Note 2: To be consistent with the prefix “micro” and the range imposed by the definition,dimensions of microparticles should be expressed in μm.
A recent study showed that infused, negatively charged, immune-modifying microparticles could have therapeutic use in diseases caused or potentiated by inflammatory monocytes.
[9] Polystyrene microspheres are typically used in biomedical applications due to their ability to facilitate procedures such as cell sorting and immunoprecipitation.
Glass microspheres are primarily used as a filler and volumizer for weight reduction, retro-reflector for highway safety, additive for cosmetics and adhesives, with limited applications in medical technology.
Hollow microspheres loaded with drug in their outer polymer shell were prepared by a novel emulsion solvent diffusion method and spray drying technique.
Below are just a few: Some refer to microspheres or protein protocells as small spherical units postulated by some scientists as a key stage in the origin of life.
In 1953, Stanley Miller and Harold Urey demonstrated that many simple biomolecules could be formed spontaneously from inorganic precursor compounds under laboratory conditions designed to mimic those found on Earth before the evolution of life.
In 1957, Sidney Fox demonstrated that dry mixtures of amino acids could be encouraged to polymerize upon exposure to moderate heat.
When the resulting polypeptides, or proteinoids, were dissolved in hot water and the solution allowed to cool, they formed small spherical shells about 2 μm in diameter—microspheres.
Physicians insert a catheter through the groin into the hepatic artery and deliver millions of microspheres directly to the tumor site.
A major disadvantage of anticancer drugs is their lack of selectivity for tumor tissue alone, which causes severe side effects and results in low cure rates.
Microsphere technology is probably the only method that can be used for site-specific action (grossly overstated), without causing significant side effects on normal cells.
These biological microparticles are thought to be shed from the plasma membrane of the cell as lipid bilayer-bound entities that are typically larger than 100 nm in diameter.
"Microparticle" has been used most frequently in this sense in the hemostasis literature, usually as a term for platelet EVs found in the blood circulation.