This study aims to investigate whether ionizing radiation combined with doxorubicin-conjugated iron oxide nanoparticles (NP-DOX) improves the internalization and cytotoxic effects of the nano-carrier-mediated drug delivery in MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells. NP-DOX was designed and synthesized using the co-precipitation method. Highly stable and crystalline nanoparticles conjugated with DOX were internalized in MG-63 cells through macropinocytosis and located in the perinuclear area. Higher nanoparticles internalization in MG-63 cells previously exposed to 1 Gy X-rays was correlated with an early accumulation of cells in G₂/M, starting at 12 h after treatment. After 48 h, the application of the combined treatment led to higher cytotoxic effects compared to the individual treatment, with a reduction in the metabolic capacity and unrepaired DNA breaks, whilst a low percent of arrested cells, contributing to the commitment of mitotic catastrophe. NP-DOX showed hemocompatibility and no systemic cytotoxicity, nor histopathological alteration of the main organs.

Nanoparticle (NP)-based solutions for oncotherapy promise an improved efficiency of the anticancer response, as well as higher comfort for the patient. The current advancements in cancer treatment based on nanotechnology exploit the ability of these systems to pass biological barriers to target the tumor cell, as well as tumor cell organelles. In particular, iron oxide NPs are being clinically employed in oncological management due to this ability. When designing an efficient anti-cancer therapy based on NPs, it is important to know and to modulate the phenomena which take place during the interaction of the NPs with the tumor cells, as well as the normal tissues. In this regard, our review is focused on highlighting different approaches to studying the internalization patterns of iron oxide NPs in simple and complex 2D and 3D in vitro cell models, as well as in living tissues, in order to investigate the functionality of an NP-based treatment.

In this chapter we discuss the important contribution of non-invasive surveys, along with minimally invasive pedological analyses, in the evaluation, re-evaluation and rigorous documentation of buried archaeological heritage. We propose also an overview of the research background, especially by discussing some key moments in promoting these interdisciplinary methods and techniques in Romanian archaeology. Therefore, we consider a review of the contributions to geophysical research, as well as the main initiatives in the field of pedological studies applied to archaeological contexts. The aim is to highlight the indisputable need for such initiatives in a modest national historiographical landscape.In support of our approach, we have chosen to focus on one of the most well-known and publicised prehistoric archaeological monuments in Romania, the eponymous site of the Chalcolithic Cucuteni Culture (toponym Cetățuie). The site has benefited from special attention over time, but still with multiple questions without an answer.138 years from its discovery and over 50 years from the latest archaeological research, the site is still surprising. Previous research, reflected in dozens of articles, studies and monographs and considered quasi-completed, is, as the latest investigations prove, away from an outcome. Older observations suggested the existence of a prolongation of habitation or satellite settlements near the known settlement on the Cetățuie promontory, but suppositions were not confirmed by previous research. Recent magnetometer surveys and pedological investigations have revealed that the Cucuteni settlement has expanded considerably at a time, with a few tens of highly fired dwellings arranged on rows, with accessways between them, enclosed by other ditches. The new information radically changes the conception over the planimetry and the dynamics of habitation on Cetățuie, opening the way for a large project on the research of this famous settlement, in the context of the European Chalcolithic.