Radiosensitizing properties of dual-functionalized carbon nanostructures loaded with temozolomide

• Radmila Milenkovska,
• Nikola Geskovski,
• Dushko Shalabalija,
• Ljubica Mihailova,
• Petre Makreski,
• Dushko Lukarski,
• Igor Stojkovski,
• Maja Simonoska Crcarevska and
• Kristina Mladenovska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 229–251, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.18

• , temozolomide (TMZ), a drug used for the treatment of anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), was incorporated into multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and a MWCNTs–graphene (MWCNTs-G) hybrid compound, covalently functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 and folic acid (FA), with an

• controlled release of TMZ [41][42]. In another publication [25], the suitability of graphene oxide (GO) functionalized with folic acid (FA) for controlled release of TMZ and the inhibition of glioma growth was confirmed in vivo. To our knowledge (and stated also in the paper of Petrenko et al. [35]), our

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

• ]. In RA, the predominance of M1 macrophages in inflamed joints drives synovitis and cartilage destruction. Yang and colleagues developed folic acid-modified silver nanoparticles (FA-AgNPs) to target M1 macrophages via folate receptor-mediated endocytosis. Once internalized, these NPs scavenged ROS

Dual-functionalized architecture enables stable and tumor cell-specific SiO₂NPs in complex biological fluids

• Iris Renata Sousa Ribeiro,
• Raquel Frenedoso da Silva,
• Romênia Ramos Domingues,
• Adriana Franco Paes Leme and
• Mateus Borba Cardoso

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1238–1252, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.100

• (APTES, 99%), ammonium hydroxide (NH4OH, 28%), rhodamine B isothiocyanate, 1-ethyl-3-carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC), N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS), and folic acid were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. (N,N-Dimethylaminopropyl)trimethoxysilane (DMAPTMS), 1,3 propanesultone (99%), ethyl acetate (HPLC), (3

• . The purification process was carried out by successive washings by centrifugation, using ethanol and water. The addition of the tumor driver to the NPs was performed by activating the carboxyl groups of folic acid with the use of EDC, in the presence of NHS, and subsequent reaction with amine groups

• present in the NPs. The amount of folic acid used was the same as the number of moles of APTES. The chemical structures of the main compounds used for this process are represented in Supporting Information File 1, Figure S2. The NPs were named as: SiO2NPs (non-functionalized), SiO2NPs-ZW (with ZW

Realizing active targeting in cancer nanomedicine with ultrasmall nanoparticles

• André F. Lima,
• Giselle Z. Justo and
• Alioscka A. Sousa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1208–1226, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.98

• ][156][157][158][159]; and Table 2 provides a quantitative assessment of tumor uptake for actively targeted usNPs compared to control groups, limited to studies including quantitative values of % ID/g. 5.1 Folic acid ligand/folate receptor Wu et al. developed core–shell silica NPs (Cornell dots, or C

• ’ dots) composed of encapsulated Cy5 near-infrared (NIR) dyes, a protective PEG layer, the drug exatecan conjugated via a cathepsin-B cleavable linker, and folic acid targeting molecules (Figure 3A) [115]. The multifunctional C’ dot particles contained on average 21 exatecan and 13 folic acid molecules

• the targeted C’ dots toward corresponding folic acid receptors (Figure 3B). The findings revealed a strong multivalency effect, leading to a 40-fold enhancement in binding affinity relative to free folic acid (IC50 values of 0.4 nM vs 16.4 nM). Systematic studies were conducted to compare the

Therapeutic effect of F127-folate@PLGA/CHL/IR780 nanoparticles on folate receptor-expressing cancer cells

• Thi Ngoc Han Pham,
• Phuong-Thao Dang-Luong,
• Hong-Phuc Nguyen,
• Loc Le-Tuan,
• Xuan Thang Cao,
• Thanh-Danh Nguyen,
• Vy Tran Anh and
• Hieu Vu_Quang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 954–964, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.78

• copolymer has been utilized in many studies to develop a carrier that is effective for both treatment and diagnostics [8][9]. Its delivery efficiency can be improved by modifying the substance with targeted ligands such as folic acid, RGD, or antibodies [10][11]. Folic acid is one of the most common ligands

