Abstract
Metallo-oxide (MO)-based bioinorganic nanocomposites promise unique structures, physicochemical properties, and novel biochemical functionalities, and within the past decade, investment in research on materials such as ZnO, TiO2, SiO2, and GeO2 has significantly increased. Besides traditional approaches, the synthesis, shaping, structural patterning, and postprocessing chemical functionalization of the materials surface is inspired by strategies which mimic processes in nature. Would such materials deliver new technologies? Answering this question requires the merging of historical knowledge and current research from different fields of science. Practically, we need an effective defragmentation of the research area. From our perspective, the superficial accounting of material properties, chemistry of the surfaces, and the behavior of biomolecules next to such surfaces is a problem. This is particularly of concern when we wish to bridge between technologies in vitro and biotechnologies in vivo. Further, besides the potential practical technological efficiency and advantages such materials might exhibit, we have to consider the wider long-term implications of material stability and toxicity. In this contribution, we present a critical review of recent advances in the chemistry and engineering of MO-based biocomposites, highlighting the role of interactions at the interface and the techniques by which these can be studied. At the end of the article, we outline the challenges which hamper progress in research and extrapolate to developing and promising directions including additive manufacturing and synthetic biology that could benefit from molecular level understanding of interactions occurring between inanimate (abiotic) and living (biotic) materials.
Highlights
Metal/metalloid oxides hereafter referred to as MOs are important materials that have the potential for programmable structures to be engineered with integrated properties
Nanotechnology promises to have great benefits for society, there is increasing concern that human and environmental exposure to engineered nanomaterials may result in harm to those exposed to such materials,[110,111] and we present brief summaries of what is known concerning the nanotoxicology of the chosen materials together with comments concerning the likely effect of surface-associated biomolecules on their toxicity
Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have gained considerable interest as the surface area, pore size, and the shape of the MSNs can be tuned in such a way that a range of materials can selectively be Review encapsulated.[125−127] As MSNs possess high biological compatibility, from molecules through to cell, blood, and tissue,[127−131] they have emerged as ideal candidates for controlled drug delivery, biosensors, imaging, and cellular uptake processes.[127,132−136] Note that in this review, we mainly focus on amorphous silica and biomolecule interactions for their widespread application in biomaterials science; some examples of studies on quartz SiO2binding peptide interactions are given as extensive research has been performed in this area
Summary
Theoretical and Computational Approaches to Study ZnO-Biomolecule Interactions 4.5.3. Bioinspired GeO2 Based Materials, Synthesis, and Applications 5.3.1. Peptides and Amino Acids As Directing/ Templating Agents 5.3.3. Approaches to Control GeO2 Morphology and Crystallinity 5.4. MO-Biomolecule Interactions: Benefits and Problems with Current Analysis Approaches 6.1. Detection and Quantification of Biomolecules Adsorbed to MOs 6.2.
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