Hard and soft nanoparticles for image-guided surgery in nanomedicine

Abstract

The use of hard and/or soft nanoparticles for therapy, collectively called nanomedicine, has great potential in the battle against cancer. Major research efforts are underway in this area leading to development of new drug delivery approaches and imaging techniques. Despite this progress, the vast majority of patients who are affected by cancer today sadly still need surgical intervention, especially in the case of solid tumors. An important perspective for researchers is therefore to provide even more powerful tools to the surgeon for pre-and post-operative approaches. In this context, image-guided surgery, in combination with nanotechnology, opens a new strategy to win this battle. In this perspective, we will analyze and discuss the recent progress with nanoparticles of both metallic and biomaterial composition, and their use to develop powerful systems to be applied in image-guided surgery.

Aliphatic Polyethers: Classical Polymers for the 21st Century

“…Figure depicts some functional epoxides which were used for the synthesis of “multifunctional PEGs” ( mf ‐PEGs) focusing on the one‐pot copolymerization of EO and the respective oxirane to produce statistical PEG‐based copolymers. Indeed, these monomers can also be used for the synthesis of block copolymers, which will not be discussed in this chapter …”

Integrity of lipid nanocarriers in bloodstream and tumor quantified by near-infrared ratiometric FRET imaging in living mice

“…Nanoscale vehicles (nanocarriers, NCs) become indispensable tools for in vivo imaging [1–3], drug delivery [4,5] and image-guided surgery [6,7]. One key requirement that any NC has to meet is to maintain its integrity until it reaches the target, for example a tumor [8,9].…”

Maghemite-containing PLGA–PEG-based polymeric nanoparticles for siRNA delivery: toxicity and silencing evaluation

“…Specic metal cation (Ce 3/4+ )-doped CAN-maghemite NPs were selected as magnetic particles due to their well-established properties as MRI contrast agent enhancer. 20,21 Since the inner core of PLGA-b-PEG PNPs can only host lipophilic moieties, 5 it was compulsory to modify the CANmaghemite NPs surface from a hydrophilic to a lipophilic one. Surface chemistry of magnetic iron oxide-based NPs as well as possibility to coat them with suitable organic molecules and their resulting properties' modications have been widely investigated by us.…”

“…[1][2][3] Among the most suitable delivery systems, there are those derived from biodegradable and biocompatible synthetic polymers 4 and in this view the polymeric nanomicelles derived from the poly(D,Llactide-co-glycolide)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLGA-b-PEG) play a now well-established key role. 5,6 Moreover, the tracking of siRNA delivery would be very important and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is certainly the technique of choice due to the ease of the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles and their possible surface modications that allows incorporation into biodegradable polymeric nanoparticles. 7,8 This feature rendered these nanoparticles over the years a potent nano-tool, which, aer incorporation of other therapeutics as siRNA, can be used in nanomedicine.…”