• used. Its receptor is significantly overexpressed in several types of cancer cells, while there is an undetectable expression in normal cells [12]. Hence, the incorporation of folic acid into nanoparticles is helpful in actively targeting tumors [12][13]. In our previous study, F127 was conjugated with

• folic acid to enhance the imaging contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or to improve the therapeutic efficacy of nanoparticles [14]. Chlorambucil (CHL) is a nitrogen mustard alkylating drug used to treat several benign tumors and malignancies, including chronic lymphatic leukemia [15], Hodgkin’s

Nanocarrier systems loaded with IR780, iron oxide nanoparticles and chlorambucil for cancer theragnostics

• Phuong-Thao Dang-Luong,
• Hong-Phuc Nguyen,
• Loc Le-Tuan,
• Xuan-Thang Cao,
• Vy Tran-Anh and
• Hieu Vu Quang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 180–189, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.17

• ], mannose for the mannose receptor on activated macrophages [6][7], and folic acid for the overexpression of the folate receptor on the surface of cancer cells and activated macrophages [8]. Thus, in this study, PLGA was chosen for NP formulation since it is a biocompatible and biodegradable material

• show a superior targeting effect to cancer cells, which might be due to the fact that cancer cells were cultured in normal cell culture media. Therefore, the expression of folate receptor was not as high compared to that of cancer cells that grew in folic-acid-free cell culture media. Cytotoxicity of

• explanation could be that the cell culture media in the study was not suitable for the targeting of NPs due to the presence of folic acid in it. Therefore, using folic-acid-free cell culture media would be the option for targeting evaluation. The uptake of both F127-folate@NP and F127@NP into the cells has

Polymer nanoparticles from low-energy nanoemulsions for biomedical applications

• Santiago Grijalvo and
• Carlos Rodriguez-Abreu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 339–350, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.29

• in the nanoemulsion. These nanoparticles were complexed with folic acid and showed low hemolytic activity (below 5%). The characteristics of the reported PIC nanoemulsions and derived ethyl cellulose nanoparticles are summarized in Table 1. 3.2 Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles Poly(lactic

Overview of mechanism and consequences of endothelial leakiness caused by metal and polymeric nanoparticles

• Magdalena Lasak and
• Karol Ciepluch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 329–338, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.28

• achievable utilizing NPs less than 100 nm in diameter. In contrast, active targeting strategies involve functionalizing the NP surface with appropriate ligands specific for receptors overexpressed by the cancer cells (e.g., folic acid and transferrin). The combination of the paracellular gap size resulting

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

• ′-direction to provide an overhang in both ends. Thus, the siRNA was captured by two kinds of antisense DNAs on the β-CyDs through RNA/DNA hybridization and co-assembled to the nanoparticles. Folic acid (for targeting tumors) and an influenza hemagglutinin peptide HA (for endosomal escape) were conjugated

Recent advances in green carbon dots (2015–2022): synthesis, metal ion sensing, and biological applications

• Aisha Kanwal,
• Naheed Bibi,
• Sajjad Hyder,
• Arif Muhammad,
• Hao Ren,
• Jiangtao Liu and
• Zhongli Lei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1068–1107, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.93

• glutathione, as a dopant for both S and N, and a green source of celery leaves to synthesize CDs. Low-cost celery leaves containing folic acid with many –COOH and –NH2 groups contribute to high QYs. The reported CDs were novel fluorescent paper sensors and showed remarkable sensitivity and selectivity in the

• pH stability. Animal extract Dehvari et al. converted seafood waste into valuable materials by using crab shell as a natural precursor to form highly fluorescent N-CDs by a sono-chemical approach. A N-CDs/folic acid nanoprobe was synthesized by conjugating N-CDs with folic acid, which could be used

Theranostic potential of self-luminescent branched polyethyleneimine-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

• Rouhollah Khodadust,
• Ozlem Unal and
• Havva Yagci Acar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 82–95, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.6

• modification may change the internalization pathway of the nanoparticles. As an example, in 2009, Gabrielson et al. demonstrated that folic acid modification of PEI polyplex enhances internalization via a caveolar pathway in cells expressing folate receptors [64]. Since caveolae-mediated internalization

