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Advances in Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications

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A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanochemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2024 | Viewed by 7127

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xueen Jia

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Guest Editor

Department of Physics, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
Interests: nanofabrication; metasurfaces; plasmon enhanced fluorescence; carbon dots; biomaterials and biosensor; microfluidics; wearable sensor

Prof. Dr. Ce Zhang

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Guest Editor

Institute of Photonics & Photon-Technology, Northwest University, Xi' an 710069, China
Interests: biophysics; soft matter; microfluidics; biomedicine; laser processing; optical at the nanoscale

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Emerging biomedical tools have become extremely attractive following the COVID-19 pandemic; advances in nanomaterials for biomedical applications have shown great promise in improving disease diagnosis, drug delivery, tissue engineering and biosensing due to their unique properties. In recent years, numerous novel nanomaterials and nanostructures has been developed including low-dimensional materials (Mxenes, carbon dots and other nanoparticles), nanopores, nanochannels, metasurfaces, metal–organic frameworks (MOF) and nanocomposites. There is a huge potential to revolutionize healthcare through the development of innovative nanomaterials.

This Special Issue is devoted to the latest techniques of advanced nanomaterials and nanodevices and their biomedical applications including broad topics such as:

The synthesis, characterization, and processing of organic, inorganic, biological and hybrid nanomaterials by various methods including 3D printing and laser processing;
Nanomaterials for targeted and controlled drug delivery systems;
Therapeutic applications of nanomaterials;
Flexible and Wearable biosensing using nanomaterials.

Dr. Xueen Jia
Prof. Dr. Ce Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

2D nanomaterials
metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)
metasurfaces
biosensor
drug delivery

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 2826 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preparation of Gold Nanoparticles via Anodic Stripping of Copper Underpotential Deposition in Bulk Gold Electrodeposition for High-Performance Electrochemical Sensing of Bisphenol A

by Zhao Huang, Zihan Chen, Dexuan Yan, Shuo Jiang, Libo Nie, Xinman Tu, Xueen Jia, Thomas Wågberg and Long Chao

Molecules 2023, 28(24), 8036; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28248036 - 11 Dec 2023

Viewed by 785

Abstract

Bisphenol A is one of the most widely used industrial compounds. Over the years, it has raised severe concern as a potential hazard to the human endocrine system and the environment. Developing robust and easy-to-use sensors for bisphenol A is important in various areas, such as controlling and monitoring water purification and sewage water systems, food safety monitoring, etc. Here, we report an electrochemical method to fabricate a bisphenol A (BPA) sensor based on a modified Au nanoparticles/multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite electrocatalyst electrode (AuCu-UPD/MWCNTs/GCE). Firstly, the Au-Cu alloy was prepared via a convenient and controllable Cu underpotential/bulk Au co-electrodeposition on a multiwalled modified carbon nanotubes glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Then, the AuCu-UPD/MWCNTs/GCE was obtained via the electrochemical anodic stripping of Cu underpotential deposition (UPD). Our novel prepared sensor enables the high-electrocatalytic and high-performance sensing of BPA. Under optimal conditions, the modified electrode showed a two-segment linear response from 0.01 to 1 µM and 1 to 20 µM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 2.43 nM based on differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). Determination of BPA in real water samples using Au_Cu-UPD/MWCNTs/GCE yielded satisfactory results. The proposed electrochemical sensor is promising for the development of a simple, low-cost water quality monitoring system for the detection of BPA in ambient water samples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications)

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23 pages, 6505 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insight into the Morphological Properties of Nano-Kaolinite (Nanoscrolls and Nanosheets) on Its Qualification as Delivery Structure of Oxaliplatin: Loading, Release, and Kinetic Studies

by Mashael Daghash Alqahtani, Nourhan Nasser, May N. Bin Jumah, Saleha A. AlZahrani, Ahmed A. Allam, Mostafa R. Abukhadra and Stefano Bellucci

Molecules 2023, 28(13), 5158; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28135158 - 01 Jul 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1394

Abstract

Natural kaolinite underwent advanced morphological-modification processes that involved exfoliation of its layers into separated single nanosheets (KNs) and scrolled nanoparticles as nanotubes (KNTs). Synthetic nanostructures have been characterized as advanced and effective oxaliplatin-medication (OXAP) delivery systems. The morphological-transformation processes resulted in a remarkable enhancement in the loading capacity to 304.9 mg/g (KNs) and 473 mg/g (KNTs) instead of 29.6 mg/g for raw kaolinite. The loading reactions that occurred by KNs and KNTs displayed classic pseudo-first-order kinetics (R² > 0.90) and conventional Langmuir isotherms (R² = 0.99). KNTs exhibit a higher active site density (80.8 mg/g) in comparison to KNs (66.3 mg/g) and raw kaolinite (6.5 mg/g). Furthermore, compared to KNs and raw kaolinite, each site on the surface of KNTs may hold up to six molecules of OXAP (n = 5.8), in comparison with five molecules for KNs. This was accomplished by multi-molecular processes, including physical mechanisms considering both the Gaussian energy (<8 KJ/mol) and the loading energy (<40 KJ/mol). The release activity of OXAP from KNs and KNTs exhibits continuous and regulated profiles up to 100 h, either by KNs or KNTs, with substantially faster characteristics for KNTs. Based on the release kinetic investigations, the release processes have non-Fickian transport-release features, indicating cooperative-diffusion and erosion-release mechanisms. The synthesized structures have a significant cytotoxicity impact on HCT-116 cancer cell lines (KNs (71.4% cell viability and 143.6 g/mL IC-50); KNTs (11.3% cell viability and 114.3 g/mL IC-50). Additionally, these carriers dramatically increase OXAP’s cytotoxicity (2.04% cell viability, 15.4 g/mL IC-50 (OXAP/KNs); 0.6% cell viability, 4.5 g/mL IC-50 (OXAP/KNTs)). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications)

