Design principles of bioinspired interfaces for biomedical applications in therapeutics and imaging

Chun-Pei Shih; Xiaofang Tang; Chiung Wen Kuo; Di-Yen Chueh; Peilin Chen

doi:10.3389/fchem.2022.990171

Design principles of bioinspired interfaces for biomedical applications in therapeutics and imaging

Front Chem. 2022 Sep 23:10:990171. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2022.990171. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Chun-Pei Shih¹, Xiaofang Tang¹, Chiung Wen Kuo¹, Di-Yen Chueh¹, Peilin Chen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

In the past two decades, we have witnessed rapid developments in nanotechnology, especially in biomedical applications such as drug delivery, biosensing, and bioimaging. The most commonly used nanomaterials in biomedical applications are nanoparticles, which serve as carriers for various therapeutic and contrast reagents. Since nanomaterials are in direct contact with biological samples, biocompatibility is one of the most important issues for the fabrication and synthesis of nanomaterials for biomedical applications. To achieve specific recognition of biomolecules for targeted delivery and biomolecular sensing, it is common practice to engineer the surfaces of nanomaterials with recognition moieties. This mini-review summarizes different approaches for engineering the interfaces of nanomaterials to improve their biocompatibility and specific recognition properties. We also focus on design strategies that mimic biological systems such as cell membranes of red blood cells, leukocytes, platelets, cancer cells, and bacteria.

Keywords: bioinspired; drug delivery; interface; nanomaterials; nanoparticle (NP); surface modification; therapeutics.

Publication types

Review