1,721,050 research outputs found
Crossing the Borders of Nanomedicine
Full text linkNanomedicine, being pressured by the increasing demands for fighting menacing diseases such as cancer, relies pragmatically on consolidated knowledge, namely on therapeutic strategies that are at an advanced stage of experimentation [...
Development of novel nanotechnologies in food, water and biomedicine
No full textThe aim of the present research project was the exploitation of peculiar iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs), named surface active maghemite nanoparticles (SAMNs), to develop novel challenging applications for food industry, water remediation and biomedicine. The potential of SAMNs as a
promising, low cost, platform for building different drug vehicles, assays for bacteria determination and diagnostic tools was substantiated by eighteen scientific publications in ISI scored international journals. In particular, novel diagnostic platforms and novel pathogen detection strategies were
created by the combination of SAMNs with mass spectrometry, quartz crystal microbalance and colorimetric assays. Furthermore, SAMNs were used as nanocarriers for biomolecules and drugs. A successful gene delivery system was proposed for cell transfection with SAMNs as nanovector, and a drug delivery system was studied in vivo using zebrafish as animal model. Further biotechnological solutions based on SAMNs were proposed as competitive options to current methodologies, techniques and processes for food industry and aquaculture. The presented body of work highlights the opportunity of innovation represented by the development of nanotechnology-based systems, providing affordable, robust and reproducible tools for the next generation of world scenarios
Aqueous formulation comprising sds, tca and a colloidal suspension of iron(ii) for use in the topical treatment of micro-organisms and parasites
No full textThis invention relates to a formulation for use in the. topical treatment of diseases caused by pathogen micro- organisms and/or parasites in animals, comprising sodium dodecyl sulphate, 2, 2, 2-trichloroacetic acid and a stable colloidal suspension of (nano-) particles, of iron (III). The invention further relates to a process for the manufacture of a formulation, and uses of the same formulation and its components
Special Issue “Bio-Nano Interactions 2.0”
Full text linkIn 1961, USA’s blues legend Howlin’ Wolf released the single entitled “Down in the Bottom” (Figure 1) [...
Maghemite nanoparticles and method for preparing thereof
No full textAmong the numerous chemical methods reported in literature and currently used to synthesize magnetic nanoparticles for medical imaging applications the following can be found: microemulsion technology, sol-gel syntheses, sonochemical reactions, hydrothermal reactions, hydrolysis and thermolysis of iron complex precursors, flow injection syntheses and electrospray syntheses (Laurent, 2008). The synthesis of superparamagnetic nanoparticles is a complex process because of their colloidal nature. The first main chemical challenge consists of defining experimental conditions, leading to a monodisperse population of magnetic grains of suitable size. The second critical point is to select a reproducible process that can be industrialized without any complex purification procedure, such as ultracentrifugation, size-exclusion chromatography, magnetic filtration, or flow field gradient. A novel procedure to synthesize homogeneous maghemite based (γ-Fe2O3) superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles is proposed
Rational design of hybrid DNA-RNA triplex structures as modulators of transcriptional activity in vitro
Full text linkTriplex nanostructures can be formed in vitro in the promoter region of DNA templates, and it is commonly accepted that these assemblies inhibit the transcription of the downstream genes. Herein, a proof of concept highlighting the possibility of the up- or downregulation of RNA transcription is presented. Hybrid DNA-RNA triplex nanostructures were rationally designed to produce bacterial transcription units with switchable promoters. The rate of RNA production was measured using the signal of a transcribed fluorescent RNA aptamer (i.e. Broccoli). Indeed, several designed bacterial promoters showed the ability of induced transcriptional inhibition, while other properly tailored sequences demonstrated switchable enhancement of transcriptional activity, representing an unprecedented feature to date. The use of RNA-regulated transcription units and fluorescent RNA aptamers as readouts will allow the realization of biocomputation circuits characterized by a strongly reduced set of components. Triplex forming RNA oligonucleotides are proposed as smart tools for transcriptional modulation and represent an alternative to current methods for producing logic gates using protein-based components
Apparatus and method for a separation through magnetic nanoparticles
No full textApparatus (1) for separating target substances from a liquid phase comprising a mixing module (2) for mixing a target substance and a stable colloidal liquid suspension of magnetic nanoparticles to obtain substance-nanoparticle complexes, a first magnetic separation module (4) comprising a separation chamber (6) and at least a first magnetic element (8) functionally connected to said chamber (6) for magnetically attracting the complexes, a splitting module (10) for splitting the substance-nanoparticle complexes containing one or more release reactants of the target substance from the complexes, and a second magnetic separation module (14), fluidically placed downstream of the splitting module (10), for separating the target substance from a stable colloidal liquid suspension of magnetic nanoparticles
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