Nina kostevšek

Jožef Stefan Institute | IJS · Department of Nanostructured Materials

Small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are vital therapeutic nucleic acids, often delivered via cationic polymers, liposomes, or extracellular vesicles, each method with its limitations. Genipin, a natural crosslinker for primary amines, was...

Aim: The design of new hybrid nanoplatforms (HNPs) through the innovative and eco-friendly use of tannic acid (TA) for the synthesis and stabilization of the nanoplatforms. Materials & methods: The size, morphology, composition and magnetic and plasmonic properties of HNPs were investigated together with their ability to generate heat under laser i...

Citation: Belec, B.; Kostevšek, N.; Pelle, G.D.; Nemec, S.; Kralj, S.; Bergant Marušič, M.; Gardonio, S.; Fanetti, M.; Valant, M. Silica Coated Bi 2 Se 3 Topological Insulator Nanoparticles: An Alternative Route to Retain Their Optical Properties and Make Them Biocompatible. Nanomaterials 2023, 13, 809. https:// Abstract: Localized surface plasmon...

Despite medical advances, skin-associated disorders continue to pose a unique challenge to physicians worldwide. Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer, with more than one million new cases reported each year. Currently, surgical excision is its primary treatment; however, this can be impractical or even contradictory in certain situ...

Bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) is one of the most investigated topological insulators (TI). Due to its topological surfaces states (TSS), it displays unique electronic and optical properties. Unlike conventional surface states, TSS are robust and inaffected by almost any type of non-magnetic impurities due to the combined effect of the time-reversal sym...

L-377,202 prodrug consists of doxorubicin (Dox) conjugated to a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) peptide substrate that can be cleaved by enzymatically active PSA at the tumor site. Despite the initial promise in phase I trial, further testing of L-377,202 (herein called Dox-PSA) was ceased due to some degree of non-specific activation and toxicity...

Bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) is one of the most investigated topological insulators (TIs). Due to its topological surface states (TSS) it displays special electronic and optical properties. However, to exploit the exotic properties of Bi2Se3 it is crucial to prepare nanoparticles without any adsorbent on its surface that can mask or quench their surfa...

Cyanine fluorescent dyes are attractive diagnostic or therapeutic agents due to their excellent optical properties. However, in free form, their use in biological applications is limited due to the short circulation time, instability, and toxicity. Therefore, their encapsulation into nano-carriers might help overcome the above-mentioned issues. In...

Gene therapy has the potential to become a staple of 21st-century medicine. However, to overcome the limitations of existing gene-delivery therapies, that is, poor stability and inefficient and delivery and accumulation of nucleic acids (NAs), safe drug-delivery systems (DDSs) allowing the prolonged circulation and expression of the administered ge...

Despite their high potential, most of the clinically approved iron oxide (IO)-based contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been withdrawn from the market either due to safety issues or lack of sales. To address this challenge, erythrocyte membranes have been used to prepare IO-based T2 contrast agents with superior MRI properties...

Photothermal therapy has always been a very attractive anti-cancer strategy, drawing a lot of attention thanks to its excellent performance as a non-invasive and pretty safe technique. Lately, nanostructures have become the main characters of the play of cancer therapy due to their ability to absorb near-infrared radiation and efficient light-to-he...

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been recognized as one of the most important imaging techniques in medicine. However, without using contrast agents, the difference between diseased and normal tissues can be difficult to observe with MRI. Therefore, in this chapter, important aspects for the development of efficient and safe magnetic nanopartic...

This study investigates the effect of PD1 blockade on the therapeutic efficacy of novel doxorubicin-loaded temperature-sensitive liposomes. Herein, we report photothermally-activated, low temperature-sensitive magnetoliposomes (mLTSL) for efficient drug delivery and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The mLTSL were prepared by embedding small nitrod...

Lysolipid-containing thermosensitive liposomes (LTSL) have gained attention for triggered release of chemotherapeutics. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) offers multimodal imaging and hyperthermia therapy opportunities as a promising theranostic agent. Combining LTSL with SPION may further enhance their performance and functionalit...

The majority of the clinically approved iron oxide nanoparticles (IO NPs) used as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been withdrawn from the market either due to safety concerns or lack of profits. To address this challenge, liposomes have been used to prepare IO-based T 2 contrast agents. We studied the influence of differen...

Relaxivity r2 and thus the contrast efficacy of superparamagnetic nanoparticles (NPs) can be enhanced via either NP’s magnetic properties or coating optimization. Numerous reports can be found about the investigation of the optimal iron oxide nanoparticles (IO NPs) size, shape, crystallinity and composition that yield high saturation magnetization...

