Size-tunable drug-delivery capsules composed of a magnetic nanoshell

Advanced imaging techniques for tracking drug dynamics at the subcellular level

Optical microscopes are an important imaging tool that have effectively advanced the development of modern biomedicine. In recent years, super-resolution microscopy (SRM) has become one of the most popular techniques in the life sciences, especially in the field of living cell imaging. SRM has been used to solve many problems in basic biological research and has great potential in clinical application. In particular, the use of SRM to study drug delivery and kinetics at the subcellular level enables researchers to better study drugs' mechanisms of action and to assess the efficacy of their targets in vivo. The purpose of this paper is to review the recent advances in SRM and to highlight some of its applications in assessing subcellular drug dynamics.

Advances in FePt-involved nano-system design and application for bioeffect and biosafety

The rapid development and wide application of nanomaterial-involved theranostic agents have drawn surging attention for improving the living standard of humankind and healthcare conditions. In this review, recent developments in the design, synthesis, biocompatibility evaluation and potential nanomedicine applications of FePt-involved nano-systems are summarized, especially for cancer theranostic and biological molecule detection. The in vivo multi-model imaging capability is discussed in detail, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography. Furthermore, we highlight the significant achievements of various FePt-involved nanotherapeutics for cancer treatment, such as drug delivery, chemodynamic therapy, photodynamic therapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. In addition, a series of FePt-involved nanocomposites are also applied for biological molecule detection, such as H₂O₂, glucose and naked-eye detection of cancer cells. Ultimately, we also summarize the challenges and prospects of FePt-involved nano-systems in nanocatalytic medicine. This review is expected to give a general pattern for the development of FePt-involved nano-systems in the field of nanocatalytic medicine and analytical determination.

Direct Fabrication of Monodisperse Silica Nanorings from Hollow Spheres - A Template for Core-Shell Nanorings

We report a new type of nanosphere colloidal lithography to directly fabricate monodisperse silica (SiO2) nanorings by means of reactive ion etching of hollow SiO2 spheres. Detailed TEM, SEM, and AFM structural analysis is complemented by a model describing the geometrical transition from hollow sphere to ring during the etching process. The resulting silica nanorings can be readily redispersed in solution and subsequently serve as universal templates for the synthesis of ring-shaped core-shell nanostructures. As an example we used silica nanorings (with diameter of ∼200 nm) to create a novel plasmonic nanoparticle topology, a silica-Au core-shell nanoring, by self-assembly of Au nanoparticles (<20 nm) on the ring's surface. Spectroscopic measurements and finite difference time domain simulations reveal high quality factor multipolar and antibonding surface plasmon resonances in the near-infrared. By loading different types of nanoparticles on the silica core, hybrid and multifunctional composite nanoring structures could be realized for applications such as MRI contrast enhancement, catalysis, drug delivery, plasmonic and magnetic hyperthermia, photoacoustic imaging, and biochemical sensing.

Magnetic force microscopy: quantitative issues in biomaterials

Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) is an atomic force microscopy (AFM) based technique in which an AFM tip with a magnetic coating is used to probe local magnetic fields with the typical AFM spatial resolution, thus allowing one to acquire images reflecting the local magnetic properties of the samples at the nanoscale. Being a well established tool for the characterization of magnetic recording media, superconductors and magnetic nanomaterials, MFM is finding constantly increasing application in the study of magnetic properties of materials and systems of biological and biomedical interest. After reviewing these latter applications, three case studies are presented in which MFM is used to characterize: (i) magnetoferritin synthesized using apoferritin as molecular reactor; (ii) magnetic nanoparticles loaded niosomes to be used as nanocarriers for drug delivery; (iii) leukemic cells labeled using folic acid-coated core-shell superparamagnetic nanoparticles in order to exploit the presence of folate receptors on the cell membrane surface. In these examples, MFM data are quantitatively analyzed evidencing the limits of the simple analytical models currently used. Provided that suitable models are used to simulate the MFM response, MFM can be used to evaluate the magnetic momentum of the core of magnetoferritin, the iron entrapment efficiency in single vesicles, or the uptake of magnetic nanoparticles into cells.

In vitro study of the interaction of heregulin-functionalized magnetic–optical nanorods with MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells

Multifunctional nanoparticles that actively target specific cells are promising tools for cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this article we review the synthesis and surface chemistry of Fe–Au nanorods and their characterization using microscopy. The diameter of the rods used in this study was selected to be 150–200 nm so that they did not enter the cells. The 80 nm-long Au tips of the nanorods were functionalized with heregulin (HRG), and the micron-long Fe portion was coated with a poly(ethylene glycol) monolayer to minimize non-specific interactions. Nanorods functionalized with HRG were found to preferentially bind to MCF7 cells that express high levels of the receptor tyrosine-protein kinase ErbB2/3. Magnetic tweezers measurements were used to characterize the kinetic properties of the bond between the HRG on the rods and ErbB2/3 on the surface of the cells. The strong magnetization of Fe–Au nanorods makes them excellent candidates for in-vitro and in-vivo imaging, and magnetic therapeutic applications targeting cancer cells in circulation.