Susana Carregal-Romero

• PhD
• PostDoc Position at CIC biomaGUNE

Background Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a severe disease characterized by elevated blood pressure in the pulmonary artery that can ultimately damage the right ventricle of the heart. PAH is pathophysiologically heterogeneous, which makes early diagnosis and treatment difficult. Inflammation is thought to be an important factor in the de...

Sensing of biological analytes and delivery of therapeutic compounds are important tools for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The layer-by-layer method represents a versatile, inexpensive and procedurally simple technology for fabricating polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules suitable for biological applications. This chapter describes t...

Atherosclerosis is a complex disease that can lead to life-threatening events, such as myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Despite the severity of this disease, diagnosing plaque vulnerability remains challenging due to the lack of effective diagnostic tools. Conventional diagnostic protocols lack specificity and fail to predict the type of...

Carbon Dots (CDs) are luminescent quasi‐spherical nanoparticles, possessing water solubility, high biocompatibility, and tunable chemical and physical properties for a wide range of applications, including nanomedicine and theranostics. The evaluation of new purification criteria, useful to achieve more reliable CDs, free from the interference of a...

A methodology to quantify the efficiency of the protein loading and in-vitro delivery for biodegradable capsules with different architectures based on polyelectrolytes (dextran sulfate, poly-L-arginine and polyethylenimine) and SiO2 was developed. The capsules were loaded with model proteins such as ovalbumin and green fluorescent protein (GFP), an...

Manganese ferrite nanoparticles display interesting features in bioimaging and catalytic therapies. They have been recently used in theranostics as contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and as catalase‐mimicking nanozymes for hypoxia alleviation. These promising applications encourage the development of novel synthetic procedures to...

The coating composition of nanomedicines is one of the main features in determining the medicines' fate, clearance, and immunoresponse in the body. To highlight the coatings' impact in pulmonary administration, two micellar superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) were compared. These nanoparticles are similar in size and charge but have...

Ex vivo models for the noninvasive study of myelin-related diseases represent an essential tool to understand the mechanisms of diseases and develop therapies against them. Herein, we assessed the potential of multimodal imaging traceable myelin-targeting liposomes to quantify myelin in organotypic cultures. Methods: MRI testing was used to image m...

The positive contrast of extremely small iron oxide nanoparticles (ESIONP) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) rejuvenates this class of metal nanoparticles (NP).Yet, the current synthesis often lacks the possibility of adjusting the core size (while it is a key element for ESIONP-based MRI contrast behaviour), and also involved multiple complex st...

p>Ultrasmall manganese ferrite nanoparticles display interesting features in bioimaging and Fenton nanocatalysis. However, little is known about how to optimize these nanoparticles to achieve simultaneously the highest efficiency in both types of applications. Herein, we present a cost-efficient synthetic microwave method that enables manganese fer...

All metazoans depend on the consumption of O2 by the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) to produce energy. In addition, the OXPHOS uses O2 to produce reactive oxygen species that can drive cell adaptations1–4, a phenomenon that occurs in hypoxia4–8 and whose precise mechanism remains unknown. Ca2+ is the best known ion that act...

All metazoans depend on the consumption of O2 by the mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS) to produce energy. In addition, the OXPHOS uses O2 to produce reactive oxygen species that can drive cell adaptations1-4, a phenomenon that occurs in hypoxia4-8 and whose precise mechanism remains unknown. Ca2+ is the best known ion that act...

In this review, the potential future role of microRNA-based therapies and their specific application in lung diseases is reported with special attention to pulmonary hypertension. Current limitations of these therapies will be pointed out in order to address the challenges that they need to face to reach clinical applications. In this context, the...

The entrapment of enzymes in capsules is a smart strategy to concentrate them in confined spaces and control their exposure to outside environments. Enzymes can be caged in the interior of capsules during their formation (preloading) or postloaded within prefabricated and permeable hollow shells. On the other hand, enzymes can also be deposited wit...

