A comprehensive review of lessons learned from quantum dots in cancer therapy.

Quantum dots (QDs) are with exceptional physicochemical and biological properties, making them highly versatile for a wide range of applications in cancer therapy. One of the key features of QDs is their unique electronic structure, which gives them functional attributes. Notably, their photoluminescence can be strong and adjustable, allowing them to be effectively used in fluorescence based diagnosis such as biosensing and bioimaging. In addition, QDs demonstrate an impressive capacity for loading cargo, making them ideal for drug delivery applications. Moreover, their ability to absorb incident radiation positions QDs as promising candidates for cancer-killing techniques like photodynamic therapy. The objective of this comprehensive review is to present a current and comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in utilizing QDs as multifunctional and innovative biomaterials. This review focuses on elucidating the biological, electronic, and physicochemical properties of QDs, along with discussing the technical advancements in QD synthesis. Furthermore, it thoroughly explores the progress made in utilizing QDs for diagnosis based on biosensing, bioimaging, and therapy applications including drug delivery and necrosis, highlighting their significant potential in the field of cancer treatment. Furthermore, the review addresses the current limitations associated with QDs in cancer therapy and provides valuable insights into future directions, thereby facilitating further advancements in this field. By presenting a comprehensive and well-structured overview, this review serves as an authoritative and informative resource that can guide future research endeavors and foster continued progress in the field of QDs for cancer therapy.

The Effect of Non-Uniform Magnetic Field on the Efficiency of Mixing in Droplet-Based Microfluidics: A Numerical Investigation.

Achieving high efficiency and throughput in droplet-based mixing over a small characteristic length, such as microfluidic channels, is one of the crucial parameters in Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC) applications. One solution to achieve efficient mixing is to use active mixers in which an external power source is utilized to mix two fluids. One of these active methods is magnetic micromixers using ferrofluid. In this technique, magnetic nanoparticles are used to make one phase responsive to magnetic force, and then by applying a magnetic field, two fluid phases, one of which is magneto-responsive, will sufficiently mix. In this study, we investigated the effect of the magnetic field's characteristics on the efficiency of the mixing process inside droplets. When different concentrations of ferrofluids are affected by a constant magnetic field, there is no significant change in mixing efficiency. As the magnetic field intensifies, the magnetic force makes the circulation flow inside the droplet asymmetric, leading to chaotic advection, which creates a flow that increases the mixing efficiency. The results show that the use of magnetic fields is an effective method to enhance the mixing efficiency within droplets, and the efficiency of mixing increases from 65.4 to 86.1% by increasing the magnetic field intensity from 0 to 90 mT. Besides that, the effect of ferrofluid's concentration on the mixing efficiency is studied. It is shown that when the concentration of the ferrofluid changes from 0 to 0.6 mol/m3, the mixing efficiency increases considerably. It is also shown that by changing the intensity of the magnetic field, the mixing efficiency increases by about 11%.