Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
8.5
4.4
Journals
Nanomaterials
Special Issues
The Study of the Effects of Nanoparticles on Human Cells
share announcement

The Study of the Effects of Nanoparticles on Human Cells

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Biology and Medicines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 18 July 2025 | Viewed by 3510

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Paolo Giunchedi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Muroni 23/a, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: drug delivery; nanomedicine; nanoparticles
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Carla Serri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Muroni 23/a, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: polymeric nanoparticles; nanomedicine; pharmaceutical technology; lipid nanoparticles; nanoprecipitation; nanoparticles loading poorly soluble drugs; drug delivery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sara Demartis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Chemical, Physical, Mathematical and Natural Science, University of Sassari, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Interests: drug delivery; lipid nanoparticles; polymer nanoparticles; liposome; 3D-printing; microneedles; transdermal delivery; dermal delivery; melanoma; dermatology; skin diseases; cancer drug delivery

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanotechnology is a branch of science concerned with the design, fabrication, and application of nanoparticles (NPs) and nanomaterials. Introduced by Feynman in 1959, the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology have been subjected to growing interest from scientists in almost all research areas. They have not only been integrated into chemistry, engineering, agriculture, biology, and materials science, but have also been used to produce nanostructured medical devices and nanotherapeutics. As a result of this interest, NPs began to be commercialised in the early 2000s and exposed to popular opinion, facing both praise and criticism from the public. Indeed, despite the extent of documented research, there is still a gap in knowledge regarding the risk to human health consequent to exposure to NPs.

In this Special Issue of Nanomaterials, we welcome original research articles and reviews regarding nanoparticle applications and their effects on human cells. Particularly, articles should focus on the harmful effects of (a) inorganic-based NPs, (b) carbon-based NPs, (c) organic NPs, including lipid, polymer, and hybrids, (d) nanomaterials, and (e) engineered NPs on human cells. Further potential research areas include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • drug delivery;
  • medical therapies and diagnosis;
  • biology and biotechnologies;
  • agriculture and food industry;
  • industrial processes;
  • renewable energies;
  • engineering and bio-engineering.

All contributions related to underlying cell viability and cytotoxicity, mechanisms of toxicology, and related evaluation models for analyzing NP risk effects are welcome.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Paolo Giunchedi
Dr. Carla Serri
Guest Editors

Dr. Sara Demartis
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanoparticles
  • nanomaterials
  • nanotoxicology
  • cytotoxicity
  • immunotoxicity
  • genotoxicity
  • carcinogenesis
  • oxidative stress
  • inflammation

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 5723 KiB  
Article
Development and Biological Characterization of Cancer Biomimetic Membrane Nanovesicles for Enhancing Therapy Efficacy in Human Glioblastoma Cells
by Martina Massarotti, Paola Corna, Aromita Mallik, Gloria Milanesi, Claudio Casali, Lorenzo Magrassi and Sergio Comincini
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(22), 1779; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14221779 - 5 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1154
Abstract
As nanocarriers of a new generation, biomimetic nanovesicles are an emerging class of therapeutic tools whose surface is integrated or fabricated with biomaterials capable of mimicking the biological features and functions of native cells. Thanks to this, biomimetic nanovesicles, in particular, those made [...] Read more.
As nanocarriers of a new generation, biomimetic nanovesicles are an emerging class of therapeutic tools whose surface is integrated or fabricated with biomaterials capable of mimicking the biological features and functions of native cells. Thanks to this, biomimetic nanovesicles, in particular, those made by plasma membrane moieties, possess greatly improved biocompatibility, high target specificity, a long retention time, and minimal undesired immune responses. For these reasons, a multitude of progenitor cells including cancer ones were employed as templates to generate biomimetic or membrane-camouflaged nanovesicles hosting different therapeutic compounds. In this contribution, different membrane-derived biomimetic vesicles (M-NVs) were generated by osmotic lysis or plasma membrane isolation approaches from normal and cancer cell lines and assayed against in vitro models of human glioblastoma. M-NVs were compared in their cellular internalization degrees of DNA and proteins, morphologically and molecularly characterized, expressing an extracellular membrane-associated marker. Then, Rose Bengal (RB), a photoactivable drug characterized by a relatively low cellular uptake, was incorporated into nascent glioblastoma-derived M-NVs and finally administered to homotypic receiving cells, showing an increased degree of internalization as well as induced cytotoxic effects, even in the absence of photodynamic direct stimulation. Similar results were also obtained assaying lyophilized M-NVs loaded with RB. In conclusion, M-NVs generated by cell membranes effectively deliver several cargoes, including therapeutic molecules, maintain functionality after lyophilization, and show significant internalization effects, making them a promising strategy for therapeutic applications against human glioblastoma cells. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Study of the Effects of Nanoparticles on Human Cells)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 7359 KiB  
Article
Chlorin e6-Conjugated Mesoporous Titania Nanorods as Potential Nanoplatform for Photo-Chemotherapy
by Estefanía Vélez-Peña, Verónica A. Jiménez, Joaquín Manzo-Merino, Joel B. Alderete and Cristian H. Campos
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(11), 933; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14110933 - 25 May 2024
Viewed by 1742
Abstract
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has developed as an efficient strategy for cancer treatment. PDT involves the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by light irradiation after activating a photosensitizer (PS) in the presence of O2. PS-coupled nanomaterials offer additional advantages, as they [...] Read more.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has developed as an efficient strategy for cancer treatment. PDT involves the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by light irradiation after activating a photosensitizer (PS) in the presence of O2. PS-coupled nanomaterials offer additional advantages, as they can merge the effects of PDT with conventional enabling-combined photo-chemotherapeutics effects. In this work, mesoporous titania nanorods were surface-immobilized with Chlorin e6 (Ce6) conjugated through 3-(aminopropyl)-trimethoxysilane as a coupling agent. The mesoporous nanorods act as nano vehicles for doxorubicin delivery, and the Ce6 provides a visible light-responsive production of ROS to induce PDT. The nanomaterials were characterized by XRD, DRS, FTIR, TGA, N2 adsorption–desorption isotherms at 77 K, and TEM. The obtained materials were tested for their singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical generation capacity using fluorescence assays. In vitro cell viability experiments with HeLa cells showed that the prepared materials are not cytotoxic in the dark, and that they exhibit photodynamic activity when irradiated with LED light (150 W m−2). Drug-loading experiments with doxorubicin (DOX) as a model chemotherapeutic drug showed that the nanostructures efficiently encapsulated DOX. The DOX-nanomaterial formulations show chemo-cytotoxic effects on Hela cells. Combined photo-chemotoxicity experiments show enhanced effects on HeLa cell viability, indicating that the conjugated nanorods are promising for use in combined therapy driven by LED light irradiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Study of the Effects of Nanoparticles on Human Cells)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop