Radioactive Nanoparticles and their Main Applications: Recent Advances

Abstract

Selected nanoparticles and nanocomposites on the basis of radioactive elements are reviewed. Isotopes of metallic gold, iodine and technetium salts, CeO2 and other lanthanide and actinide compounds, as well as several p- (P, C, F, Te) and d- (Fe, Co, Cu, Cd, Zn) elements form most common radioactive nanoparticles. Methods for their fabrication, including dopation with radionuclides and neutron/proton/deuteron activation, are discussed. These nanocomposites possess a series of useful applications, in particular in biology and medicine, including cancer therapeutics, drug delivery systems and radiotracers, as well as in the studies of several catalytic processes and materials structure.

Radiopharmaceutical enhancement by drug delivery systems: A review

“…Almost every group of drug delivery systems developed, has been applied in the radiopharmaceutical field [34,35]. Probably contributing to these investigations is the fact that these systems are routinely labelled with an isotope to follow their movement in living organisms without disturbing the natural functioning of the system in question [36][37][38].…”

Radio-nanomaterials for biomedical applications: state of the art

“…Compared with conventional nanomaterials, radioactive nanomaterials (radio-nanomaterials, Scheme 1) have more appealing characteristics due to the synergistic integration of unique physical/chemical properties from radionuclides into nanomaterials (6). On the one hand, the incorporation of radioisotope(s) bestows extra tracking/therapeutic ability to the nanomaterial where radioisotope(s) on nanomaterial acts as an energy donor.…”

“…For a given biomedical application, the isotope can be used as either an imaging label (e.g. for PET or SPECT), or a therapeutic moiety, or both (6). The integrity of radio-nanomaterial is extremely important for their biomedical applications, and herein this integrity refers to two aspects: the isotope should not be released prematurely from the nanomaterial, and the nanomaterial itself should possess sufficient stability.…”

“…For detailed information on how an isotope can be incorporated into the nanomaterial (the radiolabeling/radiochemistry methods), or distinct nuclear reactions to obtain appropriate isotopes for these applications, interested readers can resort to references (6, 11). In brief, four strategies are currently used for radio-nanomaterial production: 1) synthesis of a radio-nanomaterial with an isotope precursor; 2) post-synthesis chemical linking (e.g.…”

Preparation and characterization of chitosan-capped radioactive gold nanoparticles: neutron irradiation impact on structural properties

“…Nanoparticles containing radioactive isotopes are promising objects in nuclear medicine for cancer detection and treatment. Nowadays, a new wave of radioactive nanoparticles is used for cancer therapy based on beta or the mixed beta/ gamma emitters [1][2][3][4]. Those are generally short-lived radioisotopes linked to chemical compounds which permit specific physiological processes to be scrutinized.…”