Nanocarriers and macrophage interaction: from a potential hurdle to an alternative therapeutic strategy

• Naths Grazia Sukubo,
• Paolo Bigini and
• Annalisa Morelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 97–118, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.10

• decades of technological evolution, during which NCs have become indispensable components of drug delivery systems, known for their adaptability and efficiency [2]. The “family” of nanoparticles (NPs) includes a broad range of materials such as lipids, polymers, proteins, dextran, silica [3], and metals

Unveiling the potential of alginate-based nanomaterials in sensing technology and smart delivery applications

• Shakhzodjon Uzokboev,
• Khojimukhammad Akhmadbekov,
• Ra’no Nuritdinova,
• Salah M. Tawfik and
• Yong-Ill Lee

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1077–1104, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.88

The steep road to nonviral nanomedicines: Frequent challenges and culprits in designing nanoparticles for gene therapy

• Yao Yao,
• Yeongun Ko,
• Grant Grasman,
• Jeffery E. Raymond and
• Joerg Lahann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 351–361, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.30

• . Transferrin [1] can be used as a maker for clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME), bodipy-lactosylceramide (LacCer) can be used for caveolae-mediated endocytosis, and dextran with large molecular masses can be used for macropinocytosis [36]. Moreover, concentration should be optimized (Table 2) and toxicity

Single-step extraction of small-diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes in the presence of riboflavin

• Polina M. Kalachikova,
• Anastasia E. Goldt,
• Eldar M. Khabushev,
• Timofei V. Eremin,
• Timofei S. Zatsepin,
• Elena D. Obraztsova,
• Konstantin V. Larionov,
• Liubov Yu. Antipina,
• Pavel B. Sorokin and
• Albert G. Nasibulin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1564–1571, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.130

• between the SWCNTs and gel media. Our experimental findings are supported by ab initio calculations demonstrating the impact of the riboflavin wrapping pattern around the SWCNTs on their interaction with the allyl dextran gel. Keywords: carbon nanotubes; photoluminescence spectroscopy; riboflavin; size

• Sephacryl gel is an allyl dextran copolymer, and its dextran links act as adsorption sites for SWCNTs in gel chromatography separation [25]. As SWCNTs are wrapped by riboflavin, there are two possible sites of SWCNT–dextran interaction, namely over two ribityl side chains (Figure 5a) and on the edge of

• adjacent riboflavin molecules (Figure 5b). As the riboflavin–dextran complex was relaxed, the binding energy between the riboflavin assembly and the dextran molecule was calculated. It was found that in the case of dextran in the top position (Figure 5a), weak van der Waals interactions do not depend

Microneedle-based ocular drug delivery systems – recent advances and challenges

• Piotr Gadziński,
• Anna Froelich,
• Monika Wojtyłko,
• Antoni Białek,
• Julia Krysztofiak and
• Tomasz Osmałek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1167–1184, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.98

• solution, the authors proposed administering the drug in the form of a single microneedle with detachable tip, which remains in the cornea for a certain period of time, ensuring sustained release (Figure 9). Two model drugs were used, namely FITC-dextran for the determination of release profiles and

Bioselectivity of silk protein-based materials and their bio-inspired applications

• Hendrik Bargel,
• Vanessa T. Trossmann,
• Christoph Sommer and
• Thomas Scheibel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 902–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.81

• RGD and collagen to an antimicrobial polymeric multilayer composed of dextran sulfate and chitosan [103]. One way to achieve bioselective, biocompatible, and multifunctional materials for biomedical applications is the utilization of natural protein materials shown to accomplish the desired properties

Gelatin nanoparticles with tunable mechanical properties: effect of crosslinking time and loading

• Agnes-Valencia Weiss,
• Daniel Schorr,
• Julia K. Metz,
• Metin Yildirim,
• Saeed Ahmad Khan and
• Marc Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 778–787, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.68

• revealed the influence of loading a macromolecular model drug (FITC-dextran) on the mechanical properties, which decreased with raising amounts of loaded drug. Loaded particles were significantly softer, with Young’s moduli between 1.06 and 5.79 MPa for the same crosslinking time, than the blank GNPs. In

• contrast to this, lysozyme as a crosslinkable macromolecule did not influence the mechanical properties. A good in vitro cell compatibility was found investigating blank GNPs and FITC-dextran-loaded GNPs in viability assays with the cancer cell line A549 and the human primary cell-derived hAELVi cell line

• determination of the Young’s modulus of single particles. The resulting mechanical properties could be correlated with the crosslinking time and extent. Additionally, loading of the macromolecule FITC-dextran 70 kDa into the particle matrix showed no statistically significant effect on particle sizes but