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Review

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41 pages, 13888 KiB

Open AccessReview

Light-Responsive and Dual-Targeting Liposomes: From Mechanisms to Targeting Strategies

by Ahmed M. Agiba, José Luis Arreola-Ramírez, Verónica Carbajal and Patricia Segura-Medina

Molecules 2024, 29(3), 636; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29030636 - 30 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1760

Abstract

In recent years, nanocarriers have played an ever-increasing role in clinical and biomedical applications owing to their unique physicochemical properties and surface functionalities. Lately, much effort has been directed towards the development of smart, stimuli-responsive nanocarriers that are capable of releasing their cargos in response to specific stimuli. These intelligent-responsive nanocarriers can be further surface-functionalized so as to achieve active tumor targeting in a sequential manner, which can be simply modulated by the stimuli. By applying this methodological approach, these intelligent-responsive nanocarriers can be directed to different target-specific organs, tissues, or cells and exhibit on-demand controlled drug release that may enhance therapeutic effectiveness and reduce systemic toxicity. Light, an external stimulus, is one of the most promising triggers for use in nanomedicine to stimulate on-demand drug release from nanocarriers. Light-triggered drug release can be achieved through light irradiation at different wavelengths, either in the UV, visible, or even NIR region, depending on the photophysical properties of the photo-responsive molecule embedded in the nanocarrier system, the structural characteristics, and the material composition of the nanocarrier system. In this review, we highlighted the emerging functional role of light in nanocarriers, with an emphasis on light-responsive liposomes and dual-targeted stimuli-responsive liposomes. Moreover, we provided the most up-to-date photo-triggered targeting strategies and mechanisms of light-triggered drug release from liposomes and NIR-responsive nanocarriers. Lastly, we addressed the current challenges, advances, and future perspectives for the deployment of light-responsive liposomes in targeted drug delivery and therapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications)

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16 pages, 2268 KiB

Open AccessReview

Flavonoid-Loaded Biomaterials in Bone Defect Repair

by Jiali Yang, Lifeng Zhang, Qiteng Ding, Shuai Zhang, Shuwen Sun, Wencong Liu, Jinhui Liu, Xiao Han and Chuanbo Ding

Molecules 2023, 28(19), 6888; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28196888 - 30 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1381

Abstract

Skeletons play an important role in the human body, and can form gaps of varying sizes once damaged. Bone defect healing involves a series of complex physiological processes and requires ideal bone defect implants to accelerate bone defect healing. Traditional grafts are often accompanied by issues such as insufficient donors and disease transmission, while some bone defect implants are made of natural and synthetic polymers, which have characteristics such as good porosity, mechanical properties, high drug loading efficiency, biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, their antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and bone repair promoting abilities are limited. Flavonoids are natural compounds with various biological activities, such as antitumor, anti-inflammatory and analgesic. Their good anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant activities make them beneficial for the treatment of bone defects. Several researchers have designed different types of flavonoid-loaded polymer implants for bone defects. These implants have good biocompatibility, and they can effectively promote the expression of angiogenesis factors such as VEGF and CD31, promote angiogenesis, regulate signaling pathways such as Wnt, p38, AKT, Erk and increase the levels of osteogenesis-related factors such as Runx-2, OCN, OPN significantly to accelerate the process of bone defect healing. This article reviews the effectiveness and mechanism of biomaterials loaded with flavonoids in the treatment of bone defects. Flavonoid-loaded biomaterials can effectively promote bone defect repair, but we still need to improve the overall performance of flavonoid-loaded bone repair biomaterials to improve the bioavailability of flavonoids and provide more possibilities for bone defect repair. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications)

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14 pages, 723 KiB

Open AccessReview

Polymer-Based Wound Dressings Loaded with Ginsenoside Rg3

by Jiali Yang, Lifeng Zhang, Xiaojuan Peng, Shuai Zhang, Shuwen Sun, Qiteng Ding, Chuanbo Ding and Wencong Liu

Molecules 2023, 28(13), 5066; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28135066 - 28 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1219

Abstract

The skin, the largest organ in the human body, mainly plays a protective role. Once damaged, it can lead to acute or chronic wounds. Wound healing involves a series of complex physiological processes that require ideal wound dressings to promote it. The current wound dressings have characteristics such as high porosity and moderate water vapor permeability, but they are limited in antibacterial properties and cannot protect wounds from microbial infections, which can delay wound healing. In addition, several dressings contain antibiotics, which may have bad impacts on patients. Natural active substances have good biocompatibility; for example, ginsenoside Rg3 has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, and other biological activities, which can effectively promote wound healing. Some researchers have developed various polymer wound dressings loaded with ginsenoside Rg3 that have good biocompatibility and can effectively promote wound healing and reduce scar formation. This article will focus on the application and mechanism of ginsenoside Rg3-loaded dressings in wounds. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications)

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