Photothermally active nanoparticles as a promising tool for eliminating bacteria and biofilms

• Mykola Borzenkov,
• Piersandro Pallavicini,
• Angelo Taglietti,
• Laura D’Alfonso,
• Maddalena Collini and
• Giuseppe Chirico

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1134–1146, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.98

• intensively studied within the broad spectrum of existing nanomaterials [10][11][12][13][14][15]. However, the low stability (even at physiological pH levels) and the potential toxicity of Ag NPs limit their application [7][16]. Moreover, the results regarding the efficiency of Ag NPs in preventing biofilm

• demonstrated that the photothermally induced local heat, triggered by the irradiation at 808 nm and 1.2 W/cm2, accelerates the release and penetration of ions into bacteria, resulting in an alteration of the intracellular metabolic pathways and causing bacterial death without a systemic toxicity. In the latest

• the published studies are devoted to the use of expensive plasmonic gold nanoparticles, whose accumulation in the body is still controversial and may lead to several adverse effects. In this direction, nanoparticle toxicity must also be studied carefully. For example, a few studies demonstrated the

Gram-scale synthesis of splat-shaped Ag–TiO₂ nanocomposites for enhanced antimicrobial properties

• Mohammad Jaber,
• Asim Mushtaq,
• Kebiao Zhang,
• Jindan Wu,
• Dandan Luo,
• Zihan Yi,
• M. Zubair Iqbal and
• Xiangdong Kong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1119–1125, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.96

• antibiotics, leading to environmental toxicity and damage of target organs in the human body [1]. Also, these materials rapidly dissolve in the human body creating numerous clinical risks [2][3]. In spite of the desirable antibacterial properties, the traditional quaternary ammonium salts (QASs) and the

• . Particularly, metal and metal-oxide-based disinfectants containing inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) have been broadly used since they simultaneously reduce the toxicity risk related to the organic materials and control the bacterial resistance against antibiotics [8]. Among the various types of nanomaterials

• specifically, Ag NPs have been widely used in many fields, such as dental filling, wound dressing, water treatment and textile fabrics [12][13]. However, issues have been raised concerning Ag-associated genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in human cells [14]. To solve these toxicity problems, nanocomposite materials

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

• therapeutic efficacy, and safety studies. Keywords: drug delivery; drug targeting; endocytosis; medical; nanoparticles; superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs); toxicity; Introduction Nanoencapsulation technologies have been researched over the past several decades and have been widely

• invested nowadays in developing coatings with certain characteristics, depending on the final application (e.g., biocompatibility/low toxicity, targeting a certain cell/compartment/molecule, or stability in biological fluids) [16]. SPIONs are superparamagnetic, which means that they are small enough to

• spherical ones for MRI, having increased contrast and no toxicity in vitro and in vivo [61]. Iron oxide nanoworms were found to be a better solution for targeting tumors (in vitro) and for accumulation in tumors (in vivo) than simple spherical SPIONs [62]. Dimensions: synthesis dimension and hydrodynamic

A few-layer graphene/chlorin e6 hybrid nanomaterial and its application in photodynamic therapy against Candida albicans

• Selene Acosta,
• Carlos Moreno-Aguilar,
• Dania Hernández-Sánchez,
• Beatriz Morales-Cruzado,
• Erick Sarmiento-Gomez,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Luis Octavio Sánchez-Vargas and
• Mildred Quintana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1054–1061, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.90

• of new ways of applying PDT. More studies must be done in order to determine the toxicity of this new generation of nanostructured photosensitizers, such as the hybrid nanomaterial presented in this work. However, immediate applications of the hybrid nanomaterial, for example, the coating of medical

Excitonic and electronic transitions in Me–Sb₂Se₃ structures

• Nicolae N. Syrbu,
• Victor V. Zalamai,
• Ivan G. Stamov and
• Stepan I. Beril

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1045–1053, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.89

• to 2–3 eV. The crystalline structure of Sb2Se3 is quite uniform and stable which minimizes the energy loss due to radiation [3][7][8]. In combination, the binary arrangement (Sb, Se), high crystalline stability, low toxicity and low deposition temperature (melting point ≈611 °С) reduce the production

Uniform Fe₃O₄/Gd₂O₃-DHCA nanocubes for dual-mode magnetic resonance imaging

• Miao Qin,
• Yueyou Peng,
• Mengjie Xu,
• Hui Yan,
• Yizhu Cheng,
• Xiumei Zhang,
• Di Huang,
• Weiyi Chen and
• Yanfeng Meng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1000–1009, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.84

• Gd-DTPA (gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentacetate), are highly advantageous for diagnostic imaging, since they generate bright images, the renal toxicity of Gd-based contrast agents should not be ignored [18][19]. On the other hand, T2 contrast agents, such as Fe3O4 nanoparticles, have a lower

