title: Nanostructured carbon beads--properties and biomedical applications.
abstract: In this study, amorphous carbonaceous nanoparticles were prepared by a simple hydrothermal process using glucose as precursor. The nearly perfect spherical particles (beads) with the dimensions in the range of 10-500 nm were obtained depending on the main process parameters (precursor concentration, temperature, and time). The particles size, surface morphology, structure, and composition have been examined by TEM, SEM, X-ray diffraction, XPS, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. These amorphous carbonaceous nanobeads (a-CNBs) have been found nontoxic in vitro with a variety of cultured cell lines. The size-dependent effect of a-CNBs addition on cell function has been observed. For example, a-CNBs can, in some cases, substantially increase interleukin-12 (IL-12) production by bone marrow dendritic cells. It has been further demonstrated that a-CNBs can be modified with fluorescent dye molecules or loaded with anti-cancer drugs for bioimaging or therapeutic purposes, respectively. The results of these tests and the strategies for the particle preparation and functionalization for biomedical applications have been discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Andrei V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Stanishevsky
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Styres
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yockell-Lelievre
authors.forename: Nabiha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yusuf
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D002244:Carbon