Polymers, either as individual or mixed species or in hybrid structures, are widely used in drug delivery applications. This is justified by their wide and rich chemistry, which allows, among other features, functionalization, conjugation with molecules of biomedical interest, self-assembly, versatility, and the design of stimuli-responsive nanostr...

Medical imaging is an active field of research that fosters the necessity for novel multimodal imaging probes. In this line, nanoparticle-based contrast agents are of special interest, since those can host functional entities either within their interior, reducing potential toxic effects of the imaging tracers, or on their surface, providing high p...

Medical imaging is an active field of research that fosters the necessity for novel multimodal imaging probes. In this line, nanoparticle-based contrast agents are of special interest, since those can host functional entities either within their interior, reducing potential toxic effects of the imaging tracers, and on their surface, providing high...

Herein, a theoretical and experimental electron energy‐loss spectroscopy (EELS) study on gold nanosphere dimers is presented, with interparticle distance d of the dimers varying from 10 nm to a few angstroms. Injecting an electron beam at the edge or the gap of the dimers excites their longitudinal bonding dipolar mode (BDM) or antibonding dipolar...

Sensing of biological analytes and delivery of therapeutic compounds are important tools for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The layer-by-layer method represents a versatile, inexpensive and procedurally simple technology for fabricating polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules suitable for biological applications. This chapter will descri...

Single therapy approaches are usually insufficient to treat certain diseases, due to genetic differences between patients or disease resistance. Therefore, such approaches are gradually replaced by combination therapies comprising two or more drugs. In oncology these include BRAF inhibitors, cytotoxic, anti-angiogenic or immunomodulatory agents, am...

The inmunocompatibility of polyelectrolyte capsules synthesized by Layer-by-Layer deposition, has been investigated. Capsules of different architecture and composed either of nondegradable or biodegradable polymers, with either positively or negatively charged outer surface, and with micrometer size, have been used, and the capsule uptake by differ...

An impressive development has been achieved toward the production of well defined “smart” inorganic nanoparticles, in which the physicochemical properties can be controlled and predicted to a high degree of accuracy. Nanoparticle design is indeed highly advanced, multi-modal and multi-targeting being the norm, yet we do not fully understand yet the...

The temperature-dependence of the hydrodynamic diameter and colloidal stability of gold-polymer core-shell particles with temperature-sensitive (poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)) and temperature-insensitive shells (polyallylaminine hydrochloride/polystyrensulfonate, poly(isobutylene-alt-maleic anhydride)-graft-dodecyl) are investigated in various aqueou...

The possibility to remotely manipulate intracellular pathways in single cells is among the current goals of biomedicine, demanding new strategies to control cell function and reprogramming cell fate upon external triggering. Optogenetics is one approach in this direction, allowing specific cell stimulation by external illumination. Here, we develop...

Gold nanoparticles and nanocomposites have high catalytic performance for several chemical reactions. Here we present gold and iron oxide nanoparticle modified polymer capsules as porous and multifunctional platforms for catalysis. Layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte microcapsules were formed on calcium carbonate template cores loaded with gold nanopart...

Recent reports highlighting the role of particle geometry have suggested that anisotropy can affect the rate and the pathway of particle uptake by cells. Therefore, we investigate the internalization by cells of porous calcium carbonate particles with different shapes and anisotropies. We report here on a new method of the synthesis of polyelectrol...

Degradable and light addressable silica capsules have been prepared based on CaCO3 template particles. It was possible to load these capsules with an array of molecules such as anti-cancer drugs (doxorubicin), proteins (bovine serum albumin) and nucleic acids (messenger RNA encoding green fluorescent protein). In vitro degradation and release of th...

Light-addressable capsules should only release their cargo upon irradiation with light of a certain energy and power density. There are reports on three major types of layer-by-layer (LbL) capsules which are responsive to light. The first class is built using light-responsive polyelectrolytes or molecules, the second class relies on the formation o...

