Cobalt magnetic nanoparticles as theranostics: Conceivable or forgettable?

Nanotechnology Reviews

article

Claudia Petrarca¹  Anna Maria Poma²  Giulia Vecchiotti²  Giovanni Bernardini³  Qiao Niu⁴  Anna Giulia Cattaneo³  Mario Di Gioacchino¹  Enrico Sabbioni⁵ 

[1] Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences & Center of Advanced Studies and Techologies (CAST) “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara;Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L’Aquila;Department of Life Science, University of Insubria;Shanxi medical University, Institute of Preventive Medicine;Department of Physics

关键词: cobalt;    magnetism;    nanoparticles;    safety;    synthesis;    theranostic;    toxicity;   

DOI  :  10.1515/ntrev-2020-0111

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: De Gruyter

【 摘 要 】

Superparamagnetic nanoparticles, exposed to an external variable magnetic field, undergo rapid excitation/relaxation. So-called soft magnets, typically iron-based, rapidly and completely relax when the magnetic field returns to zero. Instead, cobalt-based (CoB) hard magnets retain residual magnetization, a characteristic related with the procedure for nanoparticles (NPs) production. Many researchers are still attracted by the potential of CoB NPs for theranostics as multifaced signal probes for imaging, microrobots, enhanced thermo/radiation therapy, and drug release. Since iron oxide NPs are the only magnetic NPs approved for human use, they are of reference for analyzing the potential of the disregarded CoB NPs. In vitro observed toxicity of CoB NPs, largely attributable to cobalt ions and other chemical species released by dissolution, excluded them from further investigations in humans. Nevertheless, experimental evidences documenting the in vivo toxicity of engineered CoB NPs remain very few. The surface functionalization adds newer properties and could improve the biocompatibility of NPs, critical for the clinical exploitation. In our opinion, it would be worth to further exploit the potential of finely tunable properties of CoB NPs in in vivo systems in order to establish a systematic database of properties and effects suitable for human application.

【 授权许可】

CC BY