• toxicity in comparison to T1 contrast agents but might cause artifacts that can disturb anatomical imaging and affect diagnostic accuracy. Since T1 and T2 contrast agents pose challenges when used alone in MRI, researchers are starting to focus their efforts on developing strategies to combine T1 and T2

• MR imaging [24][25][26]. In the present study, the fabrication of novel nanocubes with uniformly distributed Fe3O4/Gd2O3 and better MRI contrast was reported. These novel nanocubes were coated with 3,4-dihydroxyhydrocinnamic acid (DHCA), which has a higher exchange efficiency and a lower toxicity in

Wet-spinning of magneto-responsive helical chitosan microfibers

• Dorothea Brüggemann,
• Johanna Michel,
• Naiana Suter,
• Matheus Grande de Aguiar and
• Michael Maas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 991–999, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.83

• polysaccharides such as alginate, hyaluronic acid or chitosan, are widely used as biocompatible materials since they are biochemically similar to the native extracellular matrix (ECM) [16]. Chitosan is a biopolymer that combines excellent biocompatibility, low toxicity and antibacterial properties with a low

Key for crossing the BBB with nanoparticles: the rational design

• Sonia M. Lombardo,
• Marc Schneider,
• Akif E. Türeli and
• Nazende Günday Türeli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 866–883, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.72

• particles as it was shown to be able to increase the apolipoprotein–nanoparticle interaction for a wide range of polymers without any toxicity to the BBB. However, alternatives, such as P188, exist. Furthermore, the efficacy of the coating is also influenced by the composition of the nanoparticle core, i.e

• therefore their brain delivery is reduced [133]. Furthermore, attention should be given to the toxicity of cationic nanoparticles, as they may alter cell membranes during adsorption. For instance, cationic gold nanoparticles have been shown to be 27 times more cytotoxic than their negative counterparts, due

• interesting properties. They can be easily synthetized and coated or conjugated to carry various cargos, from small molecules to proteins and nucleic acids [174]. Furthermore, AuNPs show low immunogenicity and toxicity due to their inert core [78]. Finally, AuNPs could be used as X-ray contrast agent if their

Luminescent gold nanoclusters for bioimaging applications

• Nonappa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 533–546, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.42

• , semiconductor quantum dots suffer from toxicity and are susceptible to oxidation. In this context, atomically precise gold nanoclusters protected by thiol monolayers have emerged as a new class of luminescent nanomaterials. Low toxicity, bioavailability, photostability as well as tunable size, composition, and

• therapy [93]. The toxicity studies using human oesophageal squamous cancer cells (EC1) showed that when [Au8(C21H27O2)8] was used at a concentration near its IC10 value, the luminescence of the incubated samples increased from 0 to 8 h. The luminescence, however, disappeared after 24 h indicating

• internalization of NCs in Kupffer cells. Histological studies of the organs revealed that there are no necrotic cells or atrophic tubes or specific immunogenic infiltration between 5 and 24 h post-injection. This indicates that there is no acute toxicity. X-ray tomography confirmed the uniform distribution of Au

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

• to be low-fouling to various proteins and negligibly cytotoxic. In a related work, the PEG-based films and capsules fabricated with redox responsive moieties via disulfide linkage showed high stability in biological buffers, low toxicity to human cells and low fouling characteristics [96]. Similar

• components have been utilized to functionalize capsules in many ways. Hollow capsules of approximately 400 nm in size with negligible toxicity to cells were reported by the oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine solution onto silica particles [114]. The thickness of multilayer films is comparable to the

Nanoparticles based on the zwitterionic pillar[5]arene and Ag⁺: synthesis, self-assembly and cytotoxicity in the human lung cancer cell line A549

• Dmitriy N. Shurpik,
• Denis A. Sevastyanov,
• Pavel V. Zelenikhin,
• Pavel L. Padnya,
• Vladimir G. Evtugyn,
• Yuriy N. Osin and
• Ivan I. Stoikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 421–431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.33

• toxicity of Ag+ ions, multicore complexes prepared on the basis of macrocyclic ligands [9][10][11][12][13] and silver ions are of greatest interest. The ability of macrocyclic systems to form supramolecular associates, due to noncovalent interactions with Ag+, can reduce toxicity and preserve the

• derivatives of decasubstituted pillar[5]arenes containing sulfobetaine fragments in their structure as target structures. It was shown that the introduction of such zwitterionic fragments into the structure leads to toxicity reduction [21], an increase in the solubility of substances in water [22] and ensures

• macrocycle 3, in the presence of an excess of AgNO3, stable nanoparticles are formed, we further studied the ability of the 3/Ag+ associates to reduce the toxicity of Ag+ for eukaryotic cells. We first carried out the calculation of the minimum inhibitory concentration for silver ions. The minimum inhibitory

