Chemiresistive/SERS dual sensor based on densely packed gold nanoparticles

• Sanda Boca,
• Cosmin Leordean,
• Simion Astilean and
• Cosmin Farcau

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2498–2503, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.259

• , this stability decreases proportionally. Hence, to increase the stability of the concentrated collidal solution, the originally citrate-capped AuNPs were functionalized with folic acid molecules by electrostatic interaction between the negative surface of the particles and the positive amino groups of

• folic acid molecules. Folic acid is a low molecular weight vitamin compound, which has been shown to be an effective targeting vector of various cancer cell lines which over-express folate receptors [7]. It also proved to be an effective capping ligand for linking onto various polymer backbones or

• biological molecules. Optical absorption spectra of the colloidal suspension recorded before and after incubation with folic acid confirmed the capping of AuNPs (redshift of the dipolar plasmon band) (Figure S1, Supporting Information File 1). DLS measurements correlate with the optical absorption results

Silica micro/nanospheres for theranostics: from bimodal MRI and fluorescent imaging probes to cancer therapy

• Shanka Walia and
• Amitabha Acharya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 546–558, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.57

• magnetically active silica-encapsulated manganese oxide nanoparticles. In addition, rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RBITC) and folic acid (FA) were conjugated on the NP surface. These NPs showed absorption peaks at ca. 570 and 280 nm, which correspond to RBITC and FA, respectively. The MRI studies suggested that

• cytometry, confocal microscopy and MRI studies suggested that the prepared nanocomposites can be used for targeting cancer cells that overexpress folic acid. Similar strategies were also used by Peng et al. [22] by using an iridium(III) complex as fluorescent agent. Hu et al. [23] reported the synthesis of

• with folic acid for targeting two different pancreatic cancer cell lines, namely PANC-1 and BxPC3. The confocal microscopy studies suggested that the nanocomposites were indeed internalized by the cells and not simply bound on the surface membrane. The T2-weighted images suggested that the NPs can be

Carbon-based smart nanomaterials in biomedicine and neuroengineering

• Antonina M. Monaco and
• Michele Giugliano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1849–1863, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.196

• and water-insoluble chemotherapeutic drugs [102], as well as research involving sulfonic acid groups bound with folic acid in order to target human breast cancer [103]. Furthermore, Weaver and co-workers [104], exploiting the conductive properties of GO sheets, developed an electrically-controlled

Non-covalent and reversible functionalization of carbon nanotubes

• Antonello Di Crescenzo,
• Valeria Ettorre and
• Antonella Fontana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1675–1690, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.178

• conferring to the polymer a different dispersing power [93]. Another example of reversible dispersion/precipitation of CNTs is the folic acid (FA)/SWCNT system. The insolubility of folic acid in acidic aqueous solutions prevents it acting as a CNT dispersant. Nevertheless, once CNTs have been FA-coated, the

In vitro interaction of colloidal nanoparticles with mammalian cells: What have we learned thus far?

• Moritz Nazarenus,
• Qian Zhang,
• Mahmoud G. Soliman,
• Pablo del Pino,
• Beatriz Pelaz,
• Susana Carregal-Romero,
• Joanna Rejman,
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser,
• Martin J. D. Clift,
• Reinhard Zellner,
• G. Ulrich Nienhaus,
• James B. Delehanty,
• Igor L. Medintz and
• Wolfgang J. Parak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1477–1490, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.161

• modified by ligands (such as folic acid), which bind to appropriate receptors on the cell surface (such as folate receptors [24]), are specifically internalized [25]. Ligand-mediated uptake (which depends also on the ligand “valence”, i.e., the number of ligands per NP, their density, and their orientation