Abstract
Diatoms—unicellular photosynthetic algae—are promising natural sources of nanostructured silica. These microorganisms produce in their membrane approximately a highly ordered porous cell wall called a frustule as protection from environmental stress. Diatom frustules consist of hydrated silica that show peculiar properties including biocompatibility, tailorable surface chemistry, chemical inertness, and thermal stability. Frustules harvested from aquatic ecosystems or diatomaceous fossil sediments represent an excellent cost-effective source of biosilica for a broad range of biomedical applications. The porous ultrastructure of the frustules displays a large surface area available for coating with various biomolecules through different functionalization methods. In this review article, we highlight the main features of diatom biosilica and present some of the most advantageous properties that support the employment of frustules in the field of drug delivery, biosensing, and regenerative medicine. In particular, it is offered an insight into the most common functionalization strategies through which diatom physicochemical properties can be modified and tailored according to the described field of application.
Highlights
Research interest in the utilization of diatom biosilica for biomedical applications has grown over the last decade [1]
This study offers an interesting reflection on the ability of polymer-functionalized drug carriers to reduce the toxicity of the chemotherapeutic drug and outlines their promising applications for cancer therapy
The entrapment of micro-nano particles into the fibrous scaffold increased calcium deposition up to 20% compared to the undoped PHBV/PCL control scaffold after 7 days, which outlined the positive effect of silica-enriched substrate on Saos-2 ALP activity
Summary
Research interest in the utilization of diatom biosilica for biomedical applications has grown over the last decade [1]. The species Coscinodiscus has interesting variability frustule morphology offers towell-organized scientists frommultilevel various fields to radialThe symmetry withof large and flat surfaces featuring poresthe [13].possibility. Within this choose the diatom species matching with the desired application. The amorphous silica surface shows high levels of free reactive hydroxyl groups (–OH) that can be exploited to modify the frustule with chemical groups (–NH2 , –COOH, –SH, and –CHO) These groups are suitable to bind different biomolecules to diatoms (i.e., enzymes, proteins, antibodies, peptides, DNA, aptamers) [7,27]. In vivo application of the material is presented to endorse the employment of diatoms in biomedicine
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