Poly(1-vinylimidazole) polyplexes as novel therapeutic gene carriers for lung cancer therapy

• Gayathri Kandasamy,
• Elena N. Danilovtseva,
• Vadim V. Annenkov and
• Uma Maheswari Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 354–369, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.26

• context, non-viral vectors have garnered interest in recent years as gene delivery vehicles. But the highly cationic nature of the employed carriers is associated with immunogenicity and toxicity. Further, the ability of these carriers to escape the acidic endosomes in the cells limit their transfection

• efficiency [3]. One of the widely explored non-viral polymeric carriers for gene delivery is poly(ethylene imine) (PEI), which can effectively escape from the endosomes through the “proton sponge” mechanism [4]. However, PEI systems are limited by their toxicity and, hence, there is a need for less toxic but

• liver cancer cells. Butylated PVI was found to be nontoxic and the most effective when compared to other alkyl derivatives regarding DNA complexation [16]. Carboxymethyl poly(1-vinylimidazole) has also been investigated for DNA complexation and was found to exert no toxicity to cells [17]. Poly(1

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

• inhibitors, whose action on cells is instead very fast. However, some of these inhibitors lack specificity, they might interfere with multiple pathways, and they can cause cellular toxicity [22][133][158][213]. In contrast to these approaches to block uptake pathways, other strategies can be found in which

Phase inversion-based nanoemulsions of medium chain triglyceride as potential drug delivery system for parenteral applications

• Eike Folker Busmann,
• Dailén García Martínez,
• Henrike Lucas and
• Karsten Mäder

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 213–224, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.16

• polydispersity index distributions and uncharged surfaces. Nanoemulsions with particles of 50 and 100 nm in diameter showed very little toxicity to fibroblast cells in vitro. An unusual, exponential-like nonlinear increase in osmolality was observed with increasing concentration of the nonionic surfactant

• Kolliphor HS 15. The experimental results indicate, that nanoemulsions with particles of small and tunable size can be easily formed without homogenization by thermal cycling. Keywords: cellular toxicity; isotonicity; nanoemulsion; phase inversion; solvent free; surface properties; Introduction Nanoscaled

• surfactant show different effects on the final product. For example, these factors influence the feasibility of forming stable nanostructures, they affect the phase inversion zone, the in vitro cellular toxicity and the above mentioned particle and surface properties [3][4][12]. There are marketed drug

Rational design of block copolymer self-assemblies in photodynamic therapy

• Maxime Demazeau,
• Laure Gibot,
• Anne-Françoise Mingotaud,
• Patricia Vicendo,
• Clément Roux and
• Barbara Lonetti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 180–212, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.15

• proteases, as well as the potential toxicity of Mn can be a limit. A nanocapsule where the catalase is protected by a brush-like PEO protective shell covalently linked to the photosensitizer meso-tetra(phydroxyphenyl) used as cross-linker was reported [105]. In another elegant approach, polymer nanovesicles

Internalization mechanisms of cell-penetrating peptides

• Ivana Ruseska and
• Andreas Zimmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 101–123, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.10

• provide enzymatic protection and stability for the drug, an improved distribution and target specificity, as well as a lack of toxicity [3]. Cell-penetrating peptides as drug delivery systems Having in mind the attention they have gained, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have become a current hotspot in

• question. It is of crucial importance for the overall safety and efficacy assessment that the internalization behavior of CPPs is evaluated. Furthermore, knowledge of the uptake mechanism can be essential for the development of CPP-delivery systems with cell-specificity and low toxicity. The complexity in

Recent progress in perovskite solar cells: the perovskite layer

• Xianfeng Dai,
• Ke Xu and
• Fanan Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 51–60, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.5

• of 20.3% were fabricated by using trifluorotoluene as the antisolvent. However, the application of trifluorotoluene, toluene and chlorobenzene in mass production is hindered because of their toxicity and the high cost. A nontoxic and inexpensive antisolvent is highly desired, which can regulate the

The different ways to chitosan/hyaluronic acid nanoparticles: templated vs direct complexation. Influence of particle preparation on morphology, cell uptake and silencing efficiency

• Arianna Gennari,
• Julio M. Rios de la Rosa,
• Erwin Hohn,
• Maria Pelliccia,
• Enrique Lallana,
• Roberto Donno,
• Annalisa Tirella and
• Nicola Tirelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2594–2608, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.250

• as the cationic component in polyplexes and other drug delivery vehicles [1][2][3]. In comparison to other polycations, its main advantages are the low toxicity and its biodegradability. Biodegradation can occur both enzymatically and oxidatively [4]. A number of methods can be employed to prepare

