Aragonese scientists develop nanocapsules that allow the controlled release of drugs and the destruction of malignant cells through their activation under NIR light
Víctor Sebastián Cabeza and Manuel Arruebo, researchers at the Institute of Nanoscience and Materials of Aragon, INMA, a joint centre of the CSIC and the University of Zaragoza, the Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technologies of the University of Zaragoza, the Ciber-BBN and the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Aragón (IIS Aragón) have developed nanocapsules that simultaneously contain drugs and palladium nanosheets so that, through light NIR light, they can eliminate tumour cells or activate the controlled release of such drugs. The research work has been published on the front cover of the prestigious journal Advanced Functional Materials (Wiley-VCH).
To achieve these results, the researchers have assembled palladium nanosheets, the only ones capable of transforming light energy into thermal energy, into biodegradable polymer nanocarriers (capsules). To this end, the researchers have developed, over the last three years, an innovative method for assembling palladium nanosheets inside these capsules. The assembly is done selectively and with such precision that, in a single step, the nanotransporter (the capsule) is generated and the drugs are introduced together with the precursors of the palladium nanosheets inside it. Subsequently, and as a result of their previous work, the researchers have been able to assemble these palladium atoms in the form of nanosheets on the entire inner surface of the nanocarrier. According to Víctor Sebastián, “we have been able to manipulate the atoms enclosed in a 180 nm biodegradable polymeric capsule to subsequently generate palladium nanosheets 1.4 nm thick. The most important thing is that for palladium, the nanosheet configuration is the only structure that can convert infrared light into heat, which is a remarkable achievement. The localisation of the palladium nanolayers has been possible thanks to the work of Raúl Arenal’s team, an international expert in electron microscopy, being able to take 3D images of a system as fragile as a polymer by using the electron cryotomography technique. Finally, their potential therapeutic uses have been studied, where it has been demonstrated that, when activated externally with light, they are capable of both eliminating melanoma cells and releasing drugs encapsulated inside them in a controlled manner. This work can be considered a first step towards the design of hybrid systems at the nanoscale, with unprecedented precision, and with a functionality applicable to other nanocarriers in which it is desired to stimulate their multifunctionality with light. In this study, in addition to Víctor Sebastián Cabeza and Manuel Arruebo, the following researchers have participated: Raúl Arenal (ARAID researcher at INMA, leader of the Nanoscopy on Low Dimensional Materials (NLDM) group at INMA, and together with Víctor Sebastián, member of the Advanced Microscopy Laboratory (LMA), University of Zaragoza), Laura Usón, Cristina Yus, Silvia Irusta and Teresa Alejo (INMA researchers), Gracia Mendoza (researcher at IIS Aragón), David García-Domingo (Aragonese Institute of Health Sciences, IACS) and Eric Leroy (member of the Institut de Chimie et et des Matériaux Paris-Est (ICMPE), CNRS/UPEC, Thiais (France)).
Bibliographic reference:
Nanoengineering palladium plasmonic nanosheets inside polymer nanospheres for photothermal therapy and targeted drug delivery.
Laura Usón, Cristina Yus, Gracia Mendoza, Eric Leroy, Silvia Irusta, Teresa Alejo,
David García-Domingo, Ane Larrea, Manuel Arruebo, Raúl Arenal and Víctor Sebastián
Adv. Funct. Mater. 2022, 32, 2106932
Article
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adfm.202106932
Cover
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/adfm.202270058
Photograph of the team
In the photograph, from left to right: Cristina Yus, Teresa Alejo, Gracia Mendoza, Laura Usón, Manuel Arruebo, Víctor Sebastián and Raúl Arenal.
18/03/2022