Stimuli-responsive polypeptide nanogels for trypsin inhibition

• Petr Šálek,
• Jana Dvořáková,
• Sviatoslav Hladysh,
• Diana Oleshchuk,
• Ewa Pavlova,
• Jan Kučka and
• Vladimír Proks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 538–548, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.45

• acid-labile cholesteryl-modified pullulan nanogel that formed a complex with loaded bovine serum albumin and released it under acidic conditions [17]. Landfester et al. used a bio-orthogonal reaction to fabricate a dextran nanogel with pH-responsive hydrazine linkages allowing for a controlled release

Micro- and nanotechnology in biomedical engineering for cartilage tissue regeneration in osteoarthritis

• Zahra Nabizadeh,
• Mahmoud Nasrollahzadeh,
• Hamed Daemi,
• Mohamadreza Baghaban Eslaminejad,
• Ali Akbar Shabani,
• Mehdi Dadashpour,
• Majid Mirmohammadkhani and
• Davood Nasrabadi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 363–389, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.31

Engineered titania nanomaterials in advanced clinical applications

• Padmavati Sahare,
• Paulina Govea Alvarez,
• Juan Manual Sanchez Yanez,
• Gabriel Luna-Bárcenas,
• Samik Chakraborty,
• Sujay Paul and
• Miriam Estevez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 201–218, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.15

• . coated TiO2 nps with carboxymethyl dextran (CMD), a hydrophilic polymer to form hydrophilized TiO2 nps (HTiO2 nps). In vivo mapping revealed enhanced ROS production in ultrasonically treated cells with HTiO2 nps, suppressing the growth of tumors [117]. Similarly, when avidin-modified TiO2 was used to

Comprehensive review on ultrasound-responsive theranostic nanomaterials: mechanisms, structures and medical applications

• Sepand Tehrani Fateh,
• Lida Moradi,
• Elmira Kohan,
• Michael R. Hamblin and
• Amin Shiralizadeh Dezfuli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 808–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.64

• weight molecules, such as nucleic acids, proteins, peptides, calcein, dextran [66][67][68][69][70], or gene complexes [67] via a process known as “sonoporation” or “transient cavitation”. Cavitation events are sometimes triggered by the effects of US on MBs. Microbubbles are micrometer-sized (1–10 µm

• 2 MDa FITC-dextrans loaded into MBs as model drugs using flow cytometry and FACSCaliburTM (Flow cytometer). They blocked the endocytic pathway and interestingly found two different cell subpopulations after US exposure which had either low or high uptake of FITC-dextran. They found that the “low

The impact of molecular tumor profiling on the design strategies for targeting myeloid leukemia and EGFR/CD44-positive solid tumors

• Nikola Geskovski,
• Nadica Matevska-Geshkovska,
• Simona Dimchevska Sazdovska,
• Marija Glavas Dodov,
• Kristina Mladenovska and
• Katerina Goracinova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 375–401, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.31

• estimate that the high levels of BM accumulation for this liposome formulation were probably due to the presence of 20% DSPG in the liposomal bilayer. This yields an overall anionic surface, which is known to have an affinity for the scavenger receptor on BM macrophages. Other polyanions, such as dextran

Cardiomyocyte uptake mechanism of a hydroxyapatite nanoparticle mediated gene delivery system

• Hiroaki Komuro,
• Masahiro Yamazoe,
• Kosuke Nozaki,
• Akiko Nagai and
• Tetsuo Sasano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1685–1692, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.150

• for the cellular uptake of HAp into HL-1 cells. Macropinocytosis activity assay To further understand the mechanism of gene delivery into HL-1 cells using HAp, we investigated the HAp-induced macropinocytosis activity using neutral tetramethylrhodamine-conjugated dextran (TMR–dextran). TMR–dextran is

• commonly used as an indicator of the macropinocytic pathway [25], enabling the quantification of macropinocytosis. The quantification of TMR–dextran was performed by measuring the fluorescence intensity per cell, using fluorescence microscopy images, in accordance with a previous report. As shown in Figure

•  5a, more red spots corresponding to TMR–dextran fluorescence signals were observed in HAp-treated cells in comparison to non-treated cells. Quantitative analysis revealed that the increase in macropinocytosis activity depends on the pretreatment time: The macropinocytosis activity following a 4 h-HAp

Antimicrobial metal-based nanoparticles: a review on their synthesis, types and antimicrobial action

• Matías Guerrero Correa,
• Fernanda B. Martínez,
• Cristian Patiño Vidal,
• Camilo Streitt,
• Juan Escrig and
• Carol Lopez de Dicastillo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1450–1469, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.129

• interaction with the bacterial cells [137]. For example, chemical groups can be grafted onto and metals can be adhered to these NPs. Mahmoudi and Serpoooshan developed silver-ring-coated SPIONs through the coating of monodispersed SPIONs with carboxylated dextran via the ligand exchange method followed by

