Polyurethane/silk fibroin-based electrospun membranes for wound healing and skin substitute applications

• Iqra Zainab,
• Zohra Naseem,
• Syeda Rubab Batool,
• Muhammad Waqas,
• Ahsan Nazir and
• Muhammad Anwaar Nazeer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 591–612, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.46

• the material responsive to NIR light for controlled heating and drug release to eliminate bacteria. Furthermore, the hydrogel is highly antibacterial, with tested efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli of more than 99.9%. It also enables cell proliferation, suppresses inflammation

• electrospinning. The SF/PLGA/BP@SF membranes had smooth and uniform fibers, high tensile strength, and good photothermal properties. Moreover, when exposed to NIR light, the temperature of the membranes raised; the photothermal performance was tunable depending on the amount of BP@SF incorporated and the NIR

Recent advances in photothermal nanomaterials for ophthalmic applications

• Jiayuan Zhuang,
• Linhui Jia,
• Chenghao Li,
• Rui Yang,
• Jiapeng Wang,
• Wen-an Wang,
• Heng Zhou and
• Xiangxia Luo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 195–215, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.16

• photochemical reactions [30][31]. UV light helps the skin synthesize vitamin D, but excessive exposure to UV light may lead to DNA damage, sunburn, and photochemical damage [32][33]. Visible and NIR light with longer wavelengths have lower photon energies and are safer for use in the human body [34]. The

• endogenous chromophores (i.e., blood, water, and melanin) and biomolecules in the human body have a low absorption rate of NIR light. Hence, NIR has a high tissue penetration depth, which can avoid photothermal damage to healthy tissues [35][36][37]. Activation of photothermal nanomaterials with NIR light

• photothermal gel, composed of Au nanorods, geraniol, chitosan, and the gene-targeted drug DC_AC50 can be activated by NIR light. Photothermal activation softens the hydrogel composed of geraniol and chitosan, controlling drug release and facilitating PTT at moderate temperatures, thus yielding exceptional anti

Vinorelbine-loaded multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles as anticancer drug delivery systems: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro release study

• Zeynep Özcan and
• Afife Binnaz Hazar Yoruç

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 256–269, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.24

• where the synthesized nanostructure was exposed to NIR light, SN38-loaded nanoparticles effectively suppressed tumor growth chemotherapeutically and photothermally [29]. This promising result highlights the potential of the PEGylation of PDA nanoparticles for advanced cancer treatment strategies

Nanoarchitectonics of photothermal materials to enhance the sensitivity of lateral flow assays

• Elangovan Sarathkumar,
• Rajasekharan S. Anjana and
• Ramapurath S. Jayasree

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 988–1003, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.82

• review is provided in Figure 2. Photothermal nanomaterials The photothermal properties of nanomaterials have been extensively studied for therapeutic applications. Heat generation under exposure to near-infrared (NIR) light is commonly used against deadly diseases such as cancer [28][29][30]. Because of

• found to be suitable candidates for photothermal applications when irradiated with high-power lasers (100 W/cm2) because of the cage-like structure. This particular carbon allotrope is very stable under NIR light [32]. Graphene-based nanoparticles exhibited better photothermal properties when used with

• ]. NIR light irradiation for 10 min can yield temperatures up to 61 °C in mesoporous PDA with a photoconversion efficiency of 26.7%. Despite the advantages, many of the polymer nanoparticles show strong photoluminescence and do not withstand long-term light irradiation. To overcome this challenge, hybrid

Plasmonic nanotechnology for photothermal applications – an evaluation

• A. R. Indhu,
• L. Keerthana and
• Gnanaprakash Dharmalingam

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 380–419, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.33

Cyclodextrins as eminent constituents in nanoarchitectonics for drug delivery systems

• Makoto Komiyama

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 218–232, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.21

• inclusion complex (thus, the ternary assembly is also disassembled). As the result, the siRNA cargo is released and shows excellent cytotoxicity against cancer cells. In Figure 5, NIR light is used (instead of UV in Figure 4) to release siRNA at the target site. As described in section 2.3, the NIR

• positively charged spermine moiety to form stable nanomedicine particles (blue balls in Figure 5a). Upon irradiation of the nanocomposite with NIR light, this light was converted to UV light (around 360 nm) by the upconversion particles and absorbed by arylazopyrazole. The resultant cis isomer could not form

