Simulation of the long-term fate of superparamagnetic iron oxide-based nanoparticles using simulated biological fluids.

Aim: To simulate the stability and degradation of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MNP) in vitro as part of their life cycle using complex simulated biological fluids. Materials & methods: A set of 13 MNP with different polymeric or inorganic shell materials was synthesized and characterized regarding stability and degradation of core and shell in simulated biological fluids. Results: All MNP formulations showed excellent stability during storage and in simulated body fluid. In endosomal/lysosomal media the degradation behavior depended on shell characteristics (e.g., charge, acid-base character) and temperature enabling the development of an accelerated stress test protocol. Conclusion: Kinetics of transformations depending on the MNP type could be established to define structure-activity relationships as prediction model for rational particle design.

Surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy-detection of the uptake of mannose-modified nanoparticles by macrophages in vitro: A model for detection of vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques.

Atherosclerosis is a process of thickening and stiffening of the arterial walls through the accumulation of lipids and fibrotic material, as a consequence of aging and unhealthy life style. However, not all arterial plaques lead to complications, which can lead to life-threatening events such as stroke and myocardial infarction. Diagnosis of the disease in early stages and identification of unstable atherosclerotic plaques are still challenging. It has been shown that the development of atherosclerotic plaques is an inflammatory process, where the accumulation of macrophages in the arterial walls is immanent in the early as well as late stages of the disease. We present a novel surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based strategy for the detection of early stage atherosclerosis, based on the uptake of tagged gold nanoparticles by macrophages and subsequent detection by means of SERS. The results presented here provide a basis for future in vivo studies in animal models.The workflow of tracing the SERS-active nanoparticle uptake by macrophages employing confocal Raman imaging.

In situ hydrazine reduced silver colloid synthesis - Enhancing SERS reproducibility.

Herein we report a novel strategy for the in situ synthesis of the silver colloids for LoC-SERS applications. Silver nanoparticles are obtained in a segmented flow based glass microfluidic chip by the reduction of silver ions with hydrazine in ammonium hydroxide solution. Citrate ions are used as protecting agents. The synthesized nanoparticles are characterized by UV-VIS spectroscopy, SEM and TEM imaging. The SERS performance of the in situ synthesized nanoparticles is tested by using adenine as a test analyte right after the colloid synthesis. Reproducibility is tested by repeating the measurements three times at independent days applying the same measurement conditions. In comparison with nanoparticles synthesized in a conventional strategy i.e. in a large batch, chip synthesized nanoparticles show a better day-to-day and long-term reproducibility, lower detection limits and broader working ranges. The great advantage offered by the in situ synthesized colloids combined with the already proven potential of LoC-SERS for bioanalytics, raises the possibility of the employment of LoC-SERS as a fast and sensitive analytic tool in a plethora of applications.