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Functional Nanomaterials for Current and Prospective Medical Applications

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 13661

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Anna Karewicz

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Guest Editor

Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie, Krakow, Poland
Interests: drug delivery; micro and nanoparticles; liposomes; polymeric materials; biopolymers; hydrogels; tissue engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, nanomaterials have become more and more important in the field of medicine. They open new possibilities in the detection of early stages of various diseases, in the effective, long-term replacement or regeneration of damaged tissues, and in the development of advanced drug delivery systems allowing precise control over the release profile and the place of delivery of active agents. The possible applications are numerous and include all aspects of diagnosis (biosensors, contrasts, etc.) and therapy (surgical materials, tissue engineering, drug delivery, PDT, gene delivery, etc.). Often enough, functionalization is necessary to precisely adjust the properties of the nanomaterial to the needs of the particular biomedical application, whether it is covalent binding of biologically active moieties, or physical or chemical modifications allowing to provide material with the required polarity, surface charge, shape, or nanostructure.

This Special Issue is dedicated to advances in the field of nanomaterials (nanoparticles and nanocapsules, vesicles, including liposomes, and other nanostructured materials) functionalized in order to tailor their properties with the prospect of the medical application, even if their potential has not yet been fully tested in biological experiments. Studies on all types of nanomaterials (organic, inorganic, hybrid) are welcomed in the form of full papers, communications, and reviews.

Dr. Anna Karewicz
Guest Editor

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. Materials 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 2600 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

nanoparticles
nanocapsules
vesicles
functional nanomaterials
nanostructured materials
biosensors
bioimaging
drug delivery
gene delivery
tissue engineering
PDT

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 5850 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Strength and Fracture Mechanism of an Ultrafine-Grained Austenitic Steel for Medical Applications

by Gennadiy V. Klevtsov, Ruslan Z. Valiev, Natal’ya A. Klevtsova, Maxim N. Tyurkov, Mikhail L. Linderov, Marina M. Abramova, Arseniy G. Raab and Timur B. Minasov

Materials 2021, 14(24), 7739; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14247739 - 15 Dec 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1282

Abstract

In this paper, we study the corrosion-resistant austenitic steel Fe-0.02C-18Cr-8Ni for medical applications. The microstructure and mechanical properties (tensile mechanical properties, torsional strength, impact toughness, and static and cyclic crack resistance) under different types of loading of the steel are investigated. The results are compared for the two states of the steel: the initial (coarse-grained) state and the ultrafine-grained state produced by severe plastic deformation processing via equal-channel angular pressing. It is demonstrated that the ultrafine-grained steel 0.08C-18Cr-9Ni has essentially better properties and is very promising for the manufacture of medical products for various applications that experience various static and cyclic loads during operation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Current and Prospective Medical Applications)

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11 pages, 2072 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis, Characterization, and Antifungal Activity of Silver Nanoparticles Embedded in Pullulan Matrices

by Olga Burduniuc, Andra-Cristina Bostanaru, Mihai Mares, Gabriela Biliuta and Sergiu Coseri

Materials 2021, 14(22), 7041; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14227041 - 20 Nov 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1947

Abstract

Steady developments made in nanotechnology-based products have facilitated new perspectives for combating drug-resistant fungi. Silver nanoparticles represent one of the most attractive nanomaterials in biomedicine due to their exclusive optical, electromagnetic, and catalytic properties and antifungal potency compared with other metal nanoparticles. Most studies show that the physicochemical parameters affecting the antifungal potential of AgNPs include the shape, size, surface charge, and concentration and colloidal state. For the present study, pullulan (P) and its oxidized counterpart (PO) have been selected as matrices for the silver nanoparticles’ generation and stabilization (AgNPs). The TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl radical)–sodium hypochlorite–sodium bromide system was used for the C6 selective oxidation of pullulan in order to introduce negatively charged carboxylic groups in its structure. The structure and morphology of the synthesized AgNPs were analyzed using FTIR and EDX. The main objective of this study was to elucidate the antifungal activity of AgNPs on the clinical yeasts isolates and compare the performance of AgNPs with the conventional antifungals. In this study, different concentrations of AgNPs were tested to examine antifungal activity on various clinical isolates. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Current and Prospective Medical Applications)

