Nanotechnology Insights & Innovations

It was 1959 when the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard P. Feynman suggested the immense possibilities afforded by miniaturization. Since then, the use of nanoparticles has increased significantly in several fields, among which diagnostics, biomedicine, environmental remediation, and water treatment, generating great expectations. 

In the wild, there are many examples of structures having one or more dimensions in the range of nanometers, which have been exploited by a lot of technologies have incidentally for many years, but only in recent times has it been possible to do it on purpose.

Nanotechnology, historically, has been defined as the research and technological development at the atomic or molecular scale to control the assembly and the manipulation of materials within the nanometer range. The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), a U.S. Government research and development initiative, defined nanotechnology as “a science, engineering, and technology conducted at the nanoscale (1 to 100 nm), where unique phenomena enable novel applications in a wide range of fields, from chemistry, physics and biology, to medicine, engineering and electronics”.

Many of the applications of nanotechnology involve new materials featured by very peculiar properties and new effects compared to the same materials made in bulk sizes.

The fields of application of nanotechnology are varied and have the potential to make a significant impact on society. Nanotechnology has already been adopted by industrial sectors, such as the information and communications sectors, but is also used in food technology, energy technology, as well as in some medical products and medicines. Nanomaterials may also offer new opportunities for the reduction of environmental pollution.

Among different nanomaterials are well-known fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, dendrimers, micelles, liposomes and different classes of nanoparticles.

AcZon proprietary core-shell silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) represent a novel class of probes for biological applications. SiNPs are spherical and their diameter varies between 10 and 70 nm; they are made up of two structural compartments: the core and the shell. During the synthetic procedure, the chemical-physical characteristics of the SiNPs can be personalized according to the intended use. They can be modified, both internally (core) and externally (shell) in step with customer requirements. The nanoparticle itself acts as a shield which protects the molecules hosted in the inner part. As a result, all the molecules included in the nanoparticle core are not affected by external agents as pH and even by continuous light irradiation. Thanks to the spherical shape of nanoparticles and the consequent elevated surface/volume ratio, more active molecules (such as enzymes, drugs, chelating agents, etc) can be conjugated to a single targeting molecule ensuring a consistent effect enhancement. 

The nanoparticle itself acts as a shield which protects the molecules hosted in the inner part. As a result, all the molecules included in the nanoparticle core are not affected by external agents as pH and even by continuous light irradiation.

The shield effect exerted by the nanoparticle allows the application of a revolutionary purification protocol of bioconjugates assuring a higher purity degree of the final conjugates with consequent reduced background signals. In brief, the protection offered to the sensitive dyes included in the nanoparticles allows the adoption of an affinity chromatography purification step which requires a low pH elution otherwise impossible to apply due to the intrinsic sensitivity of conventional used probes. The coupling of the historically used purification method by size exclusion chromatography to the second affinity step increases the purity degree of the final conjugated ≥95%.

This is how AcZon’s passion for the infinitely small revolutionizes the huge scientific world.