scholarly journals Electromagnetically Stimuli-Responsive Nanoparticles-Based Systems for Biomedical Applications: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 848
Author(s):  
Raffaele Longo ◽  
Giuliana Gorrasi ◽  
Liberata Guadagno

Nanoparticles (NPs) in the biomedical field are known for many decades as carriers for drugs that are used to overcome biological barriers and reduce drug doses to be administrated. Some types of NPs can interact with external stimuli, such as electromagnetic radiations, promoting interesting effects (e.g., hyperthermia) or even modifying the interactions between electromagnetic field and the biological system (e.g., electroporation). For these reasons, at present these nanomaterial applications are intensively studied, especially for drugs that manifest relevant side effects, for which it is necessary to find alternatives in order to reduce the effective dose. In this review, the main electromagnetic-induced effects are deeply analyzed, with a particular focus on the activation of hyperthermia and electroporation phenomena, showing the enhanced biological performance resulting from an engineered/tailored design of the nanoparticle characteristics. Moreover, the possibility of integrating these nanofillers in polymeric matrices (e.g., electrospun membranes) is described and discussed in light of promising applications resulting from new transdermal drug delivery systems with controllable morphology and release kinetics controlled by a suitable stimulation of the interacting systems (nanofiller and interacting cells).

Author(s):  
Gore S. A. ◽  
Gholve S. B. ◽  
Savalsure S. M. ◽  
Ghodake K. B. ◽  
Bhusnure O. G. ◽  
...  

Smart polymers are materials that respond to small external stimuli. These are also referred as stimuli responsive materials or intelligent materials. Smart polymers that can exhibit stimuli-sensitive properties are becoming important in many commercial applications. These polymers can change shape, strength and pore size based on external factors such as temperature, pH and stress. The stimuli include salt, UV irradiation, temperature, pH, magnetic or electric field, ionic factors etc. Smart polymers are very promising applicants in drug delivery, tissue engineering, cell culture, gene carriers, textile engineering, oil recovery, radioactive wastage and protein purification. The study is focused on the entire features of smart polymers and their most recent and relevant applications. Water soluble polymers with tunable lower critical solution temperature (LCST) are of increasing interest for biological applications such as cell patterning, smart drug release, DNA sequencing etc.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Chang Lu ◽  
Qingjian Lu ◽  
Min Gao ◽  
Yuan Lin

The reversible and multi-stimuli responsive insulator-metal transition of VO2, which enables dynamic modulation over the terahertz (THz) regime, has attracted plenty of attention for its potential applications in versatile active THz devices. Moreover, the investigation into the growth mechanism of VO2 films has led to improved film processing, more capable modulation and enhanced device compatibility into diverse THz applications. THz devices with VO2 as the key components exhibit remarkable response to external stimuli, which is not only applicable in THz modulators but also in rewritable optical memories by virtue of the intrinsic hysteresis behaviour of VO2. Depending on the predesigned device structure, the insulator-metal transition (IMT) of VO2 component can be controlled through thermal, electrical or optical methods. Recent research has paid special attention to the ultrafast modulation phenomenon observed in the photoinduced IMT, enabled by an intense femtosecond laser (fs laser) which supports “quasi-simultaneous” IMT within 1 ps. This progress report reviews the current state of the field, focusing on the material nature that gives rise to the modulation-allowed IMT for THz applications. An overview is presented of numerous IMT stimuli approaches with special emphasis on the underlying physical mechanisms. Subsequently, active manipulation of THz waves through pure VO2 film and VO2 hybrid metamaterials is surveyed, highlighting that VO2 can provide active modulation for a wide variety of applications. Finally, the common characteristics and future development directions of VO2-based tuneable THz devices are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Menglian Wei ◽  
Yu Wan ◽  
Xueji Zhang

