Journal of Nanoparticle Research最新文献

This short perspective reflects on the last two decades of intense research in the field of nanoscale science and engineering for agriculture and food systems. Despite significant advances in knowledge and innovation that are well recognized in the scientific community, only a small number of nanoproducts have reached the market, and the societal impact of the research thus remains relatively limited. We want to reflect on what may be key reasons for this and propose four tips that will help reframe and improve some of our research practices with the aim of increasing our impact. Our views were collected through consultations and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders inside and outside of the scientific field, including regulators, successful entrepreneurs, potential users, and consumers. We want to encourage scientists to increase their consideration of actors outside of the scientific field in order to develop nanotechnologies that are needed, competitive, and acceptable to both regulators and users/consumers. The benefits of a technology must be assessed with a better consideration of the whole system (instead of a small part of it) and in a specific context that recognizes climatic, cultural, political, and economic differences. Essential qualities to increase our impact include a high capacity to continuously adapt and work in teams that bring a multidisciplinary and multisectoral understanding of the system, which is not always fully compatible with the way academic performances are currently evaluated.

Highly uniform gold nanorods (GNRs) with tunable surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) across the visible and near-infrared (NIR) spectral regions exhibit attractive photothermal conversion properties along with their chemical stability, good dispersibility, and biocompatibility. In this study, we investigate the optimization of photothermal conversion utilizing GNRs as an agent under the laser excitation at 808 nm, within the NIR-I window. The aspect ratio of GNRs is tuned by the AgNO₃ amount in the reaction solution, and the characteristic longitudinal SPR is of 810 nm at the aspect ratio of 4.43, matching well with the laser wavelength. When the extinction intensity (located around 808 nm) of 810-nm GNR solution is adjusted to 1.0, the photothermal conversion efficiency is achieved to an optimal value of 36.1%, which is approximately 1.7 times that of the sample with the extinction intensity of 0.3. These findings offer insights for the design of effective photothermal conversion agents.

The toxicity of drugs to normal cells exhibits a significant risk to human health. Currently, researchers worldwide are striving to develop custom-designed drugs that have reduced toxicity and fewer side effects. Polymeric nanoparticles have drawn interest in being a suitable anticancer drug carrier and molecular visualization. Paclitaxel (PTX) has great potential as an anticancer drug though it suffers from poor aqueous solubility, limiting its therapeutic efficacy. This study investigated a novel β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) inclusion complex for enhanced PTX delivery against triple-negative human breast cancer (aka. MDA-MB-231). Molecular docking simulations indicated the strongest binding between β-CD and PTX compared to α-CD and γ-CD. The 1:2 molar ratio of β-CD to PTX achieved the highest entrapment efficiency (over 95.23%) and improved PTX solubility. Characterization techniques confirmed the successful formation of inclusion complex PTX-β-CD (IC). The IC exhibited critical cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231. It diminishes colony formation and hampers the migration of cells. Evaluation of cellular morphology by apoptosis assays demonstrated the formulations’ impact on both the cytoskeleton and cytotoxicity of MDA-MB-231, potentially inducing apoptosis. The synthesized IC shows significant potential for pharmaceutical development.

Green nanoparticles (GNPs), biosynthesized using environment-friendly means, are attractive candidates for enhancing plant productivity and boosting sustainable agriculture. The article discusses the significant benefits that green nanoparticles bring to plant health by enhancing their defense mechanisms. GNPs, derived from natural sources, can interact with plant cells, leading to the induction of a cascade of defense responses. Entry of GNPs in plant cells leads to activation pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), leading to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the subsequent activation of defense-related genes. In addition, GNPs also induce systemic acquired resistance (SAR) as well as induced systemic resistance (ISR), priming the plant for augmenting defense against a wide range of pathogens. Additionally, GNPs interact with plant hormone pathways, altering the levels of phytohormones, including salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and ethylene, resulting in optimized immune response. Additionally, the current review also elucidates the advantages of using green nanoparticles to increase disease resistance, improve pest management, and advance sustainable agriculture, highlighting their edge over traditional methods. The article discusses the challenges of formulating green nanoparticles for their optimization to make them cost-effective and points out promising future directions in this field. Furthermore, the review focuses on the beneficial role of gold nanoparticles in protecting plants, including their role in the plant’s immune system. The present study also highlights the relation between systemic acquired resistance and induced systemic resistance and its role in prompting these plant responses.

