Particle Technology Laboratory, Institute of Process Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zurich, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland; email:
Particles-Biology Interactions, Department of Materials Meet Life, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), CH-9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland; email:
Annu Rev Chem Biomol Eng. 2019 Jun 7;10:155-174. doi: 10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-060718-030203.
Nanoparticle-based systems offer fascinating possibilities for biomedicine, but their translation into clinics is slow. Missing sterile, reproducible, and scalable methods for their synthesis along with challenges in characterization and poor colloidal stability of nanoparticles in body fluids are key obstacles. Flame aerosol technology gives proven access to scalable synthesis of nanoparticles with diverse compositions and architectures. Although highly promising in terms of product reproducibility and sterility, this technology is frequently overlooked, as its products are of fractal-like aggregated and/or agglomerated morphology. However, coagulation is a widely occurring phenomenon in all kinds of particle-based systems. In particular, protein-rich body fluids encountered in biomedical settings often lead to destabilization of colloidal nanoparticle suspensions in vivo. We aim to provide insights into how particle-particle interactions can be measured and controlled. Moreover, we show how particle coupling effects driven by coagulation may even be beneficial for certain sensing, therapeutic, and bioimaging applications.
基于纳米粒子的系统为生物医药提供了引人入胜的可能性，但将它们转化为临床应用的速度较慢。缺乏无菌、可重复和可扩展的合成方法，以及纳米粒子在体液中的特性和较差的胶体稳定性方面的挑战，是关键障碍。火焰气溶胶技术为具有不同组成和结构的纳米粒子的可扩展合成提供了经过验证的途径。尽管在产品重现性和无菌性方面极具前景，但由于其产品呈分形聚集和/或团聚形态，该技术经常被忽视。然而，凝聚是所有基于颗粒的系统中普遍存在的现象。特别是在生物医学环境中遇到的富含蛋白质的体液，常常导致胶体纳米粒子悬浮液在体内的不稳定性。我们旨在深入了解如何测量和控制颗粒-颗粒相互作用。此外，我们还展示了由凝聚驱动的颗粒偶联效应如何甚至可能有益于某些传感、治疗和生物成像应用。
