Smart Nano-Biointerfaces for Theranostics

Dear Colleagues,

Following the great interest gathered by the previous SI on “Nano-Biointerfaces for Biosensing”, we are launching another Special Issue collection of papers on the broadened topic of “Smart Nano-Biointerfaces for Theranostics”.

Theranostics is a novel concept which involves the incorporation of diagnosis (imaging) and therapy in a single nanoplatform, with an extraordinary potential for personalized medicine development. Indeed, the combination of various biomarkers, image contrast agents, therapeutic agents, and specific targeting ligands can provide optimized treatment for individuals and in the early detection of various diseases. Theranostics agents rely on multifaceted nanomaterials, which requires multidisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research efforts from chemistry, physics, material sciences, nanoscience and nanotechnology, biology, pharmacology, and medicine. An enhanced efficiency and spatiotemporal control for site-specific drug release, e.g., through the use of stimuli-responsive smart materials, the improved crossing of physiological barriers, and the promotion of response with minimum side effects are the different impacts experienced by the various in vitro and in vivo evaluations of theranostic platforms.

The topics to be focused on in this SI include the different synthetic approaches (e.g., by wet chemistry, plasma methods, and laser ablation) to get surface-tailored delivery systems (such as lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticles, hydrogels) incorporating both imaging and therapeutic components, their testing for effective delivery to the target site (e.g., the tumor tissue or the central nervous system), as well as future perspectives for clinical applications. Contributions are expected to offer breakthrough research reports and new insights into the fabrication and physicochemical/biophysical/biological characterization of multifunctional nanoplatforms to be used at the interface with systems of biological interest for theranostic-oriented applications in several pathologies, including, but not limited to, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. Cristina Satriano
Guest Editor

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