of the graphene membrane at high electron doses, are discussed.