• accomplish PDT using NIR light irradiation, adamantane-modified phthalocyanine was connected to upconversion nanoparticles using carboxymethyl-β-CyD [76]. Furthermore, boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) photosensitizer was complexed with amphiphilic α-CyD bearing oligo(ethylene glycol) chains [77]. By

Near-infrared photoactive Ag-Zn-Ga-S-Se quantum dots for high-performance quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

• Roopakala Kottayi,
• Ilangovan Veerappan and
• Ramadasse Sittaramane

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1337–1344, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.110

• . Hence, they have application potential in optoelectronic devices. Herein, we synthesized, for the first time, Ag, Zn, Ga, S, and Se-based alloyed QDs (AZGSSe QDs) and investigated the optoelectric and morphological properties. Due to the near-infrared (NIR) light absorption, the QDs were used as

• , Zn, Ga, S, and Se. Optical analysis revealed the excellent optical properties of the synthesized QDs. Because of their good NIR light absorption, the synthesized QDs were loaded onto TiO2 NFs, which then formed the photoanode of a QDSC. The fabricated QDSC shows an improved PCE of 4.91%. This is due

Photothermal ablation of murine melanomas by Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle clusters

• Xue Wang,
• Lili Xuan and
• Ying Pan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 255–264, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.20

• properties to absorb and locally convert near-infrared (NIR) light into heat [3]. Nanoscale agents tend to accumulate within tumor sites due to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect. Also, tumor cells are more sensitive to elevated temperatures than normal cells. Thus, PTT specifically ablates

• tumor cells, while leaving healthy neighbor tissues intact [4][5]. Treatment specificity is further guaranteed by the high transmissivity and low absorption of NIR light when penetrating through biological tissues, making PTT a minimally invasive approach for tumor intervention. One such type of

• , whereas exposure to and subsequent absorption of NIR light by iron oxide nanoparticles promotes NIR-induced hyperthermia [10]. Although magnetic hyperthermia has been widely used in biomedical research, it is subject to several limitations such as the need for sophisticated equipment, cellular confinement

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

• extended periods of time relative to conventional organic photosensitizers, and they are non-toxic and stable without light irradiation. Thus, TiO2 nps activated by NIR light would be an attractive photosensitizing agent for PDT. A team of researchers has synthesized upconversion nps (UCNs) with a thin and

• continuous layer of TiO2 on rare earth nanomaterials and found 50–60% cell destruction when illuminated with NIR light. The results show the penetration of the nanoconstruct into deep tissue tumors, and PEG makes them more biocompatible in conjunction with a strong therapeutic efficacy in vitro as well as in

Tin dioxide nanomaterial-based photocatalysts for nitrogen oxide oxidation: a review

• Viet Van Pham,
• Hong-Huy Tran,
• Thao Kim Truong and
• Thi Minh Cao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 96–113, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.7

• ability for NOx removal under VIS-NIR light” by Y. Lu et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, vol. 7, issue 26, © 2019); permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. This content is not subject to CC BY 4.0. A mechanism of NO photocatalytic oxidation over SnO2–Zn2SnO4/graphene. Figure 12 was reprinted

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

Doxorubicin-loaded gold nanorods: a multifunctional chemo-photothermal nanoplatform for cancer management

• Uzma Azeem Awan,
• Abida Raza,
• Shaukat Ali,
• Rida Fatima Saeed and
• Nosheen Akhtar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 295–303, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.24

• conversion of absorbed NIR light to heat. In cancer intervention, NIR-mediated photothermal therapy is gaining more attention due to the deep tissue penetration with minimal absorbance by healthy tissues [15][16]. Gold nanorods are potential delivery carriers for sustained drug release in response to an

• external stimulus [13]. Additionally, the NIR light-induced heat can improve the sensitivity of cancer cells towards chemotherapeutic agents by increasing blood vessel dilation and membrane permeability. These findings provide an incentive to combine photothermal therapy and chemotherapy for cancer

• significantly (p < 0.05) after 2 min of NIR irradiation (Figure 5). HepG2 cells were treated with free DOX and DOX-PSS-GNRs, either irradiated with NIR laser or not exposed to NIR light. A dose-dependent cytotoxicity was observed in all study groups. About 84% of cells were killed by free DOX and 65% by DOX-PSS

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

• nanocomposites for the light-triggered eradication of bacteria and biofilms. Keywords: antibacterial activity; bacteria eradication; nanoparticles; NIR light; photothermal effect; Introduction Bacteria are considered the major source of hospital-acquired nosocomial infections and patients are at a risk higher

