Thiswork highlights the laser-based aqueous synthesis and processing of nanocomposites, composed of zinc or iron nanoparticles embedded in a N-Vinylcaprolactam microgel matrix, with potential applicability as ion releasing fiber pads forwound healing. An in situ laser process formicrogel synthesis is developed and optimized for high embedded nanoparticle yields, evaluating influences of laser r...

Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) and ultra small superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) nanoparticles have been developed as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents. Iron oxide nanoparticles, that become superparamagnetic if the core particle diameter is ~ 30 nm or less, present R1 and R2 relaxivities which are much higher than those of conventional paramagnetic gadolinium chelates. G...

Dendritic cell-based cancer immunotherapy requires tumour antigens to be delivered efficiently into dendritic cells and their migration to be monitored in vivo. Nanoparticles have been explored as carriers for antigen delivery, but applications have been limited by the toxicity of the solvents used to make nanoparticles, and by the need to use transfection agents to deliver nanoparticles into c...

Alginates are a class of biopolymers with known iron binding properties which are routinely used in the fabrication of iron-oxide nanoparticles. In addition, alginates have been implicated in influencing human iron absorption. However, the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles employs non-physiological pH conditions and whether nanoparticle formation in vivo is responsible for influencing cellu...

The assessment of macrophage response to nanoparticles is a central component in the evaluation of new nanoparticle designs for future in vivo application. This work investigates which feature, nanoparticle size or charge, is more predictive of non-specific uptake of nanoparticles by macrophages. This was investigated by synthesizing a library of polymer-coated iron oxide micelles, spanning a r...

We have utilized the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne reaction to form a dense monolayer of oligonucleotides on a superparamagnetic nanoparticle core. These particles exhibit the canonical properties of materials densely functionalized with DNA, which can be controlled by modulating the density of oligonucleotides on the surface of the particles. Furthermore, like their Au analogues, these particl...

This paper describes the preparation of iron oxide nanoparticles, surface of which was coated with extremely high immobilization stability and relatively higher density of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), which are referred to as PEG protected iron oxide nanoparticles (PEG-PIONs). The PEG-PIONs were obtained through alkali coprecipitation of iron salts in the presence of the PEG-poly(4-vinylbenzylp...

It is known that the nanoparticle-cell interaction strongly depends on the physicochemical properties of the investigated particles. In addition, medium density and viscosity influence the colloidal behaviour of nanoparticles. Here, we show how nanoparticle-protein interactions are related to the particular physicochemical characteristics of the particles, such as their colloidal stability, and...

Ethylenediaminotetraacetic acid (EDTA) occurring in groundwater aquifers complicates the prediction of nanoparticle movement in the porous medium. This paper demonstrates an approach combining Triple Pulse Experiments (TPEs) and numerical modelling to quantify the influence of EDTA on the deposition and retention of polymer nanoparticles in a water-saturated column packed with iron-oxide-coated...

Cancer-cell-targeted gene silencing was observed with a magnetic-nanoparticle platform (MEIO, magnetism-engineered iron oxide) on which a fluorescent dye, siRNA, and a RGD-peptide targeting moiety were attached (see picture). The different functionalities enable the macroscopic (magnetic resonance) and microscopic (fluorescence) imaging of target cells. This system may be suitable for concurren...