Applications of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in drug and therapeutic delivery, and biotechnological advancements

• Maria Suciu,
• Corina M. Ionescu,
• Alexandra Ciorita,
• Septimiu C. Tripon,
• Dragos Nica,
• Hani Al-Salami and
• Lucian Barbu-Tudoran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1092–1109, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.94

• of 2000–2019. Review Benefits of SPIONs or what makes SPIONs such a promising aspect for therapeutics and adjunct treatments Firstly, certain SPIONs are already clinically approved for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [24][25][26]. For this application, SPIONs have been functionalized with dextran

• release at the targeted site. A functionalization that permits only adsorption can lead to premature drug release [33][46][80]. Mojica Pisciotti and co-workers [39] studied the effects of dextran and PEG coatings on two animal kidney cell lines and showed that dextran-coated SPIONs are not cytotoxic even

• at a concentration of 400 µg Fe/mL, in contrast to the PEG-coated SPIONs, which reached 50% toxicity at 100 µg Fe/mL. Dextran was shown to get stripped from the nanoparticles in macrophages that were later apoptotic. The authors concluded that apoptosis was caused first by dextran intoxication and

Multilayer capsules made of weak polyelectrolytes: a review on the preparation, functionalization and applications in drug delivery

• Varsha Sharma and
• Anandhakumar Sundaramurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 508–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.41

• (e.g., dextran sulfate (DS), heparin and chitosan) and various synthetic polymers (e.g., PAH, PMA and poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI)). When a negatively charged template is dipped in a solution of positively charged PE, or vice versa, a monolayer of excessively adsorbed PEs is formed that leads to the

• microcapsules become disturbed at pH < 6, forming 100 nm pores which caused fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran (FITC-dextran) in the solution to permeate into the hollow capsule. Notably, no structural changes were observed at pH > 8 [44]. Most important was the reversibility of the capsules from open state at

• observed. At basic pH, the flow of FITC-dextran into the MF-templated capsules was immediate as compared to carbonate cores, wherein it occurred after 10 min [44]. This was explained by the fact that MF core dissolution leaves some remains inside the capsule. Upon pH change, these remains contribute to

Preparation and in vivo evaluation of glyco-gold nanoparticles carrying synthetic mycobacterial hexaarabinofuranoside

• Gennady L. Burygin,
• Polina I. Abronina,
• Nikita M. Podvalnyy,
• Sergey A. Staroverov,
• Leonid O. Kononov and
• Lev A. Dykman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 480–493, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.39

• -dextran [79] and chitosan [80] have been reported to bind to GNPs in a pH-dependent manner as the energy of the Au–N interaction is intermediate between those of Au–S and Au–O [81]. The affinity of different functional groups to the surface of GNPs decreases in the series Au–S > Au–NH2 > Au–COOH [82

Interactions at the cell membrane and pathways of internalization of nano-sized materials for nanomedicine

• Valentina Francia,
• Daphne Montizaan and
• Anna Salvati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 338–353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.25

• and transferrin can be used as markers for clathrin-mediated endocytosis [205][206], dextran as a fluid phase marker for phagocytosis and for the CLEE/GEEC pathway [193], and LacCer (C5-lactosylceramide) for cholesterol-dependent uptake [133][207]. However, while cholera toxin and SV40 were previously

Design of a nanostructured mucoadhesive system containing curcumin for buccal application: from physicochemical to biological aspects

• Sabrina Barbosa de Souza Ferreira,
• Gustavo Braga,
• Évelin Lemos Oliveira,
• Jéssica Bassi da Silva,
• Hélen Cássia Rosseto,
• Lidiane Vizioli de Castro Hoshino,
• Mauro Luciano Baesso,
• Wilker Caetano,
• Craig Murdoch,
• Helen Elizabeth Colley and
• Marcos Luciano Bruschi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2304–2328, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.222

• . Consequently, it was evaluated only for the CUR systems. The retention of the systems without CUR have already been evaluated by a similar method, where the formulations were marked with FITC-dextran and the retention was investigated by fluorescence microscopy [70]. The cumulative formulation percentage

Effects of gold and PCL- or PLLA-coated silica nanoparticles on brain endothelial cells and the blood–brain barrier

• Aniela Bittner,
• Angélique D. Ducray,
• Hans Rudolf Widmer,
• Michael H. Stoffel and
• Meike Mevissen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 941–954, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.95

• Figure 7B and Figure 7C. Furthermore, no difference between PCL- and Au-NP-exposed cell monolayers was detected. Overall, cell monolayers are less permeable to 70 kDa FITC dextran (Figure 7C) than to 4.4 kDa TRITC dextran (Figure 7B). Discussion A concentration- and time-dependent effect of exposure to

