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

• promise in mitigating inflammation and promoting tumoricidal macrophage polarization. For inflammatory diseases like IBD, targeting pro-inflammatory cytokines with siRNA has proven effective. Laroui et al. developed polymeric NPs made of poly(lactic acid)–poly(ethylene glycol) block copolymer (PLA-PEG

Enhanced catalytic reduction through in situ synthesized gold nanoparticles embedded in glucosamine/alginate nanocomposites

• Chi-Hien Dang,
• Le-Kim-Thuy Nguyen,
• Minh-Trong Tran,
• Van-Dung Le,
• Nguyen Minh Ty,
• T. Ngoc Han Pham,
• Hieu Vu-Quang,
• Tran Thi Kim Chi,
• Tran Thi Huong Giang,
• Nguyen Thi Thanh Tu and
• Thanh-Danh Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1227–1237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.99

• [10][11][12]. Sodium alginate, derived from marine algae, consists of β-ᴅ-mannuronic acid and its stereoisomer α-ʟ-guluronic acid, forming a linear block copolymer with branched chains [13][14]. This biopolymer possesses metal-binding functional groups that readily cross-link through strong

Nanotechnology – a robust tool for fighting the challenges of drug resistance in non-small cell lung cancer

• Filip Gorachinov,
• Fatima Mraiche,
• Diala Alhaj Moustafa,
• Ola Hishari,
• Yomna Ismail,
• Jensa Joseph,
• Maja Simonoska Crcarevska,
• Marija Glavas Dodov,
• Nikola Geskovski and
• Katerina Goracinova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 240–261, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.23

• of molecularly targeted drugs, chemotherapeutic agents, and siRNA. Historically, the most promising first-generation, passive targeting, stealth polymer NPs for anticancer drug/gene delivery are hydrophobic core–hydrophilic shell NPs including (i) self-assembled kinetically stable amphiphilic block

• copolymer core–shell NPs, (ii) polymer–polypeptide hybrid core–shell NPs, and (iii) polymer–lipid hybrid core–shell NPs additionally decorated with ligands for overexpressed receptors on cancer cells [92]. Traditionally selected overexpressed cancer cell surface markers for the active targeting of NPs

Solvent-induced assembly of mono- and divalent silica nanoparticles

• Bin Liu,
• Etienne Duguet and
• Serge Ravaine

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 52–60, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.6

• with two patches functionalized with metal-coordination-based recognition units [20], and by co-assembly of block copolymer micelles and hard nanoparticles [21]. Particles with two patches located at opposite poles have been assembled into a Kagome lattice by hydrophobic interactions [22], into chains

• inspire the fabrication by self-assembly of yet inaccessible colloidal structures. Bridging functionality at the colloidal chain end being now conceivable, their assembly into block-copolymer analogues can for instance be considered. Experimental Materials Styrene (Sigma-Aldrich, 99

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

PEG/PEI-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes as delivery carriers for doxorubicin: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro evaluation

• Shuoye Yang,
• Zhenwei Wang,
• Yahong Ping,
• Yuying Miao,
• Yongmei Xiao,
• Lingbo Qu,
• Lu Zhang,
• Yuansen Hu and
• Jinshui Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1728–1741, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.155

• further biological studies [38]. It should be noted that in a former report, PEG-grafted hyperbranched polyethylenimine (PEG-g-PEI) was first synthesized by a carbodiimide reaction. It acted as a hydrophilic biocompatible block copolymer for the preparation of PEG-PEI-functionalized CNTs [30]. In this

Optically and electrically driven nanoantennas

• Monika Fleischer,
• Dai Zhang and
• Alfred J. Meixner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1542–1545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.136

• breaks down [39][40]. Here, several approaches to create low-cost, large-area SERS substrates that exhibit homogeneous Raman intensity enhancement are introduced. The substrates are based on quasi-hexagonally ordered gold particles prepared by block-copolymer micellar nanolithography and electroless

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

• PDT. Block copolymer nanoassemblies offer the unique possibility to protect the photosensitizer in a hydrophobic environment (as described in Figure 3) and to prevent the aggregation. At the same time, they improve the biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and photochemical reactivity of the

• the following section we will discuss the block copolymer structures that have been proposed in the literature for PDT in the last years. The chemical structures of some key blocks used for self-assemblies are described in Figure 4. We will first present the structures for the hydrophobic block and

• dedicated section. In the following, we will focus on responsive photosensitizer-loaded nanosystems. In such nanosystems, characteristic properties of the tumor microenvironment (endogenous trigger) or an external trigger can act as a stimulus and bring a structural modification of the block copolymer

Molecular architectonics of DNA for functional nanoarchitectures

• Debasis Ghosh,
• Lakshmi P. Datta and
• Thimmaiah Govindaraju

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 124–140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.11

• from DNA block copolymer micelles [100]. The block copolymer micelles were synthesized through ring-opening polymerization, followed by the integration of DNA oligonucleotides in a postpolymerization modification process. The DNA acted as a polar head group, while the whole polymer system acted as a

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

• characteristics beneficial for pharmaceutical and biomedical use [1]. P407 is a non-ionic block copolymer with polypropylene oxide (PPO) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) segments, which can display thermoresponsive properties forming nanometer-sized micelles, hydrogels and lyotropic liquid crystals [2][3]. 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

• , Germany) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) (Resomer RG 503 H, 50:50 ratio, average Mw = 24,000–38,000 Da) was obtained from Evonik Industries (Darmstadt, Germany). Amphiphilic block copolymer Poloxamer (Pluronic F68, F127, 9400, 6200, 3100, 10500 and 6400) was a kind gift from BASF SE (Ludwigshafen

Materials nanoarchitectonics at two-dimensional liquid interfaces

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Michio Matsumoto,
• Taizo Mori and
• Lok Kumar Shrestha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1559–1587, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.153

• , various materials such as molecular machines, molecular receptors, block-copolymer, DNA origami, nanocarbon, phages, and stem cells were assembled at liquid interfaces by using various useful techniques. This review overviews techniques such as conventional Langmuir–Blodgett method, vortex Langmuir

Porous N- and S-doped carbon–carbon composite electrodes by soft-templating for redox flow batteries

• Maike Schnucklake,
• László Eifert,
• Jonathan Schneider,
• Roswitha Zeis and
• Christina Roth

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1131–1139, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.113

• nitrogen source. Also it is much more environmentally friendly, since zinc chloride is no longer needed and replaced by the structure-directing agent Pluronic® F-127. Pluronic is a self-assembly block copolymer, which has already been widely used as template in the synthesis of porous carbons [24]. Strong

• functionality. Results and Discussion For the synthesis of nitrogen-doped carbon composite electrodes phloroglucinol was suggested as a carbon source whereas pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde was utilized as a nitrogen source and the block copolymer Pluronic® F-127 was used as porogen. In the co-doping process

pH-mediated control over the mesostructure of ordered mesoporous materials templated by polyion complex micelles

• Emilie Molina,
• Mélody Mathonnat,
• Jason Richard,
• Patrick Lacroix-Desmazes,
• Martin In,
• Philippe Dieudonné,
• Thomas Cacciaguerra,
• Corine Gérardin and
• Nathalie Marcotte

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 144–156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.14

• . PIC micelles were formed by complexation between a weak polyacid-containing double-hydrophilic block copolymer, poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PEO-b-PAA), and a weak polybase, oligochitosan-type polyamine. As both the micellization process and the rate of silica condensation are highly

• hybrid organic/inorganic materials was also found to vary with pH. The structure variations were discussed based on the extent of electrostatic complexing bonds between acrylate and amino functions and on the silica condensation rate as a function of pH. Keywords: double-hydrophilic block copolymer

• mild pH conditions. Among them the use of sodium silicate as a silica source instead of silicon alkoxide judiciously discards the hydrolysis reactions. Adding silicate directly to a non-ionic block copolymer solution made of acid [11][12] or buffer [13][14][15][16] media allowed materials with ordered

High-throughput micro-nanostructuring by microdroplet inkjet printing

• Hendrikje R. Neumann and
• Christine Selhuber-Unkel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2372–2380, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.222

• densities is highly important in many fields, ranging from nano-optics to biosensor technologies and biomaterials. A well-established method to fabricate quasi-hexagonal patterns of metal nanoparticles is block copolymer micelle nanolithography, which relies on the self-assembly of metal-loaded micelles on

