Fully amino acid-based hydrogel as potential scaffold for cell culturing and drug delivery

• Dávid Juriga,
• Evelin Sipos,
• Orsolya Hegedűs,
• Gábor Varga,
• Miklós Zrínyi,
• Krisztina S. Nagy and
• Angéla Jedlovszky-Hajdú

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2579–2593, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.249

• well as biocompatibility and biodegradability are also fundamental features of polymers developed for numerous medical applications [11][12]. Polymer hydrogels are capable of releasing physically entrapped drug molecules. The release kinetics of the loaded drug molecules depend significantly on the

• backbone determines almost all of the properties of the hydrogels. For biological applications, in general, the polymer backbone and its degradation products have to be biodegradable and biocompatible [11][23]. In contrast to many synthetic polymers, the degradation products of poly(amino acid)s, which are

• usually complicated and expensive [3]. Recently, various types of polymer-based hydrogels have been developed for purposes of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine [26]. Most of these polymers try to mimic or recreate the natural environment of the cells, namely the extracellular matrix (ECM) [27

Long-term stability and scale-up of noncovalently bound gold nanoparticle-siRNA suspensions

• Anna V. Epanchintseva,
• Julia E. Poletaeva,
• Dmitrii V. Pyshnyi,
• Elena I. Ryabchikova and
• Inna A. Pyshnaya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2568–2578, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.248

• final nanostructures with a biomolecular shell seems quite complex because of the high lability of many proteins, polymers, and lipids. The synthesis and storage of significant quantities of core materials for multi-level nanoconstructions could be an approach to solving this problem. Therefore, we

Frontiers in pharmaceutical nanotechnology

• Matthias G. Wacker

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2538–2540, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.244

• announced the approval of a first-of-its-kind RNA interference (RNAi)-based drug, Onpattro™, which uses solid lipid nanoparticles to protect the sensitive compound from early degradation. Again, lipid materials rather than synthetic polymers have been used for drug delivery applications. In pharmaceutical

• research, the economic success of drug products is closely related to product efficacy and safety. While lipids have a solid track record of clinical safety [7][12], there are few polymers generally used for the parenteral route of administration. Further, the procedure of drug approval usually does not

Formation of metal/semiconductor Cu–Si composite nanostructures

• Natalya V. Yumozhapova,
• Andrey V. Nomoev,
• Vyacheslav V. Syzrantsev and
• Erzhena C. Khartaeva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2497–2504, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.240

• can be oxides, noble metals, phosphates or polymers [3][4]. Compositions of materials that are immiscible in the bulk state, such as Mo–Cu [5], Ag–Si [6], Ag–Cu [7], Au–Ni [8], are of special interest. Shells can have both a smooth spherical or a polyhedral shape, can have mesopores [9] or dendrites

Self-assembly of a terbium(III) 1D coordination polymer on mica

• Quentin Evrard,
• Giuseppe Cucinotta,
• Felix Houard,
• Guillaume Calvez,
• Yan Suffren,
• Carole Daiguebonne,
• Olivier Guillou,
• Andrea Caneschi,
• Matteo Mannini and
• Kevin Bernot

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2440–2448, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.234

• few molecules maintain their characteristic physical behavior after their conversion from the bulk state into such functional materials. Coordination polymers are very suitable candidates for this purpose as they offer very robust properties as well as high processability [10] and fascinating on

• report on highly luminescent and magnetic terbium one-dimensional coordination polymers on a mica substrate with the possible formula [Tb(hfac)3·2H2O]n@mica. These deposits can be obtained from [Tb(hfac)3·2H2O]n, which is a standard precursor to build luminescent and magnetic molecules. Its high

• recall the very hydrophilic nature of freshly air-cleaved mica substrates. In [Tb(hfac)3·2H2O]n@mica, this hydrophilicity is a strong asset to stabilize H-bonded one-dimensional structures on the surface [11]. This strategy could give rise to new multifunctional lanthanide coordination polymers anchored

pH-Controlled fluorescence switching in water-dispersed polymer brushes grafted to modified boron nitride nanotubes for cellular imaging

• Saban Kalay,
• Yurij Stetsyshyn,
• Volodymyr Donchak,
• Khrystyna Harhay,
• Ostap Lishchynskyi,
• Halyna Ohar,
• Yuriy Panchenko,
• Stanislav Voronov and
• Mustafa Çulha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2428–2439, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.233

• ][31][32][33][34]. In [35], the fluorescent CdSe quantum dots were attached to BNNT surfaces, and in [36] the halloysite nanotubes were modified with carbon dots and used for cellular imaging. Another approach is surface modification with grafted polymers bearing organic fluorophores. One of the most