• permeability assay on DIV3 using 4.4 kDa tetramethylrhodamine isothiocyanate (TRITC) dextran and 70 kDa fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) dextran ([0.5 mg/mL]; Sigma, Switzerland) was carried out as described previously [48]. Briefly, transport buffer (TB) was prepared with HEPES-buffered Hank’s Balanced Salt

• Solution (HBSS) (Sigma, Switzerland). Inserts were transferred to 24-well plates containing TB and filled with dextran solution. After 60 min the fluorescence of samples from the donor and receiver solution at different time points was detected at 492 nm (excitation), 518 nm (emission) and 550 nm, 580 nm

Cytotoxicity of doxorubicin-conjugated poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide]-modified γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles towards human tumor cells

• Zdeněk Plichta,
• Yulia Kozak,
• Rostyslav Panchuk,
• Viktoria Sokolova,
• Matthias Epple,
• Lesya Kobylinska,
• Pavla Jendelová and
• Daniel Horák

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2533–2545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.236

• high molecular weight, such as silica, chitosan, poly(amino acids), poly(acrylic acid), hyaluronic acid, alginic acid, poly(vinyl alcohol), polyethylenimine, dextran, or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) [10][11][12]. The latter one is known to escape recognition by reticuloendothelial system prolonging thus

Surface characterization of nanoparticles using near-field light scattering

• Eunsoo Yoo,
• Yizhong Liu,
• Chukwuazam A. Nwasike,
• Sebastian R. Freeman,
• Brian C. DiPaolo,
• Bernardo Cordovez and
• Amber L. Doiron

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1228–1238, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.114

• analytical grade. Synthesis of pseudotannin polygallol The synthesis of the pseudotannins consisted of conjugating benzyloxy benzoic acids (BBA) to a linear dextran backbone and converting those BBAs to phenols via a palladium (black) catalyzed deprotection reaction, creating a brush-like polyphenol [47][48

• ][49][50][51]. The conjugation of BBAs used an optimized Steglich esterification to bind the carboxyl groups on the BBAs to the free hydroxyl groups on 40 kDa dextran. For this study, tribenzyloxybenzoic acid (TBBA) was used as the phenolic precursor, resulting in a polygallol polymer [35][36][37

Nano- and microstructured materials for in vitro studies of the physiology of vascular cells

• Alexandra M. Greiner,
• Adria Sales,
• Hao Chen,
• Sarah A. Biela,
• Dieter Kaufmann and
• Ralf Kemkemer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1620–1641, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.155

• . Additional examples for materials are listed in Table 1 and in some other review articles [4][5][46][47][71][86][87] Polymers from natural sources can be divided in either protein-based (e.g., collagen, fibrin, matrigel, elastin), polysaccharide-based (e.g., hyaluronic acid, chitin, agar, dextran, alginate

Improved biocompatibility and efficient labeling of neural stem cells with poly(L-lysine)-coated maghemite nanoparticles

• Igor M. Pongrac,
• Marina Dobrivojević,
• Lada Brkić Ahmed,
• Michal Babič,
• Miroslav Šlouf,
• Daniel Horák and
• Srećko Gajović

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 926–936, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.84

• their cellular uptake, the mechanism of internalization, cytotoxicity, viability and proliferation of neural stem cells, and compared them to the commercially available dextran-coated nanomag®-D-spio nanoparticles. Results: Light microscopy of Prussian blue staining revealed a concentration-dependent

• labeling makes poly(L-lysine)-coated maghemite nanoparticles appropriate candidates for future neural stem cell in vivo tracking studies. Keywords: dextran; maghemite; nanoparticles; neural stem cells; poly(L-lysine); Introduction Stem cell-based therapy is a developing area of regenerative medicine with

• tracking [16]. Biocompatible polymers are used to modify the surface of nanoparticles, prevent their agglomeration and facilitate internalization. The most widely used coating for surface modification of nanoparticles is dextran, which promotes nanoparticle internalization, in particular in different

Tight junction between endothelial cells: the interaction between nanoparticles and blood vessels

• Yue Zhang and
• Wan-Xi Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 675–684, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.60

• mainly in rat livers after a single intravenous administration [34]. Subsequent histopathological changes were also found in liver, spleen and kidney after the intravenous administration with dextran-coated graphene oxide nanoplatelets at a dose of 250 mg/kg and more [35]. Effects of NPs on blood vessels

• claudin-4 and claudin-8 increased in the kidney [61]. The oxidative stress induced by H2O2 in gastric epithelial cells also shows some association with decreased amounts of claudin-4 and claudin-7, and an increased permeability of the tight junction for dextran [62]. Occludins Occludins are a family of