Colloidal particles with fluorescence read-out are commonly used as sensors for the quantitative determination of ions. Calcium, for example, is a biologically highly relevant ion in signaling, and thus knowledge of its spatio-temporal distribution inside cells would offer important experimental data. However, the use of particle-based intracellula...

Colloidal particles with fl uorescence read-out are commonly used as sensors for the quantitative determination of ions. Calcium, for example, is a biologically highly relevant ion in signaling, and thus knowledge of its spatio-temporal distribution inside cells would offer important experimental data. However, the use of particle-based intracellul...

Photothermal release of cargo molecules has been extensively studied for bio applications. For instance, microcapsules decorated with plasmonic nanoparticles have been widely used in in vitro assays. However, some concerns about their suitability for some in vivo application cannot be easily overcome, in particular the limited penetration depth of...

Correlative fluorescence and soft X-ray cryo-microscopy/tomography on flat sample holders is perfectly suited to study the uncompromised physiological status of adherent cells at its best possible preservation by imaging after fast cryo-immobilization. To understand the mechanism by which herpesviruses induce nucleoplasmic reticulum, i.e. invaginat...

The interfacing of colloidal nanoparticles with mammalian cells is now well into its second decade. In this review our goal is to highlight the more generally accepted concepts that we have gleaned from nearly twenty years of research. While details of these complex interactions strongly depend, amongst others, upon the specific properties of the n...

Background Porous silicon particles (PSiPs) have been used extensively as drug delivery systems, loaded with chemical species for disease treatment. It is well known from silicon producers that silicon is characterized by a low reduction potential, which in the case of PSiPs promotes explosive oxidation reactions with energy yields exceeding that o...

Here, the use of folic acid (FA)-functionalized, doxorubicin (DOXO)/superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION)-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-Au porous shell nanoparticles (NPs) as potential nanoplatforms is reported for targeted multimodal chemo- and photothermal therapy combined with optical and magnetic resonance imaging in...

In this review the relation of inorganic colloidal nanoparticles with metal ions in biological media is discussed. Metal ions in the context of nanoparticles are relevant because of completely different reasons. First, considering unwanted effects, upon corrosion/dissolution some particular inorganic nanoparticles can release metal ions and cause t...

Due to their ultra-small size, inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) have distinct properties compared to the bulk form. The unique characteristics of NPs are broadly exploited in biomedical sciences in order to develop various methods of targeted drug delivery, novel biosensors and new therapeutic pathways. However, relatively little is known in the negot...

Polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) films and capsules loaded with ion-sensitive fluorophores can be used as ion-sensors for many applications including measurements of intracellular ion concentration. Previous studies have shown the influence of the PEM films/shells on the specific response of encapsulated ion-sensitive fluorophores. PEM shells are c...

Polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) capsules are carrier vehicles with great potential for biomedical applications. With the future aim of designing biocompatible, effective therapeutic delivery systems (e.g. for cancer 1), the pathway of internalization (uptake and fate) of PEM capsules was investigated. In particular the following experiments were p...

Sensing and imaging with fluorescent, plasmonic, and magnetic colloidal nano- and microparticles have improved during the past decade. In this review, we describe the concepts and applications of how these techniques can be used in the multiplexed mode, that is, sensing of several analytes in parallel or imaging of several labels in parallel. Expec...

Release me: Polyelectrolyte capsules with different cargo in their cavities and plasmonic and magnetic nanoparticles in their walls were synthesized. Enzymatic reactions were triggered inside cells by light-mediated opening of two individual capsules containing either an enzyme or its substrate, by using photothermal heating. Furthermore, this tech...

The design of nanoparticles for specific biological applications requires the knowledge of their internalization mechanisms, endosomal sorting, and resulting intracellular pathways being crucial aspects governing their fate, efficiency, or toxicity. Time-resolved quantitative colocalization analysis is a method based on confocal fluorescence micros...

