Evolving approaches in glioma treatment: harnessing the potential of copper metabolism modulation.

The key properties and high versatility of metal nanoparticles have shed new perspectives on cancer therapy, with copper nanoparticles gaining great interest because of the ability to couple the intrinsic properties of metal nanoparticles with the biological activities of copper ions in cancer cells. Copper, indeed, is a cofactor involved in different metabolic pathways of many physiological and pathological processes. Literature data report on the use of copper in preclinical protocols for cancer treatment based on chemo-, photothermal-, or copper chelating-therapies.

Hydrogen gas sensing using aluminum doped ZnO metasurfaces.

Hydrogen (H) sensing is crucial in a wide variety of areas, such as industrial, environmental, energy and biomedical applications. However, engineering a practical, reliable, fast, sensitive and cost-effective hydrogen sensor is a persistent challenge. Here we demonstrate hydrogen sensing using aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) metasurfaces based on optical read-out.

Mesoporous silica-based hybrid materials for bone-specific drug delivery.

A mesoporous silica-based drug delivery device potentially useful for bone-specific drug delivery has been designed, developed and characterized starting from MSU-type mesoporous silica. The proposed system consists of a mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) based vehicle, presenting alendronate as a targeting functionality for bone tissue while ibuprofen is used as a model molecule for the drugs to be delivered. The particles are functionalized on the external surface using a propionitrile derivative that is successively hydrolyzed to a carboxylic group.

Manipulating acoustic and plasmonic modes in gold nanostars.

In this contribution experimental evidence of plasmonic edge modes and acoustic breathing modes in gold nanostars (AuNSs) is reported. AuNSs are synthesized by a surfactant-free, one-step wet-chemistry method. Optical extinction measurements of AuNSs confirm the presence of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs), while electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) using a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) shows the spatial distribution of LSPRs and reveals the presence of acoustic breathing modes.