Nanotechnology in Diagnosis, Treatment and Prophylaxis of Infectious Diseases delivers comprehensive coverage of the application of nanotechnology to pressing problems in infectious disease.
This text equips readers with cutting-edge knowledge of promising developments and future prospects in nanotechnology, paying special attention to microbes that are now resistant to conventional antibiotics, a concerning problem in modern medicine.
Readers will find a thorough discussion of this new approach to infectious disease treatment, including the reasons nanotechnology presents a promising avenue for the diagnosis, treatment, and prophylaxis of infectious diseases.

The remarkable physicochemical properties of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have prompted development
in exploring biomolecular interactions with AuNPs-containing systems, pursuing biomedical applications
in diagnostics. Among these applications, AuNPs have been remarkably useful for the development of
DNA/RNA detection and characterization systems for diagnostics, including systems suitable for point of
need. Here, emphasis will be on available molecular detection schemes of relevant pathogens and their
molecular characterization, genomic sequences associated with medical conditions (including cancer),
mutation and polymorphism identification, and the quantification of gene expression.

Nanoparticles possess unique optical and physic-chemical properties that may potentiate applications in biomedicine, in particular in diagnostics, therapy and imaging. Advances on biomolecular diagnostics strategies have greatly focused on single molecule detection and characterization of DNA, RNA or proteins through improved nanoparticle-based platforms. Nanoparticles improve analytical capability when compared to traditional techniques with high resolution and medium-high throughput. Also, particular interest has been directed at SNP detection, gene expression profiles and biomarker characterization through colorimetric, spectrometric or electrochemical strategies.
Molecular imaging has also benefited from the introduction of nanoparticles in standard techniques towards non-invasive imaging procedures that can be used to highlight regions of interest, allowing the characterization of biological processes at the cellular and/or molecular level. Several imaging modalities are associated with low sensitivity, an issue that can be tackled by the use of probes, e.g. contrast agents for X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging, radiolabelled molecules for nuclear medicine. Furthermore, nanoparticles can be used as vehicles that deliver specifically these contrast agents, leading to overcome the limitations of conventional modalities.
This chapter will discuss the use of nanoparticles in biomolecular recognition and imaging applications, focusing those already being translated into clinical settings. Current knowledge will be addressed as well as its evolution towards the future of nanoparticle-based biomedical applications.

RNAi has always captivated scientists due to its tremendous power to modulate the phenotype of living organisms. This natural and powerful biological mechanism can now be harnessed to down-regulate specific gene expression in diseased cells; opening up endless opportunities. Since most of the conventional siRNA delivery methods are limited by a narrow therapeutic index and significant side and off-target effects, we are now in the dawn of a new age in gene therapy driven by nanotechnology vehicles for RNAi therapeutics. Here, we outlook the "do's and dont's" of the inorganic RNAi nanomaterials developed in the last 15 years and the different strategies employed are compared and scrutinized, offering important suggestions for the next 15.

This paper presents the performance of a passive planar rhombic micromixer with diamond-shaped obstacles and a rectangular contraction between the rhombi. The device was experimentally optimized using water for high mixing efficiency and a low pressure drop over a wide range of Reynolds numbers (Re = 0.1–117.6) by varying geometrical parameters such as the number of rhombi, the distance between obstacles and the contraction width. Due to the large amount of data generated, statistical methods were used to facilitate and improve the results of the analysis. The results revealed a rank of factors influencing mixing efficiency: Reynolds number > number of rhombi > contraction width > inter-obstacles distance. The pressure drop measured after three rhombi depends mainly on Re and inter-obstacle distance. The resulting optimum geometry for the low Re regime has a contraction width of 101 μm and inter-obstacles distance of 93 μm, while for the high Re regime a contraction width of 400 μm and inter-obstacle distance of 121 μm are more appropriate. These mixers enabled 80% mixing efficiency creating a pressure drop of 6.0 Pa at Re = 0.1 and 5.1 × 104 Pa at Re = 117.6, with a mixer length of 2.5 mm. To the authors' knowledge, the developed mixer is one of the shortest planar passive micromixers reported to date.

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