The impact of molecular tumor profiling on the design strategies for targeting myeloid leukemia and EGFR/CD44-positive solid tumors

• Nikola Geskovski,
• Nadica Matevska-Geshkovska,
• Simona Dimchevska Sazdovska,
• Marija Glavas Dodov,
• Kristina Mladenovska and
• Katerina Goracinova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 375–401, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.31

• acid (ATRA) or other agonists of nuclear receptors for retinoids [50]. Such approach was demonstrated by Pan and co-workers, who formulated doxorubicin (Dox)-loaded DSPE/cholesterol/PEG liposomes decorated with folic acid and evaluated their effects upon leukemia cells both in vitro and in vivo. The

• authors noticed that the cytotoxicity of folate-functionalized liposomes was greater in FR positive cell lines and that the effect could be blocked through the addition of 1 mM folic acid. Additionally, the authors revealed that the functionalized carriers increased the median survival of the mouse

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

• way to a certain type of coating. This becomes very important when nanoparticles are administered in vivo, as we cannot always determine exactly the nanoparticle concentration at the target site of the nanoparticles. SPIONs coated with polyglycerol and folic acid were shown to have no toxic effect on

Luminescent gold nanoclusters for bioimaging applications

• Nonappa

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

• of streptavidin with biotin was exploited for imaging human hepatoma cells (HepG2, Figure 4C). HepG2 are cancerous cells that contain excess biotin. Retnakumari et al. studied the surface functionalization of Au-BSA NCs with folic acid (FA) for selective binding, internalization and imaging of folate

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

Brome mosaic virus-like particles as siRNA nanocarriers for biomedical purposes

• Alfredo Nuñez-Rivera,
• Pierrick G. J. Fournier,
• Danna L. Arellano,
• Ana G. Rodriguez-Hernandez,
• Rafael Vazquez-Duhalt and
• Ruben D. Cadena-Nava

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 372–382, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.28

• potential candidate to deliver siRNA. The versatility of these plant virus nanocarriers includes the functionalization of the viral capsid surface with specific ligands, e.g., folic acid, antibodies, or modified mannose, which further increase the recognition of specific targeted tissues or tumor cells. The

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

• applications [18]. A folic acid-conjugated amine containing poly(1-vinylimidazole) was found to effectively complex DNA and transfect cancer cells [19]. PVI linked with the dipeptide Cys–Trp was demonstrated to self-assemble to micelles that could also complex RNA effectively. Very few studies have also

Internalization mechanisms of cell-penetrating peptides

• Ivana Ruseska and
• Andreas Zimmer

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

• than the gp60, which are known to induce caveolae-mediated uptake. These receptors are involved in the uptake of ligands such as folic acid, alkaline phosphatase, and pathogens as ganglioside-bound cholera toxin, SV40 virus, polyoma virus, HIV virus. Using caveolae-dependent endocytosis, pathogens can

Synthesis of P- and N-doped carbon catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction via controlled phosphoric acid treatment of folic acid

• Rieko Kobayashi,
• Takafumi Ishii,
• Yasuo Imashiro and
• Jun-ichi Ozaki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1497–1510, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.148

• Holdings Inc., 2-31-11, Nihonbashi Ningyo-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-8650, Japan 10.3762/bjnano.10.148 Abstract Herein, we synthesized P- and N-doped carbon materials (PN-doped carbon materials) through controlled phosphoric acid treatment (CPAT) of folic acid (FA) and probed their ability to catalyze the

• -containing organic compounds and applied it to folic acid (FA) as a commonly occurring N-containing organic compound. During CPAT, phosphoric acid (PA) acts as both a P-doping agent [20][27][28][29][30][31] and a chemical activator to introduce pores [32][33]. The CPAT method, we used here, includes

• activation was dominant at higher temperatures [34]. Figure 2 shows the correlation between P/C ratio and N/C ratio in P-series precursors and HP-series carbon materials. It indicates the presence of some chemical interactions between the nitrogen in folic acid and the phosphorus in phosphoric acid, which

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

• with functional groups still remains challenging. Here, we coated AuNRs with a polydopamine (PDA) shell and functionalized AuNR-PDA particles with folic acid and rhodamine 123 (R123) to fabricate AuNR-PDA-R123-folate nanocomposites. To the best of our knowledge, such AuNR-PDA-based composites combining

