One example of such a material is iron oxide/gold core-shell nanoparticles, which can be used as a theranostic material in cancer therapy. Through this, a material for the treatment of a disease can be efficiently combined with another material with a monitoring functionality, making these core-shell nanoparticles interesting candidates for theranostic applications 1. Core-shell nanoparticles offer access to a wider range of properties through a combination of two different materials. The small size and large surface area of nanoparticles provides interactions with biological systems that conventional bulk materials cannot provide. Finally, applications of the iron oxide/gold core-shell nanoparticles were demonstrated for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), photothermal therapy, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These conditions resulted in diameter for the iron oxide core of 5.8 ± 1.4 nm, a thickness for the gold shell of 3.5 ± 0.6 nm, and a total diameter of the core-shell particles of 13.1 ± 2.5 nm. Starting from three separate initial guesses, the algorithm converged to the same synthesis conditions in less than 30 minutes for each initial guess. This allowed for the implementation of an optimization algorithm. Through the integration of a transmission measurement at the outlet of the reactor, synthesis results can be monitored in a real-time manner. Here, we demonstrate a microfluidic, capillary, droplet reactor for the multi-step synthesis of iron oxide/gold core-shell nanoparticles. Through the precise control over mass and heat transfer, and automatization possibilities, microfluidic devices could be a solution to this problem in a lab scale synthesis. However, their controlled synthesis, or the screening and optimization of synthesis conditions are often difficult and labor intensive. Core-shell nanoparticles are promising candidates for theranostic drugs, as they combine different intrinsic properties with a small size and large surface area.
0 kommentar(er)
