Issue 24, 2013

Cellular nanotechnology: making biological interfaces smarter

Abstract

Recently, there has been an outburst of research on engineered cell–material interfaces driven by nanotechnology and its tools and techniques. This tutorial review begins by providing a brief introduction to nanostructured materials, followed by an overview of the wealth of nanoscale fabrication and analysis tools available for their development. This background serves as the basis for a discussion of early breakthroughs and recent key developments in the endeavour to develop nanostructured materials as smart interfaces for fundamental cellular studies, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The review covers three major aspects of nanostructured interfaces – nanotopographical control, dynamic behaviour and intracellular manipulation and sensing – where efforts are continuously being made to further understand cell function and provide new ways to control cell behaviour. A critical reflection of the current status and future challenges are discussed as a conclusion to the review.

Graphical abstract: Cellular nanotechnology: making biological interfaces smarter

Article information

Article type
Tutorial Review
Submitted
13 Jun 2013
First published
07 Oct 2013
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013,42, 9207-9218

Cellular nanotechnology: making biological interfaces smarter

P. M. Mendes, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2013, 42, 9207 DOI: 10.1039/C3CS60198F

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