Formoso Patrizia, Muzzalupo Rita, Tavano Lorena, De Filpo Giovanni, Nicoletta Fiore Pasquale
Department of Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende (CS) Italy.
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2016;16(8):668-75.
Nanotechnology encompasses the production and applications of physical, chemical, and biological systems at scales ranging from individual atoms or molecules to around 100 nanometres, as well as the integration of the resulting nanostructures into larger systems. Nanomaterials differ from bulk materials for their relatively larger surface-area-to-mass ratio, consequently they become more chemically reactive and can show different optical, magnetic and electrical behaviours. In recent years, engineered nanomaterials have gained a particular attention in some fields such as environmental protection (soil, air and water remediation/treatment) and medicine (bio-sensing, imaging, and drug delivery). Nanoparticles can be used to monitor in real-time some pollutants (including heavy metal ions, organic compounds, microbiological pathogens, etc.) present even at extremely low concentrations in different environments. The use of nanomaterials for waste remediation/treatment results in a technology more cost-effective and rapid than current conventional approaches thanks to their enhanced surface area, transport properties, and sequestration characteristics. In addition, the integration of molecular biology and medicine with nanotechnology has resulted in new active nanostructures able to interact with biological systems. Nanocarriers based on carbon nanotubes, fumed silica (SiO2), titanium dioxide (TiO2), and magnetite and maghemite (Fe3O4, and γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles have a distinct advantage over other drug carriers as they can be opportunely designed to reach the desired targets. As a consequence, such nanostructures can represent an important platform for enhanced medical imaging and controlled drug delivery. Here, some applications of nanomaterials as water purifying agents and drug delivery systems are reported.
纳米技术涵盖了物理、化学和生物系统在从单个原子或分子到约100纳米尺度范围内的生产与应用，以及将由此产生的纳米结构整合到更大的系统中。纳米材料因其相对较大的表面积与质量比而有别于块状材料，因此它们的化学反应性更强，并且能展现出不同的光学、磁性和电学行为。近年来，工程纳米材料在一些领域受到了特别关注，如环境保护（土壤、空气和水的修复/处理）和医学（生物传感、成像及药物递送）。纳米颗粒可用于实时监测不同环境中即使是极低浓度下存在的某些污染物（包括重金属离子、有机化合物、微生物病原体等）。由于纳米材料具有增大的表面积、传输特性和螯合特性，将其用于废物修复/处理所产生的技术比当前的传统方法更具成本效益且速度更快。此外，分子生物学和医学与纳米技术的结合产生了能够与生物系统相互作用的新型活性纳米结构。基于碳纳米管、气相二氧化硅（SiO₂）、二氧化钛（TiO₂）以及磁铁矿和磁赤铁矿（Fe₃O₄和γ-Fe₂O₃）纳米颗粒的纳米载体相较于其他药物载体具有明显优势，因为它们可以经过适当设计以到达期望的靶点。因此，此类纳米结构可成为增强医学成像和可控药物递送的重要平台。在此，报道了纳米材料作为水净化剂和药物递送系统的一些应用。
