title: Kidney stone nano-structure - Is there an opportunity for nanomedicine development?
abstract: Kidney stone analysis techniques are well-established in the field of materials characterization and provide information for the chemical composition and structure of a sample. Nanomedicine, on the other hand, is a field with an increasing rate of scientific research, a big budget and increasingly developing market. The key scientific question is if there is a possibility for the development of a nanomedicine to treat kidney stones.
  
  
  
  The main calculi characterization techniques such as X-ray Diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy can provide information about the composition of a kidney stone but not for its nanostructure. On the other hand, Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Nitrogen Porosimetry can show the nanostructural parameters of the calculi. The combination of the previously described parameters can be used for the development of nano-drugs for the treatment of urolithiasis, while no such nano-drugs exist yet.
  
  
  
  In this study, we focus on the most well-known techniques for kidney stone analysis, the urolithiasis management and the search for possible nanomedicine for the treatment of kidney stone disease. We combine the results from five different analysis techniques in order to represent a three dimensional model and we propose a hypothetical nano-drug with gold nanoparticles. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Recent Advances in Bionanomaterials" Guest Editor: Dr. Marie-Louise Saboungi and Dr. Samuel D. Bader.
authors.affiliation: Hephaestus Advanced Laboratory, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, 65404, St. Lucas, Kavala, Greece; Department of Electrical Engineering, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology. Electronic address: vordosn@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vordos
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Giannakopoulos
authors.affiliation: University of Antwerp, Applied Economics, Department of Engineering Management, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Gkika
authors.affiliation: Hephaestus Advanced Laboratory, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, 65404, St. Lucas, Kavala, Greece. Electronic address: john.w.nolan@gmail.com.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Nolan
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: Ch
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kalaitzis
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology.
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Bandekas
authors.affiliation: University of Piraeus, Department of Business Administration, Piraeus, Greece.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kontogoulidou
authors.affiliation: Hephaestus Advanced Laboratory, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, 65404, St. Lucas, Kavala, Greece.
authors.forename: A Ch
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Mitropoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Touloupidis
mesh_terms: D055808:Drug Discovery / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007669:Kidney Calculi / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D017602:Lithotripsy, Laser / Q000379:methods*; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles; D053040:Nephrolithiasis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D016062:Porosity; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D064804:Urological Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D064804:Urological Agents
keywords: Nanomedicine; Nanoparticles; Nitrogen porosimetry; SAXS; Urolithiasis