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Functionalized Inorganic and Organic Materials: Applications in Sensing, Diagnosis and Pharmaceutics

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Published Papers

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2024 | Viewed by 6488

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Zhiqin Yuan

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Guest Editor

State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, College of Chemistry, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
Interests: metal nanoclusters; layered nanomaterials; small-molecule fluorophores; polymers; chemo- and biosensing; in vitro and in vivo imaging; antibacterial; pharmaceutics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With ever-increasing material science technology, the development of functional designable inorganic and organic materials via structure/surface engineering has attracted expansive research interest for various applications, including sensing, imaging, catalysis and pharmaceutics. For example, metal- or carbon-based nanomaterials have been extensively explored for detection, therapy and catalysis. Polymers and/or small molecules with programmable molecular structures have also been prepared and applied is a diverse array of applications, as well as multifunctional organic–inorganic hybrid materials, exploited for unique applications.

The performance of these materials is largely related to several parameters, including morphology, composition, aggregation degree and the microenvironment. Moreover, surface modification is a powerful tool used to endow them with expected functions. Due to the wide-spread use of functional nanomaterials in various fields, a deep understanding of physical/chemical materials fundaments of would facilitate their further use, e.g., probes, devices, drugs, etc. Therefore, the collection of recent applications of such functional materials and the description of their physical/chemical and working fundamentals would be useful for guiding junior researchers and promoting the betterment of functionalization engineering.

This Special Issue seeks to cover recent achievements in functional organic/inorganic materials with emphasis on sensing and pharmaceutics, including corresponding principles within the aims and scope of the topics listed in the keywords.

Dr. Zhiqin Yuan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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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

inorganic metal nanomaterials
inorganic nonmetal nanomaterials
small-molecule fluorophores
polymers
chemo- and biosensing
in vitro and in vivo imaging
antibacterial
pharmaceutical application

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1914 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bioimaging and Sensing Thiols In Vivo and in Tumor Tissues Based on a Near-Infrared Fluorescent Probe with Large Stokes Shift

by Chunhui Ma, Dongling Yan, Peng Hou, Xiangbao Liu, Hao Wang, Chunhui Xia, Gang Li and Song Chen

Molecules 2023, 28(15), 5702; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28155702 - 27 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1030

Abstract

The well-known small-molecule biothiols have been used to maintain the normal metabolism of peroxy radicals, forming protein structures, resisting cell apoptosis, regulating metabolism, and protecting the homeostasis of cells in the organism. A large amount of research has found that abnormal levels of the above biothiols can cause some adverse diseases, such as changes in hair pigmentation, a slower growth rate, delayed response, excessive sleep and skin diseases. In order to further investigate the exact intracellular molecular mechanism of biothiols, it is imperative to explore effective strategies for real-time biothiol detection in living systems. In this work, a new near-infrared (NIR) emission fluorescence probe (probe 1) for sensitive and selective detection of biothiols was devised by combining dicyanoisophorone derivatives with the dinitrobenzenesulfonyl (DNBS) group. As expected, probe 1 could specifically detect biothiols (Cys, Hcy and GSH) through the dinitrobenzenesulfonyl group to form dye 2, which works as a signaling molecule for sensing biothiols in real samples. Surprisingly, probe 1 showed superior sensing characteristics and low-limit detection towards biothiols (36.0 nM for Cys, 39.0 nM for Hcy and 48.0 nM for GSH) with a large Stokes shift (134 nm). Additionally, the function of probe 1 as a platform for detecting biothiols was confirmed by confocal fluorescence imaging of biothiols in MCF-7 cells and zebrafish. More importantly, the capability of probe 1 in vivo has been further evaluated by imaging the overexpressed biothiols in tumor tissue. It is reasonable to believe that probe 1 can provide a valuable method to explore the relationship between biothiols and the genesis of tumor. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Inorganic and Organic Materials: Applications in Sensing, Diagnosis and Pharmaceutics)

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Review

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22 pages, 4880 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Advances in Gold Nanocluster-Based Biosensing and Therapy: A Review

by Lu Yang, Pengqi Hou, Jingyi Wei, Bingxin Li, Aijun Gao and Zhiqin Yuan

Molecules 2024, 29(7), 1574; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29071574 - 1 Apr 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 623