Inorganic nanoparticles such as magnetic nanoparticles, fluorescent quantum dots, and plasmonic nanoparticles can be used as building blocks for designing multifunctional systems based on polymeric capsules. The properties of the inorganic nanoparticles hereby are harnessed to provide additional functionality to the polymer capsules. Biological app...

A versatile method for decorating magnetic nanobeads (being composite materials from polymers and superparamagnetic nanoparticles) with silver nanoparticles of 3-6 nm size is presented. Control over the silver nanoparticle coverage at the nanobead surface is achieved by changing the reaction parameters. Moreover, the silver-decorated magnetic nanob...

In this review an overview about biological applications of magnetic colloidal nanoparticles will be given, which comprises their synthesis, characterization, and in vitro and in vivo applications. The potential future role of magnetic nanoparticles compared to other functional nanoparticles will be discussed by highlighting the possibility of inte...

In the quest for the identification of catalytic transformations to be used in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, we identified iron(III) meso-tetraarylporphines as efficient catalysts for the reduction of aromatic azides to their amines. The reaction uses thiols as reducing agents and tolerates water, air, and other biological components. A...

The sandwich complex [Cp*Ru(η6-pyrene)]PF6 (Cp* = η5-C5(CH3)5) serves as a photoactivatable catalyst for the conversion of N-allylcarbamates into their amines in the presence of thiophenol under biorelevant conditions (water, air, plus aliphatic thiols) and even in mammalian cells. This new phototriggered substrate/catalyst pair points towards appl...

In this review, two carrier systems based on nanotechnology for real-time sensing of biologically relevant analytes (ions or other biological molecules) inside cells in a non-invasive way are discussed. One system is based on inorganic nanoparticles with an organic coating, whereas the second system is based on organic microcapsules. The sensor mol...

In this review an overview about biological applications of magnetic colloidal nanoparticles will be given, which comprises their synthesis, characterization, and in vitro and in vivo applications. The potential future role of magnetic nanoparticles compared to other functional nanoparticles will be discussed by highlighting the possibility of inte...

Light-responsive microcapsules constructed by layer-by-layer self-assembly are used as microcarriers to deliver different macromolecules inside cells. The microcapsules carry the macromolecules as cargo in their cavity, while their walls are modified with agglomerated gold nanoparticles. Microcapsules are incorporated by living cells and are then l...

Multiplexed measurements of several analytes in parallel using analyte-sensitive organic fluorophores can be hampered by spectral overlap of the different fluorophores. The authors discuss how nanoparticles can help to overcome this problem. First, different organic fluorophores can be separated spatially by confining them to separate containers, e...

Gold nanoparticles encapsulated in a thermoresponsive microgel (pNIPAM) were used as catalysts in the electron-transfer reaction between hexacyanoferrate(III) and borohydride ions. The thermosensitive pNIPAM network can act as a “nanogate” that can be opened or closed to a certain extent, thereby controlling the diffusion of reactants toward the ca...

We report results on the large catalytic effect of spherical gold nanoparticles on the rate of reduction of hexacyanoferrate (III) by sodium borohydride in aqueous solution. Because the gold nanoparticles remain stable and no aggregation takes place during the reaction, it can be monitored until completion. The presence of colloidal gold leads to a...

Herein we describe a one-step method for the preparation of single-crystal, dendritic Pt nanoparticles with no need of organic solvents, templates, or seeded growth. It is shown that Pt nanoparticles with two different shapesspherical or dendriticcan be efficiently supported onto the sidewalls of carbon nanotubes. Notably, the supported dendritic P...

Metallodielectric composites with tunable optical properties were prepared by layer-by-layer assembly of gold nanorods on polystyrene (PS) spheres and subsequent deposition of SiO2 or TiO2 encapsulating shells through a sol-gel process. The optical properties of the core-shells were tailored in the visible and the near-infrared region through the g...