Magnetic Field Sensing Using Whispering Gallery Modes in a Cylindrical Microresonator Infilitrated With Ferronematic Liquid Crystal

An all-fiber magnetic field sensor based on whispering-gallery modes (WGM) in a fiber micro-resonator infiltrated with ferronematic liquid crystal is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The cylindrical microresonator is formed by a 1 cm-long section of a photonic crystal fiber infiltrated with ferronematic materials. Both ferronematics suspensions are prepared based on the nematic liquid crystal 1-(trans-4-Hexylcyclohexyl)-4-isothiocyanatobenzene (6CHBT) doped with rod-like magnetic particles in the first case and with spherical magnetic particles in the second case. WGMs are excited in the fiber microresonator by evanescent light coupling using a tapered fiber with a micron-size diameter. The Q-factor of the microresonator determined from the experimentaly measured transmission spectrum of the tapered fiber was 1.975 × 103. Under the influence of an applied magnetic field the WGM resonances experience spectral shift towards shorter wavelengths. The experimentally demonstrated sensitivity of the proposed sensor was −39.6 pm/mT and −37.3 pm/mT for samples infiltrated with rod like and spherical like ferromagnetic suspensions respectively for a magnetic field range (0-47) mT. Reducing the diameter of the cylindrical micro-resonator by tapering leads to enhancement of the magnetic field sensitivity up to −61.86 pm/mT and −49.88 pm/mT for samples infiltrated with rod like and spherical like ferromagnetic suspensions respectively for the magnetic field range (0-44.7) mT

Magnetic Nanoparticles for Application in Nanomedicine

This contribution will summarize the information about the ways of synthesizing biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles and complexes containing them and the possibility of their application in nanomedicine at magnetic drug targeting and thermal treatment of diseases by hyperthermia effect. Some procedures of the preparation of biocompatible magnetizable complexes as magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic fluids, some proteins and enzymes covalently bound to the freshly prepared magnetic nanoparticles in the presence of carbodiimide (bovine serum albumin, streptokinase, chymotrypsin, dispase, glucose oxidase), entrapment of magnetic particles into magnetoliposomes and encapsulation of clinically important drug as indomethacin and taxol together with magnetite nanoparticles in biodegradable polymer. We will summarize the results from the study of structural, magnetic and hyperthermic properties of bacterial magnetite nanoparticles i.e. magnetosomes prepared by biomineralization process of magnetotactic bacteria as a promising material for application in nanomedicine

Carbon-based magnetic nanocarrier for controlled drug release: a green synthesis approach

In this study, hydrophilic magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized by green routes using a methanolic extract of Rubus ulmifolius Schott flowers. The prepared magnetic nanoparticles were coated with carbon-based shell for drug delivery application. The nanocomposites were further chemically functionalized with nitric acid and, sequentially, with Pluronic® F68 (CMNPs-plur) to enhance their colloidal stability. The resulting material was dispersed in phosphate buffer solution at pH 7.4 to study the Doxorubicin loading. After shaking for 48 h, 99.13% of the drug was loaded by the nanocomposites. Subsequently, the drug release was studied in different working phosphate buffer solutions (i.e., PB pH 4.5, pH 6.0 and pH 7.4) to determine the efficiency of the synthesized material for drug delivery as pH-dependent drug nanocarrier. The results have shown a drug release quantity 18% higher in mimicking tumor environment than in the physiological one. Therefore, this study demonstrates the ability of CMNPs-plur to release a drug with pH dependence, which could be used in the future for the treatment of cancer "in situ" by means of controlled drug release.This research was funded by: Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 – Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM funded by FEDER through COMPETE2020 - POCI – and by national funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia); RTChip4Theranostics, supported by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte—Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and by FCT. The authors are grateful to FCT, and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013) and L. Barros contract. R.O.R. acknowledges the Ph.D. scholarship SFRH/BD/97658/2013 granted by FCT. This work was also supported by the Slovak Scientific Grant Agency projects VEGA 2/033/19.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Attenuation of the insulin amyloid aggregation in presence of Fe3O4-based magnetic fluids