• aggregates are visible on the top of the suspension and at the sides of the cuvette (Figure 1a). To confirm the chemical modification and to isolate oligoperoxide and P(AA-co-FA)-graft-functionalized BNNTs from physically adhered polymers, several cycles of centrifugation/decanting/redispersion in different

• -switchable fluorescence of the obtained BNNTs was previously described for fluorescein [46][49][51] and fluorescein-containing polymers [42][52]. Under neutral or alkaline pH values (pH 7–10), the P(AA-co-FA)-functionalized BNNTs are highly emissive, corresponding to the conjugated anionic form of

Semitransparent Sb₂S₃ thin film solar cells by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis for use in solar windows

• Jako S. Eensalu,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Erki Kärber,
• Lothar Weinhardt,
• Monika Blum,
• Clemens Heske,
• Wanli Yang,
• Ilona Oja Acik and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2396–2409, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.230

• nontransparent 125 nm Ag back contact [21]. TiO2 is the most commonly used electron transport material (ETM) in Sb2S3 solar cells [18][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. SnO2 and ZnO have also been employed as the planar ETM, with varying success [33][34]. Conjugated polymers, e.g., P3HT, Spiro-OMeTAD (2,2',7,7

Polyvinylpyrrolidone as additive for perovskite solar cells with water and isopropanol as solvents

• Chen Du,
• Shuo Wang,
• Xu Miao,
• Wenhai Sun,
• Yu Zhu,
• Chengyan Wang and
• Ruixin Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2374–2382, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.228

• -based lead nitrate remains less than satisfactory. A common method to improve the photoelectric performance of perovskite solar cells is adding organic polymers. Jianfeng Li et al. [26][27] and Zezhou Liang et al. [28] both improved the photoelectric performance of perovskite solar cells by adding

• organic polymers. As a non-ionic polymer compound, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) shows excellent solubility and physiological compatibility and is extensively applied in medicine, food, and cosmetics, which are closely related to the health of people [29]. PVP is commonly integrated in PSCs, which is

Integration of sharp silicon nitride tips into high-speed SU8 cantilevers in a batch fabrication process

• Nahid Hosseini,
• Matthias Neuenschwander,
• Oliver Peric,
• Santiago H. Andany,
• Jonathan D. Adams and
• Georg E. Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2357–2363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.226

• amplitude modulation AFM (HS-AM-AFM) enhanced by up to one order of magnitude due to their low mechanical quality factor (Q-factor) and hence their high mechanical bandwidth [23]. A tip made of SU8 or other structural polymers can be integrated into a polymer cantilever by moulding. Such tips have been

• prepared with acceptable radii for many imaging purposes [20]. However, the wear rate of SU8 is very high [24], which makes this and other polymers a nonideal tip material. Some attempts to coat SU8 cantilevers and tips with a more wear-resistant material (such as graphene) have been made [25], but yielded

Atomic force acoustic microscopy reveals the influence of substrate stiffness and topography on cell behavior

• Yan Liu,
• Li Li,
• Xing Chen,
• Ying Wang,
• Meng-Nan Liu,
• Jin Yan,
• Liang Cao,
• Lu Wang and
• Zuo-Bin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2329–2337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.223

• an effective tool to measure soft materials such as biomedical tissues and polymers [18]. A number of research groups have reported that the AFAM method can characterize mechanical properties of buried structures. For example, the influence of the thickness on the elastic properties of porous

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

• to different types of stimulation, during mastication, speech and swallowing, could hinder the development of drug delivery systems for this route [15][16]. In order to avoid these drawbacks, nanostructured systems with mucoadhesive polymers, such as acrylic-acid derivatives, have been investigated

• the preparation and before the pH adjustment step, due to the acidic properties of the mucoadhesive polymers [47]. Furthermore, the stability by photophysical studies of polymer blends containing 0.01% (w/w) P407, 1.6 × 10−4% (w/w) C974P and 1.8 × 10−5 mol/L CUR were spectroscopically evaluated using

Microfluidics as tool to prepare size-tunable PLGA nanoparticles with high curcumin encapsulation for efficient mucus penetration

• Nashrawan Lababidi,
• Valentin Sigal,
• Aljoscha Koenneke,
• Konrad Schwarzkopf,
• Andreas Manz and
• Marc Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2280–2293, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.220

• types of Pluronic (9400, 3100 and 6400) have directly shown aggregation (from tstart = 0 min) as obvious from the increase in size (mean diameter up to 400 nm). A considerable shift in PDI from 0.026 to 0.5 was also noticed. The findings could be correlated with the amount of PEG in the polymers, which

