Intelligent Polymers for Nanomedicine and Biotechnologies

Magdalena Aflori

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781351977432
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Biotechnology in Medicine

Almost all synthetic materials over time induce some level of inflammation and fibrosis. Therefore, even though the successes of biomaterials science in producing acceptable solutions to the problem of biocompatibility have been remarkable, there remains enormous opportunity for improvement. The goal is the development of intelligent materials that replicate and mimic the ability of tissues and biological materials to adapt and renew. This book describes the synthesis and the analysis of new smart polymeric materials and their practical implications in nanomedicine and biotechnology. It offers a comprehensive overview, gathering recent and innovative research on multiple aspects within the field of smart polymeric materials that offer new perspectives in developing current advanced biotechnologies. The text contains both experimental and theoretical issues that reflect the impact of the materials characteristics in target applications. It deals with recent advances in the design of new polymeric materials for advanced applications but also on the study of their structure-properties relationship in order to move from completely inert, static structures to flexible ones capable to respond to environmental changes.

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Opportunities and Challenges in Polymer–Noble Metal Nanocomposites

Luiza M. Gradinaru, Mihaela Mandru, Constantin Ciobanu, and Magdalena Aflori

CONTENTS

1.1Introduction

1.2Biomedical Applications of NMNP Nanocomposites

1.2.1Antibacterial Applications

1.2.1.1AgNPs

1.2.1.2AuNPs

1.2.1.3PtNPs

1.2.2Cancer Therapy

1.2.2.1AgNPs

1.2.2.2AuNPs

1.2.2.3PtNPs

1.2.3Bioimaging and Biosensing

1.2.3.1AgNPs

1.2.3.2AuNPs

1.2.3.3PtNPs

1.2.4Wound (Dressing) Management

1.2.4.1AgNPs

1.2.4.2AuNPs

1.2.4.3PtNPs

1.3Conclusions and Future Directions

Acknowledgments

References

1.1Introduction

Nanotechnology, especially used in biomedical applications, is a new field that has been developing exponentially in the last decade, which may have a positive impact on the population health care system. The most important biomedical applications of nanotechnology that may have potential clinical applications include targeted drug delivery, detection, diagnosis, imaging, and treatment.

Noble metal nanoparticles (NMNPs) have attracted growing interest in recent years because of their unique chemical and physical properties, which can be exploited in a wide range of biomedical applications, including antibacterial applications (Hajipour et al. 2012), cancer therapy (Minelli et al. 2010, Bhattacharyya et al. 2011, Conde et al. 2012, Jeyaraj et al. 2013, Mollick et al. 2015), bioimaging (Thurn et al. 2007), biosensing (Saha et al. 2012), wound dressing management (Parani et al. 2016), etc. Research in this field has demonstrated that the optical, electrical, magnetic, and catalytic properties of NMNPs are influenced by shape, size, and size distribution, which in turn are strongly influenced by the synthesis methods (Kuppusamy et al. 2016), reducing agents (Castro et al. 2013), and stabilizers used.

NMNPs such as silver, gold, and platinum are particularly interesting due to their ease of synthesis, characterization, and surface functionalization (Abou El-Nour et al. 2010, Dhand et al. 2015); their size- and shape-dependent properties (Pal et al. 2007, Badwaik et al. 2012); and ease of drugs loaded by using methods, such as encapsulation, surface attachment, or entrapment (Duncan et al. 2010). Thereby, the research in this field of nanomaterials, including NPs, will continue to grow in the next years.

A rapidly growing application is the use of the NPs as antibacterial agents because of the increase in the resistance of bactericides and antibiotics due to the development of resistant strains. For example, AgNPs, owing to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial action against bacteria, viruses, and other eukaryotic microorganisms, are widely used in antiseptics, wound dressings, food containers, detergents, cosmetics, and many other products (Rai et al. 2009, Haider and Kang 2015).

Since biological processes occur at the nanometer scale and inside the cells, nanotechnology offers tools that may be able to detect various diseases in a very small volume of cells or tissue. Thus, the optical properties of NMNPs are...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Editor
• Contributors
• 1. Opportunities and Challenges in Polymer–Noble Metal Nanocomposites
• 2. Advances in Polymer Nanofibers Containing Metal Oxide Nanoparticles
• 3. Recent Developments in ZnO–Polyurethane Nanomaterials
• 4. Smart Materials with Phosphorus and Nitrogen Functionalities Suitable for Biomedical Engineering
• 5. Key Considerations in the Design of Polymeric Micro- and Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery Systems
• 6. Guided Bone Repair Using Synthetic Apatites–Biopolymer Composites
• 7. Stimuli-Responsive Polymeric Biomaterials
• 8. Intelligent Amide- and Imide-Based Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications
• 9. Tailoring Protein-Based Materials for Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering
• 10. Inside of the Transport Processes in Biomedical Systems
• Index