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Objectives: To investigate the effects of Au@Fe2O3 core-shell nanoparticle (NP), with and without conjugation to folic acid (FA) as a targeting ligand, on radiosensitization of both cancer and healthy cells.Methods: Au@Fe2O3 NPs were first synthesized, then modified with FA, and finally characterized. Radiation dose enhancement studies were performed on KB cancer cells and L929 healthy cells. NPs at the concentration of 20 µg/ml were first incubated with both cell lines and then different doses of 6 MV X-ray radiation were examined. The end effects were evaluated via MTT assay and flow cytometry using AnnexinV/PI kit.Results: It was indicated that viability of KB cells has a much lower rate than L929 cells when the cells were treated by {(FA-Au@Fe2O3) + (X-ray)} regimen. Cell viability was even decreased significantly when X-ray dose increased. Moreover, flow cytometry studies revealed that FA-targeted NPs induced higher level of apoptosis for KB cancer cells than L929 healthy cells.Conclusion: Our findings provide a new perspective on high ability of the synthesized FA-targeted Au@Fe2O3 NPs which may be considered as an efficient radiosensitizer in the process of targeted radiation therapy of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the heat transfer characteristics within the heat exchanger using water-based GO nanofluids were comprehensively assessed. An apparatus was constructed by scaling down an industrial heat exchanger. The nanofluid's thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, viscosity, density, Prandtl number, and Nusselt number were examined at varying temperatures and GO nanoparticle concentrations. The results revealed that the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid increased with both temperature and nanoparticle concentration, reaching a peak value of 0.380 W m -1 K -1 at 85 °C and 0.1 wt %, leading to enhanced heat transfer rates through conduction and convection mechanisms. The specific heat capacity increased with temperature but decreased with higher GO nanoparticle contents with a maximum value of 3403.821 J kg -1 K -1 recorded at 40 °C and 0.01 wt %. The viscosity of the nanofluid increased with higher concentrations of GO nanoparticles, and the minimum value of 0.83 mPa s was observed at 85 °C and 0.01 wt %. The Prandtl number decreased with the temperature but increased with increasing GO nanoparticle concentration, suggesting a transition from convective to conductive heat transfer. A newly derived correlation equation for the Nusselt number, Nu = 0.0059(1 + 7.62ϕ 0.6886 ) Pe 0.001 Re 0.9238 Pr 0.4 , allows predicting heat transfer enhancement in nanofluids. The findings emphasize the potential of nanofluids for improving heat exchanger performance and offer valuable insights into optimizing nanofluid applications in thermal systems., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Natural clinoptilolite (Clin) was modified with iron oxide using three different methods including precipitation, wet-impregnation and ion-exchange and then the modified adsorbent with highest As(V) removal efficiency was encapsulated into Alginate by a simple cross-linking method to obtain Fe-Clin granules. The surface morphology and chemical composition of the Fe-Clin sorbents were characterized by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction analysis. The selected Fe-Clin powders and granules possessed enhanced affinity towards the highly toxic arsenic pollutant in a very short time. Batch adsorption experiments showed that the Fe-Clin adsorbent can be widely used within a wide range of pH (2-9). In addition, to reach a high removal percentage (over 90%) of As(V), the optimum dosage of powder and granule shaped adsorbents was obtained as 0.1 and 0.6 g L -1 , respectively. Both adsorbents could successfully remove As(V) in a very short amount of time as 20 and 30 min in the case of powders and granules, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of Fe-Clin granules evaluated by using Langmuir adsorption isotherm was found to be 11.17 mg g -1 . By testing the granules in a circulated fluidized column experiment, it was demonstrated that Fe-Clin granules could remove As(V) up to an acceptable level (93%) within 10 min. This study demonstrates that Fe-Clin granules, obtained by exploiting natural clinoptilolite, iron oxide and alginate, are efficient, sustainable and fairly cheap adsorbents for the removal of arsenate from the aquatic environment in a very short contact time.