Exploring innovative approaches to combat Helicobacter pylori infections, this study investigates the antimicrobial efficacy of nanoemulsions derived from Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon) essential oil using an advanced microfluidic platform. Clinical isolates of H. pylori were obtained from gastric biopsies of five patients presenting with gastrointestinal complications at the Shariati Hospital in Tehran. Two nanoemulsion formulations (F₁ and F₂) were developed with distinct particle sizes of 78 nm and 152 nm, respectively, achieved through varying surfactant concentrations. The antibacterial activity was systematically evaluated across multiple parameters, including particle size, concentration gradients (25–300 µg/mL), and residence times (2.5–45 min) within a custom-designed microfluidic device. Bacterial membrane disruption was quantitatively assessed through protein and nucleic acid release measurements, with maximum absorbance values of 1.50 (OD_280nm) and 0.6 (OD_260nm) observed for the F₁ as small size formulation. Scanning electron microscopy revealed significant morphological alterations in bacterial structure upon exposure to the nanoemulsions. Notably, the F₁ formulation (78 nm) demonstrated superior antimicrobial activity, achieving efficacy comparable to 70% ethanol at concentrations of 100 µg/mL within 2.5 min of exposure. This study presents a novel integration of nanotechnology and microfluidics for rapid assessment of natural antimicrobial compounds, offering potential applications in food preservation and therapeutic interventions against H. pylori infections.

Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles originating from the inward budding of endosomal membrane discharged into the extracellular space during exocytosis. Exosomes are essential for facilitating communication between cells, presenting antigens, transferring proteins, mRNAs, and miRNAs. These functions have significant implications for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Hence, it is imperative to devise a straightforward, effective and economical technique for extracting exosomes to facilitate scientific research and medical diagnostics. Our study involved the comparison of two prominent methods for isolating exosomes, ultracentrifugation (UC) and precipitation by total exosome isolation (TEI) reagent, as indicated by the biophysical and physicochemical properties of serum-derived exosomes. The presence of exosomes was demonstrated by an array of techniques, including high-resolution scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential and sizer and FTIR. We employed nanoparticle tracking analysis to evaluate the purity and quantity of the isolated exosomes. Our findings indicate that the TEI technique leads to greater exosomal yield, recovery, and purity, which can be directly translated into drug delivery and targeted therapeutics. Ultracentrifugation effectively conserved exosome morphology; however, it resulted in particle aggregation and reduced the average size of the produced exosomes. Furthermore, the expression of let-7a-5p determined using RT-qPCR was significantly greater in the exosomes derived from the TEI group than in those derived from the UC group. The objective of our comparison study is to assist researchers and clinicians in selecting the most suitable exosome isolation techniques for subsequent use.

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The thermal stability of core–shell quantum dots (QDs) encapsulated apoferritin has been sparingly reported. In this study, we reported the spontaneous encapsulation of mercaptopropionic acid functionalized CdSe:CdS:ZnS core–shell QDs and temperature-induced structural changes of QDs-apoferritin composite using biophysical techniques and negative stain single particle analysis. An increase in absorbance and decrease in tryptophan fluorescence intensity was observed by increasing QDs concentration (0–250 ng/mL). A change in circular dichroism characteristic peaks was observed with increasing temperatures (25 °C, 37 °C, and 55 °C). HR-TEM image also showed an increase in size (12.0 ± 1.0 nm at 25 °C, 12.5 ± 1.0 nm at 37 °C, and 15 ± 1.3 nm at 55 °C) along with 6 ± 1% and 68 ± 5% release of QDs (than 25 °C) from the composite at 37 °C and 55 °C, respectively. The single particle analysis confirmed the encapsulation of four QD particles at 25 °C but showed multiple 2D class averages at 37 °C, confirming the destabilization and molten globule-like structure at 55 °C. This study revealed that QDs induced significant structural alteration in the apoferritin at a much lower temperature than its normal melting temperature (80 °C).

An aerosolized liquid phase reaction method is proposed for the continuous preparation of highly dispersed copper nanoparticles. The copper precursor solution and reducing agent solution are mixed and aerosolized immediately into microdroplets, which prevents the synthesized copper nanoparticles from coming into contact and forming agglomerates. Compared to the traditional liquid phase synthesis of copper nanoparticles, this method reduces the average size of the nanoparticles from 309 to 210 nm and the maximum size of the agglomerates from ~ 10 to ~ 3 μm. As a result, the shear strength of the sintered joint made with the aerosol-produced nanoparticles is improved from 33 to 57 MPa, and the electrical resistance is reduced from 4.3 × 10^–7 to 6.1 × 10^–8 Ω·m. This method provides an effective approach to decrease agglomeration and improve the performance of metal nanoparticles for electronic packaging applications.

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In this article, the authors show the possibility of modifying the surface of particles of an inorganic proton conductor (polyantimonic acid) with hydrated silicon dioxide, as a result of which Na- and H-forms were obtained with the formation of “core-shell” structures, where the core is nanodispersed particles of polyantimonic acid, isomorphic to the structural type of pyrochlore, and the shell is particles of amorphous silicon dioxide formed on the surface of polyantimonic acid particles. The X-ray diffraction studies carried out in combination with experimentally obtained elemental analysis data made it possible to identify the structural features of H-forms of surface modified polyantimonic acid particles and determine their gross compositions. The morphological peculiarities of the surface of synthesized nanodispersed particles were studied using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy methods together with energy-dispersive analysis data. It was established that as a result of surface modification of polyantimonic acid particles with hydrated silicon dioxide, a solid shell of hydrated silicon dioxide is formed without island-type formations. It was shown that the average size of the resulting nanoparticles changes slightly and varies in the range from 80 to 100 nm.