Abstract
Nanomedicine, which is based on administration of nanomaterials to prevent, diagnose, and/or treat diseases, has attracted attention for a few decades. Recent progress in nanotechnology facilitated biomedical applications of nanomaterials such as, drug carriers.Currently-available nanocarriers are capable of releasing therapeutic agents when subjected to external stimulation following targeted delivery to a treatment area of interest. However, many of these existing nanocarriers, in addition to requiring complexed formulation, are not applicable to a number of regions that are particularly sensitive to external stimuli such as, for example, heat. Furthermore, regions such as the brain possess cellular tight junctions that could limit the transmigration of nanocarriers to the targeted treatment area. As a result, there remains a need for nanocarriers that can be delivered in a targeted manner while accommodating various drug release mechanisms.FIU inventors have synthesized nanocarriers possessing novel features without
complexed formulations due to their magnetic and plasmonic properties. Their
features include enhanced targeting efficiency of therapeutic agents by
magnetic targeting, monitoring of the nanocarrier using multiple imaging
systems including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), magnetic particle imaging
(MPI), X-ray computed tomography (CT), photoacoustic imaging, and raman
microscopy, and on demand release of therapeutic agents using various external
stimuli such as pH, temperature, alternating magnetic field, and near
infrared (NIR) light.
Benefit
Enhanced targeting efficiency of therapeutic agents by magnetic targetingVisualization of therapeutic agent distributionControlled release of therapeutic agents by external stimuli
Market Application
Image-guided drug delivery with on demand-controlled release at desired time and site in the body.Personalized treatment of various diseases
Publications
Tomitaka A, Arami H, Raymond A, et al. Development of
magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles for multimodal image-guided therapy to the
brain. Nanoscale. 2017;9(2):764-773. doi:10.1039/c6nr07520g
Brochure
