Ceria-Doped Titania Nanoparticles as Drug Delivery System.

The development of new devices at the nanoscale level, as therapeutic support in medical practice, has facilitated the development of drug delivery systems (DDSs) based on nanoparticles. This enables the transport of an effective dose of therapeutic agents to target cells or tissues, with no collateral damage to healthy cells. Owing to their unique properties, nanoparticles doped with rare earths have demonstrated the potential of being used as a DDS of drug molecules to target cells or tissues. In the present work, ceria-doped titania nanoparticles (CeO2/TiO2NPs) were used to form the DNR-CeO2/TiO2NPs complex as a DDS of daunorubicin (DNR), which was tested in a B-lymphocyte cell culture. The CeO2/TiO2NPs were synthesized via the sol-gel process in a microemulsion of reverse micelle. In general, the results indicated that the nanoparticles presented good biocompatibility and load efficiency superior to that reported in other investigations for pure titania nanoparticles, suggesting that the CeO2/TiO2NPs increased intracellular accumulation of the drug. These results indicate that a delivery strategy using CeO2/TiO2NPs is a promising approach in the medical field, particularly in anticancer therapies.

Synthesis and thermoluminescence of LaAlO3:Pr3+ to UVC radiation dosimetry.

Thermoluminescent (TL) response of trivalent praseodymium ion doped lanthanum aluminate (LaAlO3:Pr3+) obtained by Pechini method and Spray Dryer was studied. TL response of LaAlO3:Pr3+ powders submitted at 1600°C exhibited one peak centered at 157°C. Sensitivity of LaAlO3:Pr3+ was improved in around 90 times compared with undoped LaAlO3. TL response as a function of wavelength showed a maximum in 230nm. Dosimetric characteristics of LaAlO3:Pr3+ under UVR radiation effects were analyzed. Evaluation of activation energy was obtained by Glow Fit v.1.3 software. Experimental results about thermoluminescent characteristics of LaAlO3:Pr3+ suggest as good candidate to be employed as a complementary thermoluminescent device with other TL phosphors as aluminum oxide.