• surfaces by a dip-coating or spin-coating process. Using this method, the spacing of the nanoparticles is controlled by the size of the micelles and by the coating conditions. Whereas block copolymer micelle nanolithography is a high-throughput method for generating well-ordered nanoparticle patterns at

• the nanoscale, so far it has been inefficient in generating a hierarchical overlay structure at the micrometer scale. Here, we show that by combining block copolymer micelle nanolithography with inkjet printing, hierarchical patterns of gold nanoparticles in the form of microstructures can be achieved

Block copolymers for designing nanostructured porous coatings

• Roberto Nisticò

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2332–2344, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.218

• varying the block copolymer parameters (mostly, molecular weight, and the different blocks volume fraction) and the formulation (i.e., solvent(s) volume), it is possible to modulate the surface layer organization at the level of a few tens of nanometers. The following paragraphs describe how well-ordered

• this review, with a particular emphasis on their capability of growing well-ordered nanostructured porous architectures and coatings, exploitable for designing smart membranes and other devices for next future advanced applications. Block copolymer self-assembly: theory and application The self

• : i) the orientation of the polymer chains within the lamella crystals, ii) the orientation of the lamella crystals within the domain structure of the block copolymer, and iii) the domain structure itself. Additionally, it is also possible to rationalize the crystallization behavior in BCs considering

Electrospun one-dimensional nanostructures: a new horizon for gas sensing materials

• Muhammad Imran,
• Nunzio Motta and
• Mahnaz Shafiei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2128–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.202

Self-assembled quasi-hexagonal arrays of gold nanoparticles with small gaps for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Emre Gürdal,
• Simon Dickreuter,
• Fatima Noureddine,
• Pascal Bieschke,
• Dieter P. Kern and
• Monika Fleischer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1977–1985, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.188

• near-field-enhanced bio-analytics of molecules. SERS was demonstrated by measuring Raman spectra of 4-MBA on the gold nanoparticles. It was verified that a smaller inter-particle distance leads to an increased SERS signal. Keywords: block copolymer; electroless deposition; gold nanoparticles; micelle

• method, which enables the parallel processing of large areas. A cost-effective photochemical method is block copolymer micelle lithography (BCML), which can be used to create templates on the surfaces of substrates [10][11][12]. To use the templates for further patterning of the substrate with nanodots

• the scattering spectra of selected gold nanoparticles. Finally, we demonstrate SERS enhancement by measuring Raman spectra of 4-mercaptobenzoic acid (4-MBA) molecules that are adsorbed to the gold nanoparticles. Experimental Block-copolymer micellar lithography 1 × 1 cm2 silicon substrates were

Magnetic properties of Fe₃O₄ antidot arrays synthesized by AFIR: atomic layer deposition, focused ion beam and thermal reduction

• Juan L. Palma,
• Alejandro Pereira,
• Raquel Álvaro,
• José Miguel García-Martín and
• Juan Escrig

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1728–1734, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.164

• [23] and colloidal [24] lithography, porous anodic alumina [25][26], block copolymer templates [27], nanochannel glass [28] and focused ion beam (FIB) patterning [29][30]. Recently, we have proposed the fabrication of disordered antidot arrays through the thermal reduction of thin films synthesized by

Facile phase transfer of gold nanorods and nanospheres stabilized with block copolymers

• Yaroslav I. Derikov,
• Georgiy A. Shandryuk,
• Raisa V. Talroze,
• Alexander A. Ezhov and
• Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 616–627, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.58

• ]. Nanoparticles suitable for this purpose should be stable against aggregation, miscible with at least one of the copolymer blocks and should match the copolymer domain size and shape. The major part of the block copolymer phase diagram is occupied by cylinder and lamellar phases [5], which are intrinsically

• the PS-b-P2VP block copolymer, the presence of polystyrene blocks in the surface layer of nanorods can effectively increase the refractive index of that layer and bring it close to the refractive index of the dispersion medium, benzene. If so, the modeled extinction cross section for a bare nanorod

• , the longitudinal plasmon peak is blue-shifted by 80 nm in 3 h. As seen from Figure 6, in our system, this peak is moved by 85 nm under the same conditions, so that the PS-b-P2VP block copolymer provides similar thermostability to Au nanorods as the polyvinylpyrrolidone homopolymer. Stabilization of Au

