Press Release CERIC-ERIC: Improved nanoparticles towards more effective drug formulation, delivery and cancer treatment
Improved nanoparticles towards more effective drug formulation, delivery and cancer treatment
A recent study conducted in the frame of the Nano-analytics for Pharmaceutics project led by Aden Hodzic (CERIC-ERIC) and in cooperation with UCL scientist Maximilian Besenhard, Kim Than, and Asterios Gavriilidis, shed light on new methods for the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles. Findings will help improve future drug formulation and delivery for more effective cancer diagnosis and treatment.
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Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (photo credit: Lily Yang, |
Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have emerged as one of the primary nanomaterials in biomedicine, thanks to their low toxicity and biodegradability. Their morphological features allow their use in drug delivery systems for tumour cells imaging or burning, as well as for delivery of therapeutic agents. For example, they can be used as contrasting agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is widely deployed in clinical oncology diagnostics. |
Thanks to the information obtained with X-ray diffraction and Small-Angle X-ray diffraction techniques, on the formation and stabilisation of nanoparticles, it has been possible to continuously synthesise stable iron oxide nanoparticles, which demonstrates the efficiency of the innovative synthetic procedure used.
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Graphical abstract of the study |
The research involved scientists from CERIC-ERIC and its partners – the Graz University of Technology and Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste - and from the University College London.
Regarding future plans, Hodzic said: “In the next steps, we plan to build and study magneto-liposomes as a new kind of Nano-drug delivery system”. The study is published in the Chemical Engineering Journal.
CERIC-ERIC is a multidisciplinary Research Infrastructure open for users in the fields of Materials, Biomaterials and Nanotechnology. With a single entry point to excellent facilities in Europe, it allows structural investigation, analysis and synthesis of materials, using photon, electron, neutron, and ion based techniques.
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Original Article: Co-precipitation synthesis of stable iron oxide nanoparticles with NaOH: New insights and continuous production via flow chemistry DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.125740
Press Release
www.ilfriuli.it dd 05.07.2020: 'Nanoparticelle per la diagnosi e il trattamento dei tumori'