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The Dielectric Breakdown of Magnetic Fluids

The development of dielectric breakdown and the DC dielectric breakdown voltage of magnetic fluids based on inhibited transformer oil ITO 100 were investigated in parallel orientations of external magnetic field. It was shown that the breakdown voltage is strongly influenced by the magnetic nanoparticles. The magnetic fluids with the volume concentration of 1% had better dielectric properties than pure transformer oil. The increase of breakdown voltage was interpreted on the base of the bubble theory of breakdown

Combined Therapy with Simvastatin- and Coenzyme-Q10-Loaded Nanoparticles Upregulates the Akt-eNOS Pathway in Experimental Metabolic Syndrome

In addition to their LDL-cholesterol-lowering effect, statins have pleiotropic beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system. However, long-term treatment with statins may be associated with serious side effects. With the aim to make statin therapy more effective, we studied the effects of simvastatin- and coenzyme-Q10-loaded polymeric nanoparticles on the lipid profile and nitric oxide (NO)/reactive oxygen species (ROS) balance in the heart and aorta of adult male obese Zucker rats. The rats were divided into an untreated group, a group treated with empty nanoparticles, and groups treated with simvastatin-, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)-, or a combination of simvastatin- and CoQ10-loaded nanoparticles (SIMV+CoQ10). After 6 weeks, the lipid profile in the plasma and the concentration of conjugated dienes in the liver were determined. Nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity, Akt, endothelial NOS (eNOS), phosphorylated eNOS (p-eNOS), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase, and nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) protein expressions were measured in the heart and aorta. All simvastatin, CoQ10, and SIMV+CoQ10 treatments decreased plasma LDL levels, but only the combined SIMV+CoQ10 treatment increased NOS activity and the expression of Akt, eNOS, and p-eNOS in both the heart and the aorta. Interestingly, NADPH oxidase in the heart and NF-kappaB protein expression in the aorta were decreased by all treatments, including nanoparticles alone. In conclusion, only combined therapy with SIMV- and CoQ10-loaded nanoparticles increased NOS activity and upregulated the Akt-eNOS pathway in obese Zucker rats, which may represent a promising tool for the treatment of cardiometabolic diseases

Development of Positively Charged Poly-L-Lysine Magnetic Nanoparticles as Potential MRI Contrast Agent

A colloidal solution of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) modified with biocompatible positively charged poly-L-lysine (PLL) with an oleate (OL) layer employed as an initial coating was produced as a potential MRI contrast agent. The effect of various PLL/MNPs’ mass ratios on the samples’ hydrodynamic diameter, zeta potential, and isoelectric point (IEP) was studied by the dynamic light-scattering method. The optimal mass ratio for MNPs’ surface coating was 0.5 (sample PLL0.5-OL-MNPs). The average hydrodynamic particle size in the sample of PLL0.5-OL-MNPs was 124.4 ± 1.4 nm, and in the PLL-unmodified nanoparticles, it was 60.9 ± 0.2 nm, indicating that the OL-MNPs’ surface became covered by PLL. Next, the typical characteristics of the superparamagnetic behavior were observed in all samples. In addition, the decrease in saturation magnetizations from 66.9 Am2/kg for MNPs to 35.9 and 31.6 Am2/kg for sample OL-MNPs and PLL0.5-OL-MNPs also confirmed successful PLL adsorption. Moreover, we show that both OL-MNPs and PLL0.5-OL-MNPs exhibit excellent MRI relaxivity properties and a very high r2(*)/r1 ratio, which is very desirable in biomedical applications with required MRI contrast enhancement. The PLL coating itself appears to be the crucial factor in enhancing the relaxivity of MNPs in MRI relaxometry