First-principles study of the adsorption of chlormethine anticancer drug on C24, B12N12 and B12C6N6 nanocages

We report re-optimization of a recently proposed long-range corrected (LC) hybrid density functional [J.-D. Chai and M. Head-Gordon, J. Chem. Phys., 2008, 128, 084106] to include empirical atom-atom dispersion corrections. The resulting functional, omegaB97X-D yields satisfactory accuracy for thermochemistry, kinetics, and non-covalent interactions. Tests show that for non-covalent systems, omegaB97X-D shows slight improvement over other empirical dispersion-corrected density functionals, while for covalent systems and kinetics it performs noticeably better. Relative to our previous functionals, such as omegaB97X, the new functional is significantly superior for non-bonded interactions, and very similar in performance for bonded interactions.

Nanotechnology could be defined as the technology that has allowed for the control, manipulation, study, and manufacture of structures and devices in the "nanometer" size range. These nano-sized objects, e.g., "nanoparticles", take on novel properties and functions that differ markedly from those seen from items made of identical materials. The small size, customized surface, improved solubility, and multi-functionality of nanoparticles will continue to open many doors and create new biomedical applications. Indeed, the novel properties of nanoparticles offer the ability to interact with complex cellular functions in new ways. This rapidly growing field requires cross-disciplinary research and provides opportunities to design and develop multifunctional devices that can target, diagnose, and treat devastating diseases such as cancer. This article presents an overview of nanotechnology for the biologist and discusses the attributes of our novel XPclad((c)) nanoparticle formulation that has shown efficacy in treating solid tumors, single dose vaccination, and oral delivery of therapeutic proteins.