Frontiers Of Multifunctional Nanosystems

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Frontiers in Molecular-Scale Science and Technology of Fullerence, Nanotube, Nanosilicon, Biopolymer (DNA, Protein) Multifunctional Nanosystems, Kyiv, Ukraine, 9-12 September 2001

Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Research Workshop, Illmenau, Germany from 12 to 16 July 2003

After a quarter of century of rapid technological advances, research has revealed the complexity of cancer, a disease intimately related to the dynamic transformation of the genome. However, the full understanding of the molecular onset of this disease is still far from achieved and the search for mechanisms of treatment will follow closely. It is here that Nanotechnology enters the fray offering a wealth of tools to diagnose and treat cancer. In fact, the National Cancer Institute predicts that over the next years, nanotechnology will result in important advances in early detection, molecular imaging, targeted and multifunctional therapeutics, prevention and control of cancer. Nanotechnology offers numerous tools to diagnose and treat cancer, such as new imaging agents, multifunctional devices capable of overcome biological barriers to deliver therapeutic agents directly to cells and tissues involved in cancer growth and metastasis, and devices capable of predicting molecular changes to prevent action against precancerous cells. Nanomaterials-based delivery systems in Theranostics (Diagnostics & Therapy) provide better penetration of therapeutic and diagnostic substances within the body at a reduced risk in comparison to conventional therapies. At the present time, there is a growing need to enhance the capability of theranostics procedures where nanomaterials-based sensors may provide for the simultaneous detection of several gene-associated conditions and nanodevices with the ability to monitor real-time drug action. These innovative multifunctional nanocarriers for cancer theranostics may allow the development of diagnostics systems such as colorimetric and immunoassays, and in therapy approaches through gene therapy, drug delivery and tumor targeting systems in cancer. Some of the thousands and thousands of published nanosystems so far will most likely revolutionize our understanding of biological mechanisms and push forward the clinical practice through their integration in future diagnostics platforms. Nevertheless, despite the significant efforts towards the use of nanomaterials in biologically relevant research, more in vivo studies are needed to assess the applicability of these materials as delivery agents. In fact, only a few went through feasible clinical trials. Nanomaterials have to serve as the norm rather than an exception in the future conventional cancer treatments. Future in vivo work will need to carefully consider the correct choice of chemical modifications to incorporate into the multifunctional nanocarriers to avoid activation off-target, side effects and toxicity. Moreover the majority of studies on nanomaterials do not consider the final application to guide the design of nanomaterial. Instead, the focus is predominantly on engineering materials with specific physical or chemical properties. It is imperative to learn how advances in nanosystem’s capabilities are being used to identify new diagnostic and therapy tools driving the development of personalized medicine in oncology; discover how integrating cancer research and nanotechnology modeling can help patient diagnosis and treatment; recognize how to translate nanotheranostics data into an actionable clinical strategy; discuss with industry leaders how nanotheranostics is evolving and what the impact is on current research efforts; and last but not least, learn what approaches are proving fruitful in turning promising clinical data into treatment realities.

One of the most important issues, when a nanomaterial is designed, is to control the synthetic pathways to ensure the final desired product. A combination of dry and wet procedures, as well as chemical and physical methodologies, it is possible to successfully prepare new multifunctional nanomaterials, often as a result of multidisciplinary cooperation between chemists, physics, biologist, physicians, material engineers, etc. Drug delivery, environmental detection of contaminants, and many industrial applications directly rely on properties such as water solubility, permeability, cell penetration, shape control, and size of the monodispersed nanoparticle, among others. Functionalized nanomaterials play a crucial role in modern research areas because of their unique physical and chemical properties, explored in many different fields including medicine and biology, new materials, pharmacology as drug delivery systems, and in environmental analysis for sensing new contaminants, among other technical and industrial applications. For future technological applications, the rational design of these multifunctional nanomaterials is critical, and often depends on the excellent control of the organic and inorganic chemical reactions involved during production. The success of their applications relies directly on the photophysical properties created in the final material, including the emission of light or colorimetric responses, water solubility, selectivity, sensitivity, stability, etc. For example, from an analytical point of view, the detection and quantification of emerging analytes is directly dependent on the selectivity and sensitivity showed by the material in a complex media.