• conventional sterilization procedures that are usually time consuming and require higher temperatures. In addition, the NIR light in the so-called “bio-transparent window” (750–900 nm) is considered safe for direct in vivo application as it has a large penetration depth and does not damage normal tissue (at

• nanoparticles are due to the resonant oscillation of the surface electrons, called surface plasmons (e.g., plasmonic gold and silver nanoparticles) [38], or they are due to the energy of the band transitions (e.g., Cu2+ d–d transition in CuS nanoparticles) [39]. Under visible–NIR light irradiation, these

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

• increased ROS generation is the ability of FLG to absorb red and NIR light. This modified spatial arrangement effectively increases the volume of the sample accessible to the system for the interaction with molecular oxygen. Also, FLG can delay the photobleaching of Ce6 when forming a hybrid and exposed to

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

• in non-neurogenic regions. Disruption of the BBB by NIR light irradiation of AuNRs increased the AuNRs ability to accumulate in the SVZ, making this formulation interesting for targeting neural stem cells. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs

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

Coating of upconversion nanoparticles with silica nanoshells of 5–250 nm thickness

• Cynthia Kembuan,
• Maysoon Saleh,
• Bastian Rühle,
• Ute Resch-Genger and
• Christina Graf

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2410–2421, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.231

• nanocrystals have gained importance as inorganic optical reporters in recent years [1][2][3]. The doping of inorganic host NaYF4 matrices with different optically active lanthanide ions can result in so-called upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) which can absorb photons of lower energy (e.g., near-infrared (NIR

• ) light) and emit photons of higher energy (e.g., visible light) via a two- or multiphoton upconversion mechanism involving several energy transfer steps [2][3][4][5]. Advantages of UCNPs compared to organic dyes or other inorganic nanoscale reporters are the emission of a multitude of characteristic

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

• ), allowing for reversible contraction and swelling of the hydrogel via photothermal heating of the surrounding silver shell. Given that NIR light can pass through tissue, and the silver shell is porous, this system can serve as a platform for the smart delivery of payloads stored within the hydrogel core

• nanoscale delivery system that can be targeted, optically activated, and subsequently release a payload (e.g., drugs). Notably, gold and silver nanoshells can be heated by application of NIR light and subsequently be used to transfer heat to an incorporated hydrogel polymer particle [69]. Upon heating

Polydopamine-coated Au nanorods for targeted fluorescent cell imaging and photothermal therapy

• Boris N. Khlebtsov,
• Andrey M. Burov,
• Timofey E. Pylaev and
• Nikolai G. Khlebtsov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 794–803, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.79

• photothermal effects Notably, the AuNR-PDA-R123-folate not only served as fluorescent imaging agent, but it was also employed as a NIR light absorber in photothermal laser therapy. To compare the photothermal properties of PDA-coated nanorods with PEG-coated nanorods, we added 200 µL of AuNR-PDA-R123-folate or

• that folate-functionalized nanoparticles can selectively accumulate in folate-positive HeLa but not in folate-negative HEK 293. The targeted NIR light-mediated phototherapy by using AuNR-PDA-folate showed remarkable cancer cell killing efficiency in vitro in comparison with AuNR-PEG nanoparticles. The

• -functionalized nanoparticles in folate-positive HeLa cells in contrast to the folate-negative HEK 293 cells using fluorescent microscopy. The replacement of folic acid with polyethylene glycol (PEG) leads to a decrease in nanoparticle uptake by both folate-positive and folate-negative cells. We performed NIR

Ceria/polymer nanocontainers for high-performance encapsulation of fluorophores

• Kartheek Katta,
• Dmitry Busko,
• Yuri Avlasevich,
• Katharina Landfester,
• Stanislav Baluschev and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 522–530, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.53

• optical response of nanometric systems not only by quenching dramatically the fluorescence but also by photooxidation of the organic dye [21]. This effect is an additional source of uncertainty for quantitative measurements in life sciences [22][23]. Near-infrared (NIR) light undergoes less diffuse

Near-infrared light harvesting of upconverting NaYF₄:Yb³⁺/Er³⁺-based amorphous silicon solar cells investigated by an optical filter

• Daiming Liu,
• Qingkang Wang and
• Qing Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2788–2793, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.260

• the visible range; however, they are almost transparent for near-infrared radiation (NIR, 700–2500 nm), which constitutes 52% of the energy of the entire solar spectrum [2][3]. The transmittance of NIR light is one of the major energy-loss mechanisms for conventional a-Si:H solar cells [4][5]. This