• -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

• ) loading, resulting in the formation of AuNR-PDA-R123-folate nanocomposites (Scheme 1). This platform demonstrates three distinct features: (1) targeting of nanocomposites with folic acid leads to enhanced cellular uptake by folate-positive cancer cells compared with PEG-coated nanorods; (2) the high

Targeting strategies for improving the efficacy of nanomedicine in oncology

• Gonzalo Villaverde and
• Alejandro Baeza

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 168–181, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.16

• (Figure 6). There are numerous active vectorization motifs that are capable of being tagged for their deactivation, from small molecules such as folic acid to penetrating (CPP) or homing peptides (RGD-type). The tagged agents may be activated once the system is accumulated in the tumoral tissue by EPR

• cationic groups as mitochondrial targeting agent is the triphenylphosphonium cation (TTP) [87]. The vectorization agents are anchored separately on each of the hemispheres of the nanocarrier through an asymmetrisation process. One hemisphere is functionalized with folic acid as cell membrane targeting

• moieties on the particle surface [1][18]. These targeting moieties are molecules or macromolecules that bind to specific receptors located on the surface of the tumoral cells. In many cases, these cellular receptors are also present in healthy cells, e.g., for the widely employed targeting moieties folic

Surface plasmon resonance enhancement of photoluminescence intensity and bioimaging application of gold nanorod@CdSe/ZnS quantum dots

• Siyi Hu,
• Yu Ren,
• Yue Wang,
• Jinhua Li,
• Junle Qu,
• Liwei Liu,
• Hanbin Ma and
• Yuguo Tang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 22–31, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.3

• QDs have an apparent PL enhancement of four-times after binding with GNRs. In addition, in vitro experimental results show that the biostability of the GNR@CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles can be improved by using folic acid. A bioimaging study has also been performed where GNR@CdSe/ZnS nanoparticles were used

• . Additionally, we investigated the PL signal from a single particle, which indicated a stronger PL intensity compared to that of CdSe/ZnS QDs alone. We also prepared the GNR@CdSe/ZnS modified with folic acid (FA) in cell culture for biological applications. These studies indicated that these multifunctional

• @CdSe/ZnS dispersion was mixed with 400 µL of 10 mM EDC solution and incubated for 2 min. 400 µL of 10 mM NHs was then added to the mixture and stirred for 10 min. Next, 1.2 mL of folic acid in DMSO solution (2 mg/mL) was added to this mixture and stirred at room temperature for 2 h to allow the folic

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of cell lysates mixed with silver nanoparticles for tumor classification

• Mohamed Hassoun,
• Iwan W.Schie,
• Tatiana Tolstik,
• Sarmiza E. Stanca,
• Christoph Krafft and
• Juergen Popp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1183–1190, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.120

• cancer cells was performed in RPMI 1640 with 2.0 g/L NaHCO3 (F 1215, Biochrom AG, Germany) and 40 mg/L folic acid (F7876, Sigma–Aldrich, Germany) with the same amount of fetal bovine serum, penicillin and streptomycin as described above for liver cells. The pancreatic cancer cell line Capan-1 was

Uptake of the proteins HTRA1 and HTRA2 by cells mediated by calcium phosphate nanoparticles

• Olga Rotan,
• Katharina N. Severin,
• Simon Pöpsel,
• Alexander Peetsch,
• Melisa Merdanovic,
• Michael Ehrmann and
• Matthias Epple

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 381–393, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.40

• also influence their uptake [64][65][66][67]. Krais et al. have shown that serum proteins were necessary for cancer cells to take up folic acid-conjugated iron oxide nanoparticles [68]. The nature of the protein corona on the protein-loaded calcium phosphate nanoparticles after immersion in cell

Multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids as MRI contrast agents

• Nikodem Kuźnik and
• Mateusz M. Tomczyk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1086–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.102

• conditions [34]. The so-obtained hybrids were further wrapped with anionic polyelectrolyte polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) and then with cationic polyethylenimine (PEI). A modification of this hybrid, PEI/PSS/SPIO/oMWCNT#Yin, was additionally synthesized by covalent carboxylic-amine crosslinking with folic acid