Large‐Scale Synthesis and Medical Applications of Uniform‐Sized Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2018-10, Vol.30 (42), p.e1704290-n/a
• Main Authors: Kwon, Hyek Jin, Shin, Kwangsoo, Soh, Min, Chang, Hogeun, Kim, Jonghoon, Lee, Jisoo, Ko, Giho, Kim, Byung Hyo, Kim, Dokyoon, Hyeon, Taeghwan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biocompatibility; Biomedical materials; Drug delivery systems; imaging; Industrial engineering; large‐scale synthesis; Manufacturing engineering; Materials science; Medical imaging; Metal oxides; nanomedicine; Nanoparticles; Production costs; Synthesis; Transition metal oxides; Transition metals
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201704290

Thanks to recent advances in the synthesis of high‐quality inorganic nanoparticles, more and more types of nanoparticles are becoming available for medical applications. Especially, metal oxide nanoparticles have drawn much attention due to their unique physicochemical properties and relatively inexpensive production costs. To further promote the development and clinical translation of these nanoparticle‐based agents, however, it is highly desirable to reduce unwanted interbatch variations of the nanoparticles because characterizing and refining each batch are costly, take a lot of effort, and, thus, are not productive. Large‐scale synthesis is a straightforward and economic pathway to minimize this issue. Here, the recent achievements in the large‐scale synthesis of uniform‐sized metal oxide nanoparticles and their biomedical applications are summarized, with a focus on nanoparticles of transition metal oxides and lanthanide oxides, and clarifying the underlying mechanism for the synthesis of uniform‐sized nanoparticles. Surface modification steps to endow hydrophobic nanoparticles with water dispersibility and biocompatibility are also briefly described. Finally, various medical applications of metal oxide nanoparticles, such as bioimaging, drug delivery, and therapy, are presented. Various metal oxide nanoparticles have drawn attention for possible medical applications due to their unique physicochemical properties, stability, and relatively inexpensive production costs. However, batch‐to‐batch quality deviation hinders metal oxide nanoparticles from being translated to clinics. Reducing the cost for characterizing and refining each batch is also important. Large‐scale synthesis is a straightforward and economic pathway to minimize these issues.