Identifying the nature of surface chemical modification for directed self-assembly of block copolymers

• Laura Evangelio,
• Federico Gramazio,
• Matteo Lorenzoni,
• Michaela Gorgoi,
• Francisco Miguel Espinosa,
• Ricardo García,
• Francesc Pérez-Murano and
• Jordi Fraxedas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1972–1981, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.198

• Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM-CSIC), Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, 3, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain 10.3762/bjnano.8.198 Abstract In recent years, block copolymer lithography has emerged as a viable alternative technology for advanced lithography. In chemical-epitaxy-directed self

• -assembly, the interfacial energy between the substrate and each block copolymer domain plays a key role on the final ordering. Here, we focus on the experimental characterization of the chemical interactions that occur at the interface built between different chemical guiding patterns and the domains of

• : grafted brush layer, chemical pattern creation and brush/block co-polymer interface. Keywords: block copolymer; chemical guiding pattern; directed self-assembly; thin film; X-ray photoemission spectroscopy; Introduction Directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymers (BCPs) is a chemical-based

Fabrication of carbon nanospheres by the pyrolysis of polyacrylonitrile–poly(methyl methacrylate) core–shell composite nanoparticles

• Dafu Wei,
• Youwei Zhang and
• Jinping Fu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1897–1908, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.190

• nanospheres were first fabricated by Kowaleski et al. [31] via successive shell crosslinking, oxidization and carbonization of the micelles resulting from the self-assembly of PAN-b-poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) block copolymer in water. The crosslinked shell can retain the micelle structure during the heat

Synthesis of [Fe(L_eq)(L_ax)]_n coordination polymer nanoparticles using blockcopolymer micelles

• Christoph Göbel,
• Ottokar Klimm,
• Florian Puchtler,
• Sabine Rosenfeldt,
• Stephan Förster and
• Birgit Weber

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1318–1327, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.133

• -poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) block copolymer (BCP) micelles as template. Variation of the solvent (THF and toluene) and the rigidity of the axial ligand Lax (Lax = 1,2-di(pyridin-4-yl)ethane) (bpea), trans-1,2-di(pyridin-4-yl)ethene (bpee), and 1,2-di(pyridin-4-yl)ethyne) (bpey); Leq = 1,2

• (bpea)]n@BCP while pronounced differences are observed in the case of [FeLeq(bpey)]n@BCP nanoparticles. Keywords: block copolymer; composite; nanoparticles; self-assembly; spin crossover; Introduction Nanomaterials and especially nanocomposites of coordination polymers (CPs) and (porous) coordination

• used the block copolymer polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP) to prepare spherical nanoparticles of the 1D spin-crossover coordination polymer [FeLeq(bipy)]n. We were able control the crystallinity of the [FeLeq(bipy)]n core through successive addition of starting material and by variation

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

• [58][156], dip-pen nanolithography [157][158], and block copolymer micelle nanolithography [159]. All these methods are just exemplary techniques allowing the (bio)chemical modification of structured surfaces for in vitro cell studies. Despite the precision of the modification that many of these

Polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) copolymers as templates for stacked, spherical large-mesopore silica coatings: dependence of silica pore size on the PS/PEO ratio

• Roberto Nisticò,
• Giuliana Magnacca,
• Sushilkumar A. Jadhav and
• Dominique Scalarone

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1454–1460, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.137

• amphiphilic nature, molecular weight and architecture. In the past twenty years, block copolymer-templated silica with large, spherical, accessible mesopores were intensively investigated [17][18][19] and several morphologies with different pore shapes and sizes were obtained by modulating the reactant ratio

• copolymer films obtained by spin-coating deposition of block copolymer micellar solutions were transformed into silica nanoporous thin layers by thermal treatment performed in air. This way, the organic templating species (i.e., block copolymers) were degraded and removed, leaving voids which formed the

• ], by further reducing the TEOS/block copolymer weight ratio, a change in the pore shape from spherical to elongated cavities is achieved as a result of the supramolecular arrangement of PS-b-PEO chains around a line instead of a dot (i.e., sphere-to-cylinder transition). In this study, four PS-b-PEO