This book consists of 4 volumes containing about 70 chapters covering all the major aspects of the growing area of nanomedicine. Leading scientists from 15 countries cover all major areas of nanobiomedical research materials for nanomedicine, application of nanomedicine in therapy of various diseases, use of nanomedicines for diagnostic purposes, technology of nanomedicines, and new trends in nanobiomedical research. This is the first detailed handbook specifically addressing various aspects of nanobiomedicine. Readers are treated to cutting-edge research and the newest data from leading researchers in this area.Contents: "Materials for Nanomedicine: "Liposomal Nanomedicines "(Amr S Abu Lila, Tatsuhiro Ishida and Theresa M Allen)"Solid Lipid Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications "(Karsten Mader)"Micellar Nanopreparations for Medicine "(Rupa Sawant and Aditi Jhaveri)"Nanoemulsions in Medicine "(William B Tucker and Sandro Mecozzi)"Drug Nanocrystals and Nanosuspensions in Medicine "(Leena Peltonen, Jouni Hirvonen and Timo Laaksonen)"Polymeric Nanosystems for Integrated Image-Guided Cancer Therapy "(Amit Singh, Arun K Iyer and Mansoor M Amiji)"Polysaccharide-Based Nanocarriers for Drug Delivery "(Carmen Teijeiro, Adam McGlone, Noemi Csaba, Marcos Garcia-Fuentes and Maria J Alonso)"Dendrimers for Biomedical Applications "(Lisa M Kaminskas, Victoria M McLeod, Seth A Jones, Ben J Boyd and Christopher J H Porter)"Layer-by-Layer Nanopreparations for Medicine Smart Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Capsules and Coatings "(Rawil F Fakhrullin, Gleb B Sukhorukov and Yuri M Lvov)"Inorganic Nanopreparations for Nanomedicine "(James Ramos and Kaushal Rege)"Silica-Based Nanoparticles for Biomedical Imaging and Drug Delivery Applications "(Stephanie A Kramer and Wenbin Lin)"Carbon Nanotubes in Biomedical Applications "(Krunal K Mehta, Elena E Paskaleva, Jonathan S Dordick and Ravi S Kane)"Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications "(Mahmoud Elsabahy and Karen L Wooley)"Structure Activity Relationships for Tumor-Targeting Gold Nanoparticles "(Erik C Dreaden, Ivan H El-Sayed and Mostafa A El-Sayed)"Silver Nanoparticles as Novel Antibacterial and Antiviral Agents "(Stefania Galdiero, Annarita Falanga, Marco Cantisani, Avinash Ingle, Massimiliano Galdiero and Mahendra Rai)"Magnetic Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery "(Rainer Tietze, Harald Unterweger and Christoph Alexiou)"Quantum Dots as a Platform Nanomaterial for Biomedical Applications "(Eleonora Petryayeva, Roza Bidshahri, Kate Liu, Charles A Haynes, Igor L Medintz, and W Russ Algar)""Applications in Therapy: "The Application of Nanomedicine to Cardiovascular Diseases "(Kevin M Bardon, Olivier Kister and Jason R McCarthy)"Nanomedicines for Restenosis Therapy "(J E Tengood, I Fishbein, R J Levy and M Chorny)"Nanopreparations for Cancer Treatment and Diagnostics "(Jayant Khandare, Shashwat Banerjee and Tamara Minko)"Nanoparticles in the Gastrointestinal Tract "(Abraham Rubinstein)"Nanopreparations for Oral Administration "(D Hubbard, D J Brayden and H Ghandehari)"Nanopreparations for Central Nervous System Diseases "(Leyuan Xu and Hu Yang)"Nanoparticles for Dermal and Transdermal Delivery: Permeation Pathways and Applications "(Marianna Foldvari, Marjan Gharagozloo and Christine Li)"Lysosomes and Nanotherapeutics: Diseases, Treatments, and Side Effects "(Rachel L Manthe and Silvia Muro)"Nanostructured Biomaterials for Inhibiting Cancer Cell Functions "(Lijuan Zhang and Thomas J Webster)"Nanomedicine in Otorhinolaryngology"

Aiding researchers seeking to eliminate multi-step procedures, reduce delays in treatment and ease patient care, Cancer Theranostics reviews, assesses, and makes pertinent clinical recommendations on the integration of comprehensive in vitro diagnostics, in vivo molecular imaging, and individualized treatments towards the personalization of cancer treatment. Cancer Theranostics describes the identification of novel biomarkers to advance molecular diagnostics of cancer. The book encompasses new molecular imaging probes and techniques for early detection of cancer, and describes molecular imaging-guided cancer therapy. Discussion also includes nanoplatforms incorporating both cancer imaging and therapeutic components, as well as clinical translation and future perspectives. Supports elimination of multi-step approaches and reduces delays in treatments through combinatorial diagnosis and therapy Fully assesses cancer theranostics across the emergent field, with discussion of biomarkers, molecular imaging, imaging guided therapy, nanotechnology, and personalized medicine Content bridges laboratory, clinic, and biotechnology industries to advance biomedical science and improve patient management

Cellular processes, signaled by UV radiation, contribute to the behavior of plants under various stresses in the environment. This book aims to introduce developments and instrumentation for cell biology, to update our understanding of the effects of UV radiation, and to evaluate how plants use UV signals to protect against damage.