Nontoxic pyrite iron sulfide nanocrystals as second electron acceptor in PTB7:PC₇₁BM-based organic photovoltaic cells

• Olivia Amargós-Reyes,
• José-Luis Maldonado,
• Omar Martínez-Alvarez,
• María-Elena Nicho,
• José Santos-Cruz,
• Juan Nicasio-Collazo,
• Irving Caballero-Quintana and
• Concepción Arenas-Arrocena

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2238–2250, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.216

• in agreement with previously reported IS data of OPVs based on low band-gap polymers [34][60]. It is possible to get information about the recombination (Rrec) and series resistance (Rs), from the IS curves at low and large frequencies, respectively [34][59][60]. These parameters necessary for the

A novel all-fiber-based LiFePO₄/Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ battery with self-standing nanofiber membrane electrodes

• Li-li Chen,
• Hua Yang,
• Mao-xiang Jing,
• Chong Han,
• Fei Chen,
• Xin-yu Hu,
• Wei-yong Yuan,
• Shan-shan Yao and
• Xiang-qian Shen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2229–2237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.215

• for LiFePO4 and Li5Ti4O12 nanofiber membranes is shown in Figure 2. It can be seen that the sintered LiFePO4 nanofiber membrane keeps a stable structure and shows good bending ability. Particularly, adding polymers with different molecular weights to the precursors can adjust the distribution of

Targeted therapeutic effect against the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 with a CuFe₂O₄/silica/cisplatin nanocomposite formulation

• B. Rabindran Jermy,
• Vijaya Ravinayagam,
• Widyan A. Alamoudi,
• Dana Almohazey,
• Hatim Dafalla,
• Lina Hussain Allehaibi,
• Abdulhadi Baykal,
• Muhammet S. Toprak and
• Thirunavukkarasu Somanathan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2217–2228, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.214

• multifunctional theranostic applications, whereby the nanocomposite may be further engineered with biocompatible polymers, antioxidants and drugs. Powder XRD patterns of CuFe2O4/HYPS with different Cu concentrations (x = 0.08, 0.10, 0.12, 0.15 and 0.17). BET adsorption–desorption isotherm and pore size

Mannosylated brush copolymers based on poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(ε-caprolactone) as multivalent lectin-binding nanomaterials

• Stefania Ordanini,
• Wanda Celentano,
• Anna Bernardi and
• Francesco Cellesi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2192–2206, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.212

• recently synthesized with the aim of producing powerful anti-pathogenic agents [4]. The so called “cluster glycoside effect” is the enhanced activity of a multivalent glycoderivative with respect to the monovalent saccharide [5]. Glycopolymers, i.e., polymers presenting pendant saccharides, are an

• lectins that are comparable to those of antigens and antibodies [7]. Nevertheless, polymers often lack homogeneity; they can be highly polydisperse and poorly characterized, and this represents a clear limitation for therapeutic applications, since different molecular weight, architecture and

• initiated by halogenated compounds, typically alkyl halides. ATRP is tolerant of a large range of functional groups; the use of multifunctional initiators allows for the synthesis of materials with different topologies, e.g., comb-like and star polymers [11]. ATRP of an unprotected carbohydrate

Liquid crystal tunable claddings for polymer integrated optical waveguides

• José M. Otón,
• Manuel Caño-García,
• Fernando Gordo,
• Eva Otón,
• Morten A. Geday and
• Xabier Quintana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2163–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.209

• explored. Tunable waveguides have been modeled and fabricated using polymers. Optical functions such as variable coupling and optical switching have been demonstrated. Keywords: liquid crystal; organic waveguide; photonic integrated circuit; polymer waveguide; tunable cladding; Introduction Photonic

• waveguides and their tunability has been demonstrated. Experimental Several organic materials have been evaluated in a previous work [13]. The best results were obtained with direct laser writing (DLW) of UV-curing polymers specifically designed for optical waveguide manufacturing, such as the Ormocore

BergaCare SmartLipids: commercial lipophilic active concentrates for improved performance of dermal products

• Florence Olechowski,
• Rainer H. Müller and
• Sung Min Pyo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2152–2162, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.208

• status of many polymers used, expensive large-scale production and the lack of biodegradability (no “green” products possible, thus no certification after ECOCERT/COSMOS). There were also developments of various “somes”, being derived from the liposomes and finding few applications (e.g., niosomes

Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond for nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging applications

• Alberto Boretti,
• Lorenzo Rosa,
• Jonathan Blackledge and
• Stefania Castelletto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2128–2151, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.207

Microbubbles decorated with dendronized magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical imaging: effective stabilization via fluorous interactions