We report on a hydrothermal synthesis of hexagonal ultra-thin Bi2Se3 platelets, which was performed without any organic reactants. The synthesis resulted in the particles with a surface, clean of any organic adsorbents, which was confirmed with a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, zeta-potential measurements and thermogravimetric mea...

Bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) is one of the most investigated topological insulators (TIs). Due to its topological surface states (TSS) it displays special electronic and optical properties, which makes Bi2Se3 good candidate for variety of applications (e.g. spintronic, photodetection, cancer treatment, etc.). However, to exploit the exotic properties...

With Liquid-Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy (LCTEM) we can observe the kinetic processes taking place in nanoscale materials that are in a solvated environment. However, the beam-driven solvent radiolysis, which results from the microscope's high-energy electron beam, can dramatically influence the dynamics of the system. Recent research sugg...

L-377,202 prodrug (Dox-PSA) was in phase I Clinical trial for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). It consists of doxorubicin (Dox) conjugated to a prostate specific antigen (PSA)-cleavable peptide that can be selectively activated by secreted PSA at the tumour site. However, despite the initial promising results,...

A detailed magnetic study of separated Fe–Pt NPs and Fe–Pt clusters was performed to predict their optimal size and morphology for the maximum saturation magnetization, a factor that is known to influence the performance of a magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) contrast agent. Excellent stability and biocompatibility of the nanoparticle suspension was...

The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between the physico‐chemical properties of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and their cytotoxicity profile in light of their potential biomedical application as nanocarriers for pancreatic cancer treatment. Two types of SPIONs were tested: magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs)...

Fe69±3Pd31±3 nanowires (NWs) with lengths of a few microns and diameters of 200 nm were synthesized via template-assisted pulsed electrodeposition into alumina-based templates. The as-deposited Fe69±3Pd31±3 NWs exhibited α-Fe (bcc-solid solution of Fe, Pd) nanocrystalline structure as seen from the x-ray diffraction (XRD), that got confirmed by tra...

We have produced an innovative, theranostic material based on FePt/SiO2/Au hybrid nanoparticles (NPs) for both, photo-thermal therapy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Furthermore, a new synthesis approach, i.e., Au double seeding, for the preparation of the Au nanoshells around the FePt/SiO2 cores, is proposed. The photo-thermal and the MRI re...

Stable suspensions of spherical 10–15 nm superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been synthetized by co-precipitation, stabilized with citric acid, surface functionalized with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and finally decorated with ultra-small gold nanoparticles (GNPs) by in situ reduction of a soluble gold salt (HAuCl4), obt...

Statement of significance: Our study describes a novel approach of combining magnetic properties of nanomaterials with gene therapy. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) coated with or without a silica shell coupled with lentiviral vectors (LVs) were used as vehicle to target biological active molecules in a mouse cancer model. After in situ injection, t...

Introduction Nanomedical approaches in cancer treatment have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of localized therapy while minimizing side effects on the surrounding healthy tissue. The aim of our study was the development of a novel hybrid nanoparticles (hNPs) based on magnetic core (FePt) and photothermaly active shell (SiO 2 /Au) for tar...

Yttria, a host for heavy rare earth elements, is an important up‐conversion material, able to convert lower energy near‐infrared light into higher energy visible light, opening the avenue for a wide spectrum of applications from laser technology, photovoltaics to theranostics [1,2]. The efficient use of yttria in the form of nanoparticles (NPs) is...

Yttrium oxide (Y2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) as a host for heavy rare earth elements (Yb3+, Eu3+) have shown to be an efficient up‐conversion phosphor material with a great potential ranging from therapy and sensing for drug delivery to photovoltaic applications [1]. In order to achieve desired morphology and size distribution of Y2O3 NPs the nucleatio...

The value of the magnetization has a strong influence on the performance of nanoparticles that act as the contrast agent material for MRI. In this article, we describe processing routes for the synthesis of FePt nanoparticles of different sizes, which, as a result, exhibit different magnetization values. “Single-core” FePt nanoparticles of differen...

The first one-step synthesis of dumbbell-like gold-iron oxide nanoparticles has been reported here. Surface functionalization with a biocompatible chitosan matrix allowed us to obtain a novel targetable diagnostic and therapeutic tool.

Despite the increasing number of successful treatments for cancer, new forms of therapy are urgently required in order to combat the disease. In this investigation, we have produced an innovative material based on FePt/SiO 2 /Au hybrid nanoparticles that exhibit a combination of photothermal and magnetic properties as a basis for a local hypothermi...