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NOVIDADES
Researchers from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and the NOVA University of Lisbon (UNL) have used platinum (Pt) compounds of a liquid crystalline nature to design nanocrystal structures capable of effectively encapsulating and transporting water-insoluble drugs that are otherwise difficult to administer. The study, published in Nano Research ("Water-soluble hollow nanocrystals from self-assembly of AIEE-active Pt(II) metallomesogens"), shows that besides their applications in bioimaging techniques as phosphorescent markers, the new Pt(II) nanocrystals may also have an application in biomedicine: to encapsulate water-insoluble drugs. Graphic Abstract. Credits: NanoResearch "In order to eliminate these problems, we strategically designed Pt(II) nanocrystals with ideal structural characteristics that make them excellent candidates for encapsulating and transporting water-insoluble substances", explained Mercedes Cano, the principal investigator of the MatMoPol Group in the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at the UCM. To carry out the study, the researchers prepared the new luminescent Pt(II) nanocrystals inside small spherical emulsions formed by mixing water with an oily solvent. Subsequent evaporation of the solvent creates an internal cavity that is totally isolated from the aqueous medium and presents the ideal characteristics to encapsulate hydrophobic drugs. The encapsulation assays were carried out using coumarin 6 (C6), a luminescent compound that is practically insoluble in water, as a hydrophobic substance model. Subsequent analysis revealed the presence of C6 inside the nanocrystals, achieving a high encapsulation efficiency of up to 79%. "In recent decades, precisely when many people thought that liquid crystals had "reached the ceiling", we have found that these materials possess and enhance additional properties such as phosphorescence and conductivity, paving the way for new technological applications in the fields of luminescent sensors and electric batteries. By using nanoscience and nanotechnology, we have now demonstrated that liquid crystals could also be of great use in the field of biomedicine", concluded Cuerva. Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Posted: Nov 07, 2020.
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