1,721,035 research outputs found
The impact of hybrid nano-architectures and alternative biomodels in translational oncology
No full textDuring 90's, nanotechnology has produced a first revolution in the clinical treatment of neoplasms through the release of Caelyx®/Doxil®, a liposome formulation of doxorubicin. Beyond the drug delivery enhancement associated to nanomaterials, noble metals are essential for the development of combined/enhanced non-invasive cancer management approaches.1 Actually, because of the lack of a rationale design and adequate biodistribution and safety data, noble metal nanomaterials are still not in the market. In this scenario, elucidate the fate of metal nanomaterials once administered is critical to compose safe-by-design nano-therapeutics.
Fluorescent probes based on upconverting lanthanide nanostructures
No full textLanthanides (or rare-earth elements) usually appear as an appendage of the periodic table, but in recent years they are being used in an evergrowing variety of applications in modern nanotechnology and nanomedicine. In particular, lanthanide-doped solids show unconventional anti-Stokes emissions, due to their ability to convert near infrared (NIR) radiation into shorter wavelengths, such as visible light through a process known as photon upconversion. As a consequence, the last decade has seen a growing interest in the production of lanthanidedoped upconverting nanocrystals. They have been developed as a new type of promising luminescent tool for applications in biological assays and medical imaging, as an alternative to usual organic fluorophores and quantum dots. These NIR fluorescent probes have a weak fluorescence background, long temporal resolution, and high resistance to photobleaching, and are able to absorb NIR light which has high tissue penetration power. These features, as well as their synthesis, their coating strategies, and the biological applications of upconverting nanoparticles will be fully discussed in this chapter.© 2013 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved
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