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Nanomaterials
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Nanomaterials for Biological Applications: Innovative Strategies from Theranostic Approaches to...
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Nanomaterials for Biological Applications: Innovative Strategies from Theranostic Approaches to Regenerative Medicine

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Biology and Medicines".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 16 January 2026 | Viewed by 3162

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Elena Canciani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Health Sciences, University of Piemonte Orientale, 28100 Novara, Italy
Interests: morphology; nanomaterials; biomaterials; regenerative medicine; tissue engineering; imaging
Dr. Manuela Rizzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Health Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale (UPO), 28100 Novara, Italy
Interests: biomaterials; nanomaterials; regenerative medicine; vitamin D; extracellular matrix; inflammatory and rheumatic diseases; cardiovascular diseases; translational research
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanomaterials are a very promising class of materials showing a wide range of possible applications in many research and industrial fields. The most interesting feature of these innovative materials is represented by their large surface area and tunability during production, allowing for their use in a plethora of different applications.

Nanotechnology led to cutting-edge tools for manipulation and detection at the nanoscale in various fields, including biology and medicine.

The biomedical field represent one of the most dynamic areas of nanomaterial development and evolution. Some examples of biomedical applications of these cutting-edge solutions are represented as follows: fluorescent biological labelling, drug and gene delivery, and the thermal ablation of cancer tissues.

Considering the highly tunable nature of these materials, their potential use is not limited only to the above mentioned more “classical” biomedical applications, but can also be extended to cosmetics, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine fields, where they may represent support the continuous evolution of these research domains toward new solutions characterized by higher efficiency and sustainability.

The main goal of this Special Issue is to provide an updated perspective on nanomaterials to support biological interactions. Contributions that support the advancement of the current knowledge about production, characterization, and biological application of nanomaterials are welcomed, both in form of review and original articles.

The potential topics of interest about nanomaterials are as follows:

  • Novel synthetic approaches;
  • Characterization techniques;
  • Nanomaterial applications;
  • Therapeutic and theranostic approaches;
  • Biosensors.

We encourage contributions from colleagues with different backgrounds (i.e., biologists, medical researchers, researchers from the cosmetic industry, chemists, etc.) to provide the readers with a complete overview of the most recent advancements in the exciting field of nanomaterials for biological applications.

Dr. Elena Canciani
Dr. Manuela Rizzi
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. Nanomaterials 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 2400 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

  • nanomaterials
  • regenerative medicine
  • toxicology
  • cosmetics
  • therapy
  • imaging
  • theragnostic
  • nanoparticles synthesis and applications
  • drug delivery