The focus of this thesis is the study of the electronic and magnetic structure of three representative members of Fe-bearing rock-forming silicates, viz. orthoferrosilite (Fe2+2Si2O6), almandine (Fe2+3Al2(SiO4)3) and andradite (Ca3Fe3+2(SiO4)3). These minerals have attracted significant attention due to their abundance in the Earth's crust and mantle, and because crystallised silicates are main components of cosmic dust which is the most abundant raw material in the Universe. For this purpose quantum mechanical first principles electronic structure calculations are performed by the most efficient DFT method in the local spin-density approximation for calculating spectroscopic data: the spin-polarized self consistent charge Xa method. The specific feature and strength of these investigations consist in the theoretical characterization of these complex systems based on experimental results. This means that, on one hand, experimental spectroscopic and crystallographic data are being used to judge the reliability of the calculations, whereas, on the other hand, experimental data are interpreted and explained by the theoretical results. This work comprises seven chapters. After a brief introduction (Chapter 1) Chapter 2 describes the theoretical bases, ideas, approximations and advantages of the SCC- Xa method and basics of the art of cluster construction. Chapter 3 considers physical bases of crystal field theory, absorption, Mossbauer spectroscopy and magnetic interactions, as well as the calculation of spectroscopic data within the frame of the SCC-Xa method. In addition, tetragonally, trigonally and angularly distorted octahedral sites with various degrees of the distortions are calculated and analyzed. The electronic and magnetic structures of orthoferrosilite, almandine and andradite are described in the following chapters. In the case of orthoferrosilite the magnetic interactions between the iron spins within the ribbons and between neighboring ribbons are characterized. Two identical interpenetrating magnetic sublattices of circles of 10 edge-shared dodecahedra are revealed and characterized in almandine. The calculated spin structure explains and solves the controversy in the interpretation of the Mossbauer spectra of almandine below the Neel temperature. For andradite a model of the magnetic structure is proposed based on geometrical considerations and the calculated spin coupling constants for the various interaction pathways. According to this model, the magnetic structure of andradite consists of two frustrated equivalent magnetic sublattices. The spins of the Fe ions within each sublattice are coupled antiferromagnetically. The derived spin pattern explains two sextets in the Mossbauer spectra of andradite below the Neel temperature. Finally, the main results are summarized in Chapter 7.

This book comprehensively and systematically treats modern understanding of the Nano-Bio-Technology and its therapeutic applications. The contents range from the nanomedicine, imaging, targeted therapeutic applications, experimental results along with modelling approaches. It will provide the readers with fundamentals on computational and modelling aspects of advanced nano-materials and nano-technology specifically in the field of biomedicine, and also provide the readers with inspirations for new development of diagnostic imaging and targeted therapeutic applications.

Over the last few decades, numerous nanoparticle platforms have been studied for their use in therapeutic applications. This book deals with the description of the construction of technical systems that combines different functionalities which bring liposomes, polymer-drug conjugates, polymer-protein conjugates, dendrimers, polymeric micelles, polymerosomes and other nanoparticles into the realm of nanotechnology proper, as opposed to traditional pharmacology or supramolecular chemistry. The volume additionally covers topics such as passive and active targeting, the strategies used for drug targeting, and the synthesis and characterization of polymeric nanoparticle platforms. Targeted polymeric nanomedicines have shown exciting results in preclinical studies, demonstrating their potential as therapeutic carriers. Therefore, the development of polymeric nanomedicines as therapeutic agents has generated great enthusiasm both in academia and industry. The book is systematically divided into chapters devoted to a class of polymeric nanomedicines. Each chapter also describes relevant aspects relating to drug design and targeting of polymeric nanomedicines wherever possible. In addition, a series of chapters concerning the contribution of polymeric nanomedicines in the treatment of several categories of diseases including cancer, inflammatory, renal, immunological diseases, and brain disorders is also presented. Key features of this book include: - A comprehensive and cutting-edge overview of polymeric nanomedicines available in a single dedicated volume - Discussions on advances in drug delivery systems for a variety of diseases - more than 2000 references, tables, equations, and drawings Readers, whether beginners or experts, will find in this book, contemporary and relevant information regarding the synthesis, evaluation and applications of polymeric nanomedicines. Supplemented with extensive bibliographic references, tables and figures, this book is an essential and incomparable reference for medicinal chemists, biologists, and medical (oncologic) researchers, as well as for scientists, undergraduate and graduate students in the field of medical bioengineering and polymer nanoscience.