Abstract

Gold nanoclusters (Au NCs) with bright emission and unique chemical reactivity characters have been widely applied for optical sensing and imaging. With a combination of surface modifications, effective therapeutic treatments of tumors are realized. In this review, we summarize the recently adopted biosensing and therapy events based on Au NCs. Homogeneous and fluorometric biosensing systems toward various targets, including ions, small molecules, reactive oxygen species, biomacromolecules, cancer cells, and bacteria, in vitro and in vivo, are presented by turn-off, turn-on, and ratiometric tactics. The therapy applications are concluded in three aspects: photodynamic therapy, photothermal therapy, and as a drug carrier. The basic mechanisms and performances of these systems are introduced. Finally, this review highlights the challenges and future trend of Au NC-based biosensing and therapy systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Inorganic and Organic Materials: Applications in Sensing, Diagnosis and Pharmaceutics)

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Graphical abstract

22 pages, 14800 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Advances in Preparing Transparent Phosphor Ceramics for High-Index Color Rendering and High-Power Lighting

by Boshen Du, Wanyuan Li, Lin Zhang, Pei Chen and Fengniu Lu

Molecules 2024, 29(6), 1325; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules29061325 - 16 Mar 2024

Viewed by 493

Abstract

In recent years, high-power white light-emitting diode (wLED)/laser diode (wLD) lighting sources based on transparent phosphor ceramic (TPC) materials have attracted increasing application interest in automotive headlights, projection displays, and space navigation lighting due to their superior brightness, lighting distance, compactness, lifespan, and environmental resistance compared with the widely used phosphor-converted wLEDs. However, preparing TPC-converted wLEDs/wLDs with high color rendering index (CRI) remains a huge challenge, which limits their widespread application. In this review, we summarize the recently adopted strategies for constructing TPCs to develop high-power wLEDs/wLDs with high CRI values (>75). The construction protocols were categorized into four groups: host regulation, red-emitter doping, host regulation/red-emitter doping combination, and composite structure design. A comprehensive discussion was conducted on the design principles, photoluminescent properties, and device performances for each strategy. The challenges and future trends of high-power and high-CRI wLEDs/wLDs based on TPCs are also discussed toward the end of this review. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Inorganic and Organic Materials: Applications in Sensing, Diagnosis and Pharmaceutics)

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31 pages, 7146 KiB

Open AccessReview

Protein-Templated Metal Nanoclusters: Molecular-like Hybrids for Biosensing, Diagnostics and Pharmaceutics

by Sherwin Chong Li Tan, Zhijian He, Guan Wang, Yong Yu and Le Yang

Molecules 2023, 28(14), 5531; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28145531 - 20 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1755

Abstract

The use of proteins as biomolecular templates to synthesize atomically precise metal nanoclusters has been gaining traction due to their appealing properties such as photoluminescence, good colloidal- and photostability and biocompatibility. The synergistic effect of using a protein scaffold and metal nanoclusters makes it especially attractive for biomedical applications. Unlike other reviews, we focus on proteins in general as the protective ligand for various metal nanoclusters and highlight their applications in the biomedical field. We first introduce the approaches and underlined principles in synthesizing protein-templated metal nanoclusters and summarize some of the typical proteins that have been used thus far. Afterwards, we highlight the key physicochemical properties and the characterization techniques commonly used for the size, structure and optical properties of protein-templated metal nanoclusters. We feature two case studies to illustrate the importance of combining these characterization techniques to elucidate the formation process of protein-templated metal nanoclusters. Lastly, we highlight the promising applications of protein-templated metal nanoclusters in three areas—biosensing, diagnostics and therapeutics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Inorganic and Organic Materials: Applications in Sensing, Diagnosis and Pharmaceutics)

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38 pages, 13790 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Progress in the Rational Design of Biothiol-Responsive Fluorescent Probes

by Wenzhi Xie, Jinyu Jiang, Dunji Shu, Yanjun Zhang, Sheng Yang and Kai Zhang

Molecules 2023, 28(10), 4252; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28104252 - 22 May 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2077

Abstract

Biothiols such as cysteine, homocysteine, and glutathione play significant roles in important biological activities, and their abnormal concentrations have been found to be closely associated with certain diseases, making their detection a critical task. To this end, fluorescent probes have become increasingly popular due to their numerous advantages, including easy handling, desirable spatiotemporal resolution, high sensitivity, fast response, and favorable biocompatibility. As a result, intensive research has been conducted to create fluorescent probes for the detection and imaging of biothiols. This brief review summarizes recent advances in the field of biothiol-responsive fluorescent probes, with an emphasis on rational probe design, including the reaction mechanism, discriminating detection, reversible detection, and specific detection. Furthermore, the challenges and prospects of fluorescence probes for biothiols are also outlined. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functionalized Inorganic and Organic Materials: Applications in Sensing, Diagnosis and Pharmaceutics)

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