Kralj Slavko, Marchesan Silvia
Department for Materials Synthesis, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 7, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Pharmaceutics. 2021 Aug 16;13(8):1262. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13081262.
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been widely used for medicine, both in therapy and diagnosis. Their guided assembly into anisotropic structures, such as nanochains, has recently opened new research avenues; for instance, targeted drug delivery. Interestingly, magnetic nanochains do occur in nature, and they are thought to be involved in the navigation and geographic orientation of a variety of animals and bacteria, although many open questions on their formation and functioning remain. In this review, we will analyze what is known about the natural formation of magnetic nanochains, as well as the synthetic protocols to produce them in the laboratory, to conclude with an overview of medical applications and an outlook on future opportunities in this exciting research field.
超顺磁性氧化铁纳米颗粒（SPIONs）已在医学领域广泛应用于治疗和诊断。最近，将它们定向组装成各向异性结构，如纳米链，开辟了新的研究途径；例如靶向药物递送。有趣的是，磁性纳米链在自然界中确实存在，并且被认为与多种动物和细菌的导航及地理定位有关，尽管关于它们的形成和功能仍有许多未解决的问题。在这篇综述中，我们将分析关于磁性纳米链自然形成的已知信息，以及在实验室中制备它们的合成方案，最后概述其医学应用并展望这个令人兴奋的研究领域的未来机遇。