• to 0.5 mg/mL in both models (Figure 5A). Despite the fragile nature of macrophages, the low toxicity seen for HA-coated chitosan nanoparticles is in accordance with what reported in RAW 264.7 macrophages for other HA-based nanomaterials, such as HA-coated liposomes [36] and a library of lipid

• evaluated their silencing efficiency when loaded with a functional anti-luciferase (anti-Luc) siRNA. To this end, cells were first pre-transfected with a luciferase-encoding plasmid (pGL3) using low-toxicity Lipofectamine (LTX) as a vector, and then treated with anti-Luc siRNA vectored either in

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

• toxicity [21][22][23][24]. They are superhydrophobic in their pristine state and cannot be dispersed in aqueous media or in most organic solvents [11][22][23]. To improve the dispersibility of BNNTs in aqueous media, numerous surface functionalization methods have been used [11][25][26][27]. The

Air oxidation of sulfur mustard gas simulants using a pyrene-based metal–organic framework photocatalyst

• Ghada Ayoub,
• Mihails Arhangelskis,
• Xuan Zhang,
• Florencia Son,
• Timur Islamoglu,
• Tomislav Friščić and
• Omar K. Farha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2422–2427, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.232

• -world applications. So far, the oxidative degradation [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] route has been shown to be the most promising but relies on the use of oxidants highly selective for the formation of sulfoxides, as further oxidation to a sulfone leads to a product of toxicity comparable to sulfur

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

• 0.1 cm2. The PCE continued to be over 80% of the initial PCE after 60 days of storage. FInally, the introduced PVP-doped PSCs present a low-cost and low-toxicity way to commercialize perovskite solar cells. Keywords: additive; lead nitrate aqueous solution; low-toxicity process; perovskite solar

• solar cells, and the preparation method is relatively simple. Overall, it is a low-cost, low-toxicity preparation method to commercialize perovskite solar cells. Experimental Materials Lead nitrate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, chlorobenzene and isopropanol were purchased from Aladdin. SnO2 colloid was

• performance of PSCs with PVP is characterized by a PCE of 15.19% and an average steady-state PCE of 14.55%. The solar cell with added PVP displayed a better stability in ambient air. Thus, a low-cost and low-toxicity method to commercialize perovskite solar cells has been presented. Fow chart of the

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

• improved solubility and bioavailability [25]. As penetrating particulate systems also raise the question of toxicity, biocompatible systems such as poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) (a very benign material) are considered to be well-suited. PLGA NPs have been extensively studied in the pharmaceutical field

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

• form aggregates, exert variable oxidation states and result in dose-dependent toxicity. Several supports, including silica and carbon, were used to reduce such aggregation. Notably, different types of nanocomposites were reported based on Co, Ni, Mn and Fe over mesoporous carbon capsules [8]. A carbon

• ). In vitro anticancer studies Cisplatin is a well-known efficient anticancer drug that binds to DNA blocking cell division. As with many anticancer drugs, cisplatin has off-target toxicity, mainly in the kidneys, liver, heart, nerves, and ears. In addition, most patients develop chemoresistance to

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

• positive or negative imaging contrast for resolution as fine as cell clusters. The more precise the imaging that is required, the higher is the dose of the contrast medium that is necessary. This poses a question of possible toxicity that must be adequately considered and ultimately constitutes a key

• platforms, due to their biocompatibility and low toxicity compared to other nanomaterials, the concentration of 13C nuclear spins is diluted (1.1%) in the diamond unless they are enriched with an 13C isotope during growth, which is an expensive process. Used in bulk, a high-purity diamond can exhibit 13C T1

• applications, is given in [21], which includes details on biosensing, bioimaging and drug delivery as well as biocompatibility. The toxicity of diamond nanostructures is also discussed. Electron spin resonance (ESR) of the NVs themselves is exploited in [22] to achieve single-spin subwavelength resolution in

Green and scalable synthesis of nanocrystalline kuramite

• Andrea Giaccherini,
• Giuseppe Cucinotta,
• Stefano Martinuzzi,
• Enrico Berretti,
• Werner Oberhauser,
• Alessandro Lavacchi,
• Giovanni Orazio Lepore,
• Giordano Montegrossi,
• Maurizio Romanelli,
• Antonio De Luca,
• Massimo Innocenti,
• Vanni Moggi Cecchi,
• Matteo Mannini,
• Antonella Buccianti and
• Francesco Di Benedetto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2073–2083, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.202

• with a hydrazine-assisted solution process [12][13]) to 10.6% (using a vacuum process [14]) and 8% (obtained with an electrochemical process [15]). These multinary sulfides have extremely low toxicity, consist of earth-abundant elements [3] and can be obtained by means of processes that are more energy