Nanoparticles: Chemistry and Applications

In the first part of the course, basic concepts on the nanoparticles, their physico-chemical properties and how these latter can be modulated by changing nanoparticles size will be presented. In particular, the synthetic procedures (using bottom-up approaches) for the preparation of different nanoparticle classes (metallic, semiconductors and quantum dots) will be described. The peculiar properties of the different types of nanoparticles (absorption, emission, modulation of the nanosized semiconductors band gap etc.) will be described. The most relevant strategies for nanoparticles stabilization in colloidal suspension, for the choice of the capping material as a function of the biomedical use of the nano-object, will be presented, as well as the techniques most commonly employed for their characterization in the solid-state (TEM, SEM and AFM) and in suspension (DLS and Z-Potential). Some recent applications will be discussed as well.

In the second part of the course basic principles of the use of nanoparticles in biomedical applications (sensors for the study of biological interactions; drug delivery systems, contrast media for diagnostic techniques); materials employed for NPs fabrication, the influence of physico-chemical properties of NPs (size, shape, surface charge, etc) in biological interactions; surface functionalization, passive and active targeting; stimuli-responsive nanoparticles.
Nanoparticles based on organic material in drug delivery and diagnostic applications: liposomes, polymeric nanoparticles, polymeric micelles, polymersomes, dendrimers, polymer/lipid-Nucleic acids complexes ("polyplexes"/"lipoplexes") for genic therapy. General characteristics, physico-chemical properties, methods of fabrication and functionalization will be described for each type of NPs, together with some examples of application.