Metal-organic framework (MOF) based stimuli-responsive polymers (coordination polymers) exhibit reversible phase-transition behavior and demonstrate attractive properties that are capable of altering physical and/or chemical properties upon exposure to external stimuli, including pH, temperature, ions, etc., in a dynamic fashion. Thus, their conformational change can be imitated by the adsorption/desorption of target analytes (guest molecules), temperature or pressure changes, and electromagnetic field manipulation. MOF-based stimuli responsive polymers have received great attention due to their advanced optical properties and variety of applications. Herein, we summarized some recent progress on MOF-based stimuli-responsive polymers (SRPs) classified by physical and chemical responsiveness, including temperature, pressure, electricity, pH, metal ions, gases, alcohol and multi-targets.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruosen Xie ◽  
Yuyuan Wang ◽  
Shaoqin Gong

The CRISPR–Cas9 system is a powerful tool for genome editing, which can potentially lead to new therapies for genetic diseases. Up to date, various viral and non-viral delivery systems have...


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Diaz-Rodriguez ◽  
Mirian Sánchez ◽  
Mariana Landin

The mimesis of biological systems has been demonstrated to be an adequate approach to obtain tissue engineering scaffolds able to promote cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation abilities similar to those of autologous tissues. Bioceramics are commonly used for this purpose due to their similarities to the mineral component of hard tissues as bone. Furthermore, biomimetic scaffolds are frequently loaded with diverse therapeutic molecules to enhance their biological performance, leading to final products with advanced functionalities. In this review, we aim to describe the already developed bioceramic-based biomimetic systems for drug loading and local controlled release. We will discuss the mechanisms used for the inclusion of therapeutic molecules on the designed systems, paying special attention to the identification of critical parameters that modulate drug loading and release kinetics on these scaffolds.


2015 ◽  
Vol 51 (9) ◽  
pp. 1647-1649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun-Peng Wang ◽  
Yong Chen ◽  
Yu Liu

A calixarene-based supramolecular hydrogel with reversible or irreversible gelation behaviors in response to external stimuli constructed via a hierarchical induced assembly strategy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aishah Rosli ◽  
Siew Chun Low

In recent years, stimuli-responsive materials have garnered interest due to their ability to change properties when exposed to external stimuli, making it useful for various applications including gas separation. Light is a very attractive trigger for responsive materials due to its speedy and non-invasive nature as well as the potential to reduce energy costs significantly. Even though light is deemed as an appealing stimulus for the development of stimuli-responsive materials, this avenue has yet to be extensively researched, as evidenced by the fewer works done on the photo-responsive membranes. Of these, there are even less research done on photo-responsive materials for the purpose of gas separation, thus, we have collected the examples that answer both these criteria in this review. This review covers the utilisation of photo-responsive materials specifically for gas separation purposes. Photo-chromic units, their integration into gas separation systems, mechanism and research that have been done on the topic so far are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 2114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heini Ijäs ◽  
Sami Nummelin ◽  
Boxuan Shen ◽  
Mauri Kostiainen ◽  
Veikko Linko

DNA nanotechnology provides an excellent foundation for diverse nanoscale structures that can be used in various bioapplications and materials research. Among all existing DNA assembly techniques, DNA origami proves to be the most robust one for creating custom nanoshapes. Since its invention in 2006, building from the bottom up using DNA advanced drastically, and therefore, more and more complex DNA-based systems became accessible. So far, the vast majority of the demonstrated DNA origami frameworks are static by nature; however, there also exist dynamic DNA origami devices that are increasingly coming into view. In this review, we discuss DNA origami nanostructures that exhibit controlled translational or rotational movement when triggered by predefined DNA sequences, various molecular interactions, and/or external stimuli such as light, pH, temperature, and electromagnetic fields. The rapid evolution of such dynamic DNA origami tools will undoubtedly have a significant impact on molecular-scale precision measurements, targeted drug delivery and diagnostics; however, they can also play a role in the development of optical/plasmonic sensors, nanophotonic devices, and nanorobotics for numerous different tasks.


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