Controlled drug delivery for cancer cell treatment via magnetic doxorubicin imprinted silica nanoparticles.

Herein, we report a facile and rapid one-step synthetic strategy for the development of magnetic doxorubicin imprinted silica nanoparticles for drug release experiments in living cells showing a remotely triggered doxorubicin release upon applying an alternating magnetic field, without temperature elevation of the medium (local heating).

Preparation of materials in the presence of hydrogen peroxide: from discrete or "zero-dimensional" objects to bulk materials.

Based on selected examples from the literature, this perspective aims to provide a short overview of synthetic methods using hydrogen peroxide and/or peroxidic species for the elaboration of discrete or zero-dimensional species, as well as mono-, bi- and tri-dimensional materials. There are several advantages in using peroxidic species: no foreign ion or organic ligand is introduced in the reaction medium, they are relatively cheap compared to costly alkoxides, for example, and in certain favorable cases these methods allow the selective formation of a given oxide polymorph. The materials prepared are used in several important technological applications such as electrochromism, gas sensing and electrochemistry but, in this review, special emphasis is placed on oxidation catalysis. Indeed, the deposition of peroxo species on or into oxide supports generally leads to catalytic materials that display higher activities related to a better dispersion of the active metal species in the host matrix. This review also focuses on the use of hydrogen peroxide for the recycling of toxic metal-containing spent materials such as those found in batteries for portable electronic devices.

An eco-friendly route to magnetic silica microspheres and nanospheres.

A green and inexpensive alternative to existing methods for the preparation of magnetic iron oxide/silica nanocomposite particles has been investigated. The use of water-in oil emulsions based on vegetable oils instead of usual solvents led to microsized or nanosized magnetic silica spheres exhibiting similar characteristics to those of classical procedures. Furthermore this approach is very general since a large class of porous magnetic colloids differing in size or iron oxide fraction has been obtained. This work emphasizes the importance of the level of the shearing during the emulsification step with regard to the size and monodispersity of the prepared beads. All the materials prepared were fully characterized (SEM and TEM microscopies, SQUID magnetometry, N(2) sorption volumetry, etc.). In addition, samples functionalized by thiol groups have been synthesized and successfully tested for the removal of heavy metals in water-treatment.