• energy loss can be substantially reduced through spectral upconversion (UC) [6]. Spectral UC describes nonlinear anti-Stokes optical processes that can convert two (or more) NIR photons to a visible photon. In terms of its application in solar cells, UC is expected to convert the sub-bandgap NIR light to

• can be easily implemented on the rear side of solar cells, separated from the actual physics of the operating device [6]. Although the idea of using UC for improving the cell performance is obvious, relatively little work has been done so far [11]. Due to the relatively weak intensity of NIR light and

Fabrication of photothermally active poly(vinyl alcohol) films with gold nanostars for antibacterial applications

• Mykola Borzenkov,
• Maria Moros,
• Claudia Tortiglione,
• Serena Bertoldi,
• Nicola Contessi,
• Silvia Faré,
• Angelo Taglietti,
• Agnese D’Agostino,
• Piersandro Pallavicini,
• Maddalena Collini and
• Giuseppe Chirico

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2040–2048, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.193

• materials that can coat surfaces and are capable of eradicating biofilms with remote physical activation. Even though gold nanoparticles are not intrinsically antibacterial, the thermal relaxation upon NIR light activation can be a major force of antibacterial action as it was shown for monolayers of GNSs

• photothermal effect [6][24]. Moreover, the LSPR peak located in the second biotransparent window (1000–1400 nm) is more attractive for in vivo applications due to the deeper penetration of NIR light [26]. Since GNSs are weakly stable if coated only with surfactant, and also considering the cytotoxicity of

• irradiation The films were irradiated with NIR light at λ = 800 nm (Tsunami, Spectra Physics, CA, USA; pulse repetition rate 80 MHz, pulse width 200 fs), at λ = 730 nm (Mai Tai, Spectra Physics, USA) and at λ = 1064 nm (temperature-controlled laser diodes, ThorLabs, Germany or 1064 Ventus, Laser Quantum, UK

Mechanistic insights into plasmonic photocatalysts in utilizing visible light

• Kah Hon Leong,
• Azrina Abd Aziz,
• Lan Ching Sim,
• Pichiah Saravanan,
• Min Jang and
• Detlef Bahnemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 628–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.59

• spatial charge separation of photoinduced carriers by creating an alternate permutation of band edges at the interface [146]. Some researchers found that both titanium nitride (TiN) and zirconium nitride (ZrN) displayed similar optical properties as Au and can replace Au NPs for vis–NIR light absorption

• [147][148]. Bio-inspired plasmonic nanostructures/architectures The pioneering works of several research groups have revealed that by mimicing biological systems, such as butterfly wings [149] and snake skin [150], systems can be designed that are cable of absorbing NIR light due to their distinctive

Sugarcane juice derived carbon dot–graphitic carbon nitride composites for bisphenol A degradation under sunlight irradiation

• Lan Ching Sim,
• Jing Lin Wong,
• Chen Hong Hak,
• Jun Yan Tai,
• Kah Hon Leong and
• Pichiah Saravanan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 353–363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.35

• absorption spectra after titanium dioxide (TiO2) loading [28] and acid treatment [29], the incorporation of CDs into g-C3N4 consistently red-shifted the absorption spectra towards the visible and NIR region. However, the photocatalytic performance of the composites is possibly limited under NIR light

• irradiation because the UCPL properties of CDs (which could overcome the low energy of NIR-light photons to initiate the excitation of electrons) are not detected in Figure 3b. The PL spectra in Figure 3d were evaluated to determine the charge separation efficiency of all composites. The recombination of

• well with the UV DRS results (Figure 3c), in which the increasing concentration of CDs resulted in stronger photosensitizing effect in the composite, thus leading to a broader absorption band in the visible and NIR light region compared to that of pure g-C3N4. This indicates that the electrons can be

Synthesis and functionalization of NaGdF₄:Yb,Er@NaGdF₄ core–shell nanoparticles for possible application as multimodal contrast agents

• Dovile Baziulyte-Paulaviciene,
• Vitalijus Karabanovas,
• Marius Stasys,
• Greta Jarockyte,
• Vilius Poderys,
• Simas Sakirzanovas and
• Ricardas Rotomskis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1815–1824, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.183

• detectors from reflected and scattered NIR light. Cell viability assay: MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells were seeded on a 96-well plate at a density of 20,000 cells/well. After 24 h, the old medium was replaced with a fresh medium containing 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 µg/mL core–shell UCNPs. 12