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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17 pages, 3914 KB  
Article
Green Synthesis of Chitosan-Coated Selenium Nanoparticles for Paclitaxel Delivery
by Mouhaned Y. Al-Darwesh, Maroua Manai, Hammouda Chebbi and Axel Klein
Nanomaterials 2025, 15(16), 1276; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano15161276 - 18 Aug 2025
Viewed by 846
Abstract
Selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) were synthesized from Na2SeO3 using Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) seed extract as mild sustainable reductant, coated with chitosan (Ch), and loaded with Paclitaxel (PTX). The PTX release from the Se@Ch–PTX NPs and their cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 breast [...] Read more.
Selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) were synthesized from Na2SeO3 using Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) seed extract as mild sustainable reductant, coated with chitosan (Ch), and loaded with Paclitaxel (PTX). The PTX release from the Se@Ch–PTX NPs and their cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells was studied in view of an application as drug delivery platform. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed the thermal stability of the NPs up to 300 °C. UV–vis absorption and Fourier transform IR (FT-IR) spectroscopy allowed to trace surface species originating from the F. vulgare extract on the Se NPs, while the surface of the Se@Ch–PTX NPs is characterized from Ch and PTX functionalities. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed approximate spherical shaped NPs with sizes ranging from 10 to 40 nm. Zeta potential measurements showed a clear distinction between the −39 mV found the Se NPs and +57 mV for the Ch–PTX coated NPs. The NPs showed good biocompatibility with red blood cells (RBCs) in hemolytic activity assays, exhibiting no hemolytic effects at concentrations ranging from 50 to 400 µg/mL. In vitro release studies showed a sustained and pH-responsive release pattern with a maximum release of about 80% within 22 h for Se@Ch–PTX at pH = 3.5. The Se@Ch–PTX NPs showed high antiproliferative activity against MDA-MB-231 cells with an IC50 value of 12.3 µg/mL compared to about 36 for PTX and 52 µg/mL for the Se NPs. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity as studied through DPPH scavenging showed higher values for the Se@Ch–PTX NPs compared to the Se NP. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials for Biological Applications: Innovative Strategies from Theranostic Approaches to Regenerative Medicine)
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23 pages, 5179 KB  
Article
Comparison In Vitro Study on the Interface between Skin and Bone Cell Cultures and Microporous Titanium Samples Manufactured with 3D Printing Technology Versus Sintered Samples
by Maxim Shevtsov, Emil Pitkin, Stephanie E. Combs, Greg Van Der Meulen, Chris Preucil and Mark Pitkin
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(18), 1484; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14181484 - 12 Sep 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1701
Abstract
Percutaneous implants osseointegrated into the residuum of a person with limb amputation need to provide mechanical stability and protection against infections. Although significant progress has been made in the biointegration of percutaneous implants, the problem of forming a reliable natural barrier at the [...] Read more.
Percutaneous implants osseointegrated into the residuum of a person with limb amputation need to provide mechanical stability and protection against infections. Although significant progress has been made in the biointegration of percutaneous implants, the problem of forming a reliable natural barrier at the level of the surface of the implant and the skin and bone tissues remains unresolved. The use of a microporous implant structure incorporated into the Skin and Bone Integrated Pylon (SBIP) should address the issue by allowing soft and bone tissues to grow directly into the implant structure itself, which, in turn, should form a reliable barrier to infections and support strong osseointegration. To evaluate biological interactions between dermal fibroblasts and MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts in vitro, small titanium discs (with varying pore sizes and volume fractions to achieve deep porosity) were fabricated via 3D printing and sintering. The cell viability MTT assay demonstrated low cytotoxicity for cells co-cultured in the pores of the 3D-printed and sintered Ti samples during the 14-day follow-up period. A subsequent Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of the relative gene expression of biomarkers that are associated with cell adhesion (α2, α5, αV, and β1 integrins) and extracellular matrix components (fibronectin, vitronectin, type I collagen) demonstrated that micropore sizes ranging from 200 to 500 µm of the 3D printed and sintered Ti discs were favorable for dermal fibroblast adhesion. For example, for representative 3D-printed Ti sample S6 at 72 h the values were 4.71 ± 0.08 (α2 integrin), 4.96 ± 0.08 (α5 integrin), 4.71 ± 0.08 (αV integrin), and 1.87 ± 0.12 (β1 integrin). In contrast, Ti discs with pore sizes ranging from 400 to 800 µm demonstrated the best results (in terms of marker expression related to osteogenic differentiation, including osteopontin, osteonectin, osteocalcin, TGF-β1, and SMAD4) for MC3T3-E1 cells. For example, for the representative 3D sample S4 on day 14, the marker levels were 11.19 ± 0.77 (osteopontin), 7.15 ± 0.29 (osteonectin), and 6.08 ± 0.12 (osteocalcin), while for sintered samples the levels of markers constituted 5.85 ± 0.4 (osteopontin), 4.45 ± 0.36 (osteonectin), and 4.46 ± 0.3 (osteocalcin). In conclusion, the data obtained show the high biointegrative properties of porous titanium structures, while the ability to implement several pore options in one structure using 3D printing makes it possible to create personalized implants for the best one-time integration with both skin and bone tissues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanomaterials for Biological Applications: Innovative Strategies from Theranostic Approaches to Regenerative Medicine)
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