The high prescribed dose of anticancer drugs and their resulting adverse effects on healthy tissue are significant drawbacks to conventional chemotherapy (CTP). Ideally, drugs should have the lowest possible degree of interaction with healthy cells, which would diminish any adverse effects. Therefore, an ideal scenario to bring about improvements in CTP is the use of technological strategies to ensure the efficient, specific, and selective transport and/or release of drugs to the target site. One practical and feasible solution to promote the efficiency of conventional CTP is the use of ultrasound (US). In this review, we highlight the potential role of US in combination with lipid-based carriers to achieve a targeted CTP strategy in engineered smart drug delivery systems., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We have recently reported the synthesis and characterization of gold-coated iron oxide nanoparticle and demonstrated such a nanoparticle (Au@Fe 2 O 3 NP) was able to significantly enhance the lethal effects of photo-thermo-radiotherapy. The purpose of this study was to determine the mechanisms behind such an enhancement by investigating the changes induced in cancer cell viability, proliferation, and morphology as well as monitoring the alteration of some genes which play important role in the process of cell death. Using MTT assay and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the KB cells viability and morphology were assessed after treating with various combinations of NPs, photothermal therapy (PTT), and radiotherapy (RT). Clonogenic assay was used to assess the proliferation ability of treated KB cells. Nanoparticle internalization into the cells was investigated by TEM and inductively coupled plasma (ICP). During the treatment procedures, temperature changes were monitored using an IR-camera. Furthermore, the changes occurred in Bax, BCL2 and HSP70 genes expression level were measured using real-time PCR. The results showed that combination of NP, PTT, and RT caused more cell death compared to PTT or RT alone. Following such a combination therapy, massive cell injury was detected. We also observed an extensive increase in Bax/Bcl2 ratio and HSP70 expression for the KB cells treated by combination therapy procedure. Our results showed that massive cell injury and apoptosis induction are the main reasons of extensive cell death observed in cancer cells when a nanoparticle assisted photo-thermo-radiotherapy procedure is applied., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study reports the synthesis and characterization of poly(ethylene glycol) coated gold@iron oxide core-shell nanoparticles conjugated with folic acid (FA-PEG-Au@IONP). Also, targeted therapeutic properties of such a nanocomplex were studied on human nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line KB and human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7 in vitro. The synthesized nanocomplex was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-Vis spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The photothermal effects of nanocomplex on both KB and MCF-7 cell lines were studied. Cell death and apoptosis were evaluated by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and flow cytometry using an annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidiumiodide apoptosis detection kit. It was found that nanocomplex is spherical in shape and its size is approximately 60 nm. UV-vis spectrum showed that nanocomplex has appropriate absorption near infrared region. FTIR spectra obtained from nanocomplex before and after conjugation with FA confirmed the formation of folate conjugated nanocomplex. Significant cell lethality was observed for KB (∼62%) and MCF-7 (∼33%) cells following photothermal therapy. Also, it was found that majority of the cell deaths were related to apoptosis process. It can be concluded that, the synthesized nanocomplex is an effective and promising multifunctional nanoplatform for targeted photothermal therapy of cancer.

Conventional cancer treatment methods suffer from many limitations such as non-specificity and low efficacy in discrimination between healthy and cancer cells. Recent developments in nanotechnology have introduced novel and smart therapeutic nanomaterials that basically take advantage of various targeting approaches. Targeted nanomaterials selectively bind to the cancer cells and affect them with minor effects on healthy cells. Folic acid (folate) is an essential molecule in DNA synthesis pathway which is highly needed for cancer cell duplication. Some certain cancer cells overexpress folate receptors higher than normal cells, and this fact is the basis of folate targeting strategy. There are many publications reporting various folate conjugated nanomaterials among which folate-conjugated gold nanoparticles hold great promises in targeted cancer therapy. Gold nanoparticles have been identified as promising candidates for new cancer therapy modalities because of biocompatibility, easy synthesis and functionalization, chemo-physical stability, and optical tunable characteristics. In the last decade, there has been a significant explosion in gold nanoparticles research, with a rapid increase in publications related to the area of biomedicine. Although there are many reports published on "gold nanoparticles" and "folate targeting," there are a few reports on "folate-conjugated gold nanoparticles" in biomedical literature. This paper intends to review and illustrate the recent advances in biomedicine which have been designed on the basis of folate-conjugated gold nanoparticles.

In this work, we present an in-depth review of recent breakthroughs in nanotechnology for hyperthermia cancer therapy. Conventional hyperthermia methods do not thermally discriminate between the target and the surrounding normal tissues, and this non-selective tissue heating can lead to serious side effects. Nanotechnology is expected to have great potential to revolutionize current hyperthermia methods. To find an appropriate place in cancer treatment, all nanotechnology-based hyperthermia methods and their risks/benefits must be thoroughly understood. In this review paper, we extensively examine and compare four modern nanotechnology-based hyperthermia methods. For each method, the possible physical mechanisms of heat generation and enhancement due to the presence of nanoparticles are explained, and recent in vitro and in vivo studies are reviewed and discussed. Nano-Photo-Thermal Therapy (NPTT) and Nano-Magnetic Hyperthermia (NMH) are reviewed as the two first exciting approaches for targeted hyperthermia. The third novel hyperthermia method, Nano-Radio-Frequency Ablation (NaRFA) is discussed together with the thermal effects of novel nanoparticles in the presence of radiofrequency waves. Finally, Nano-Ultrasound Hyperthermia (NUH) is described as the fourth modern method for cancer hyperthermia., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)