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Review

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20 pages, 1496 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nanostructures as Radionuclide Carriers in Auger Electron Therapy

by Nasrin Abbasi Gharibkandi, Joanna Gierałtowska, Kamil Wawrowicz and Aleksander Bilewicz

Materials 2022, 15(3), 1143; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15031143 - 01 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3795

Abstract

The concept of nanoparticle-mediated radionuclide delivery in the cancer treatment has been widely discussed in the past decade. In particular, the use of inorganic and organic nanostructures in the development of radiopharmaceuticals enables the delivery of medically important radioisotopes for radionuclide therapy. In this review, we present the development of nanostructures for cancer therapy with Auger electron radionuclides. Following that, different types of nanoconstructs that can be used as carriers for Auger electron emitters, design principles, nanoparticle materials, and target vectors that overcame the main difficulties are described. In addition, systems in which high-Z element nanoparticles are used as radionuclide carriers, causing the emission of photoelectrons from the nanoparticle surface, are presented. Finally, future research opportunities in the field are discussed as well as issues that must be addressed before nanoparticle-based Auger electron radionuclide therapy can be transferred to clinical use. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Current and Prospective Medical Applications)

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16 pages, 1609 KiB

Open AccessReview

Hyaluronic Acid-Silver Nanocomposites and Their Biomedical Applications: A Review

by Joanna Dulińska-Litewka, Kacper Dykas, Dominik Felkle, Karolina Karnas, Gohar Khachatryan and Anna Karewicz

Materials 2022, 15(1), 234; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15010234 - 29 Dec 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2929

Abstract

For the last years scientific community has witnessed a rapid development of novel types of biomaterials, which properties made them applicable in numerous fields of medicine. Although nanosilver, well-known for its antimicrobial, anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities, as well as hyaluronic acid, a natural polysaccharide playing a vital role in the modulation of tissue repair, signal transduction, angiogenesis, cell motility and cancer metastasis, are both thoroughly described in the literature, their complexes are still a novel topic. In this review we introduce the most recent research about the synthesis, properties, and potential applications of HA-nanosilver composites. We also make an attempt to explain the variety of mechanisms involved in their action. Finally, we present biocompatible and biodegradable complexes with bactericidal activity and low cytotoxicity, which properties suggest their suitability for the prophylaxis and therapy of chronic wounds, as well as analgetic therapies, anticancer strategies and the detection of chemical substances and malignant cells. Cited studies reveal that the usage of hyaluronic acid-silver nanocomposites appears to be efficient and safe in clinical practice. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Current and Prospective Medical Applications)

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24 pages, 1571 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Application of Halloysite Nanotubes in Cancer Therapy—A Review

by Anna Karewicz, Adrianna Machowska, Martyna Kasprzyk and Gabriela Ledwójcik

Materials 2021, 14(11), 2943; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14112943 - 29 May 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2906

Abstract

Halloysite, a nanoclay characterized by a unique, tubular structure, with oppositely charged interior and exterior, suitable, nanometric-range size, high biocompatibility, and low cost, is recently gaining more and more interest as an important and versatile component of various biomaterials and delivery systems of biomedical relevance. One of the most recent, significant, and intensely studied fields in which halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) found diverse applications is cancer therapy. Even though this particular direction is mentioned in several more general reviews, it has never so far been discussed in detail. In our review, we offer an extended survey of the literature on that particular aspect of the biomedical application of HNTs. While historical perspective is also given, our paper is focused on the most recent developments in this field, including controlled delivery and release of anticancer agents and nucleic acids by HNT-based systems, targeting cancer cells using HNT as a carrier, and the capture and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with nanostructured or magnetic HNT surfaces. The overview of the most up-to-date knowledge on the HNT interactions with cancer cells is also given. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Nanomaterials for Current and Prospective Medical Applications)

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