A class of biocompatible upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) with largely amplified red-emissions was developed. The optimal UCNP shows a high absolute upconversion quantum yield of 3.2% in red-emission, which is 15-fold stronger than the known optimal β-phase core/shell UCNPs. When conjugated to aminolevulinic acid, a clinically used photodynamic therapy (PDT) prodrug, significant PDT effect in...

Nobel metal nanoparticles have drawn significant attention for a wide range of new applications in various fields including biology and medicine. Research work during the last two decades have clearly demonstrated that the properties of nanoparticles, in particular silver nanoparticles are strongly influenced by shape, size and size distribution, which is dictated by the synthetic method adopte...

In the last decade, iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs)—known as super-paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION)—have received significant attention due to their applicability in a variety of domains. In the biomedical field, iron oxide nanoparticles are very promising as drug-delivery systems, magneticresonance-imaging contrast enhancers (clinical diagnosis), inflammation-responsive or anti-can...

Here we report a newly synthesized vectorizing nanosystem, based on hydrodispersible magnetite nanoparticles (HMNPs) with an average size less than 10 nm, obtained by precipitation of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in basic solution of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential...

Iron-platinum alloy nanoparticles (FePt NPs) are extremely promising candidates for the next generation of contrast agents for magnetic resonance (MR) diagnostic imaging and MR-guided interventions, including hyperthermic ablation of solid cancers. FePt has high Curie temperature, saturation magnetic moment, magneto-crystalline anisotropy, and chemical stability. We describe the synthesis and c...

The aim of the present work was to prepare and characterize biopolymer nanocarriers and evaluate their suitability in possible oral delivery of insulin. The egg albumin biopolymer was used to prepare nanoparticles which were further characterized by Fourier transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential, Dynam...

Biocompatible silica-overcoated magnetic nanoparticles containing an organic fluorescence dye, rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RITC), within a silica shell [50 nm size, MNP@SiO2(RITC)s] were synthesized. For future application of the MNP@SiO2(RITC)s into diverse areas of research such as drug or gene delivery, bioimaging, and biosensors, detailed information of the cellular uptake process of the na...

Stem cells hold significant clinical potential to treat numerous debilitating diseases and injures that currently have no treatment plan. While several advances have been made in developing stem cell platforms and methods to induce their differentiation, there are two critical aspects need to be addressed: (1) efficient delivery of nucleic acids and small molecules for stem cell differentiation...

The pathogenesis of many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by protein aggregation into amyloid fibrils. In AD, the fibrils are of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide. The development of new approaches based on nanotechnology for early detection and potential treatment of AD is of high current interest. This review describes a pioneering approach involving th...

The present work aimed at studying the interaction between insulin and SiNP surfaced with mucoadhesive polymers (chitosan, sodium alginate or polyethylene glycol) and the evaluation of their biocompatibility with HepG2 and Caco-2 cell lines, which mimic in vivo the target of insulin-loaded nanoparticles upon oral administration. Thus, a systematic physicochemical study of the surface-modified i...