• Da Shi,
• Justine Wallyn,
• Dinh-Vu Nguyen,
• Francis Perton,
• Delphine Felder-Flesch,
• Sylvie Bégin-Colin,
• Mounir Maaloum and
• Marie Pierre Krafft

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2103–2115, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.205

• conjunction with focused ultrasound, and under magnetic resonance imaging guidance, for achieving blood/brain and blood/tumor barrier crossing of drugs [11][12]. Medical MBs have a shell consisting of surfactants, phospholipids, or polymers and are usually stabilized by a fluorocarbon gas [13] that acts as an

• osmotic agent [14][15] and as a co-surfactant to phospholipids [16] and block co-polymers [17]. Nanoparticles can be attached to the bubble shells to extend their diagnostic and therapeutic potential by combining multimodal imaging, drug or gene delivery, and/or enhancement and control of the acoustic

• MBs that incorporate IONPs are often made of polymers. For example, ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were embedded in the wall of poly(butyl cyanoacrylate)-based MBs, allowing the blood‒brain barrier penetration to be monitored [23]. Soft-shell colloids called lipospheres have

Incorporation of doxorubicin in different polymer nanoparticles and their anticancer activity

• Sebastian Pieper,
• Hannah Onafuye,
• Dennis Mulac,
• Jindrich Cinatl Jr.,
• Mark N. Wass,
• Martin Michaelis and
• Klaus Langer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2062–2072, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.201

• . To investigate whether easy-to-prepare nanoparticles made of well-tolerated polymers may circumvent transporter-mediated drug efflux, we prepared poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), polylactic acid (PLA), and PEGylated PLGA (PLGA-PEG) nanoparticles loaded with the ABCB1 substrate doxorubicin by

• nanoparticles and/or rapid drug diffusion through the particle matrix [15][39][45][46][47]. PEGylated polymers may result in a more porous particle structure, which is caused by aqueous channels created by PEG chains and anticipated to further increase the initial burst release [48]. However, the burst release

• ), and zeta potential (ZP) for PLGA nanoparticles prepared by an unmodified PVA solution and a PVA solution adjusted to pH 7 (data expressed as means ± SD, n = 3). Preparation parameters for nanoparticles based on different polymers using emulsion diffusion technique.

Review of advanced sensor devices employing nanoarchitectonics concepts

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Tatsuyuki Makita,
• Masato Ito,
• Taizo Mori,
• Shun Watanabe and
• Jun Takeya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2014–2030, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.198

• frameworks and porous coordination polymers have received much attention because of the various functional nanoporous structures that can be engineered through self-assembly from selected components [127][128][129][130]. Pan, Su, and co-workers fabricated metal–organic framework materials with microporous

Nanostructured and oriented metal–organic framework films enabling extreme surface wetting properties

• Andre Mähringer,
• Julian M. Rotter and
• Dana D. Medina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1994–2003, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.196

• polymers which exhibit a surface energy in the range of 20–50 mN/m. However, the estimated MOF surface energy and WCAs are in good agreement with systems such as modified carbonaceous layers, showing values of about 60 mN/m and WCAs of 50° [69]. Superoleophilic wetting properties were also detected for

Porous silver-coated pNIPAM-co-AAc hydrogel nanocapsules

• William W. Bryan,
• Riddhiman Medhi,
• Maria D. Marquez,
• Supparesk Rittikulsittichai,
• Michael Tran and
• T. Randall Lee

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1973–1982, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.194

• particle composition, core size, and/or shell size to absorb/scatter wavelengths in the NIR region, which is largely transparent to human tissue [49][50][51]. Thermo-responsive hydrogel polymers have been extensively studied and have been utilized in various technological applications such as drug delivery

• by the lower critical solution temperature (LCST); that is, the temperature at which the hydrogel polymers become hydrophilic and soluble in aqueous solutions, or conversely, hydrophobic and insoluble in aqueous solutions [57][58][59]. Interestingly, through chemical modification, the LCST can be

• hydrogel polymers allow researchers to tailor the LCST to biologically relevant temperatures. To this end, researchers have made significant progress toward creating photothermally responsive hydrogel-based materials that respond to variations in temperature and/or pH [61][65][66][67][68]. For example

High-tolerance crystalline hydrogels formed from self-assembling cyclic dipeptide

• Yongcai You,
• Ruirui Xing,
• Qianli Zou,
• Feng Shi and
• Xuehai Yan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1894–1901, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.184

• hydrogels under various conditions. (E) XRD patterns of hydrogels with various polymers. (F) TG curves of the C-WY hydrogel. Characterization of hydrogels as supercapacitors. (A) Cyclic voltammograms at different scan rates. (B) Galvanostatic charge–discharge curves of C-WY hydrogels at different current