Dear Colleagues,

Research in the area of biomaterials over the past few decades has led to the development of novel technologies and devices that have impacted modern detection, monitoring and treatment strategies for cancer, inflammatory/autoimmune diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, endocrynological diseases, and lung and cardiovascular diseases. Among these technologies, theranostic biomaterials that combine therapeutic and diagnostic capabilitites, activatable biomaterials that can be triggered to function by disease-associated and external stimuli, and image-guided therapeutic systems offer significant potential for disease management.

The emerging fields of theranostic and activatable systems promise more effective, localized and personalized treatment for a range of diseases by combining molecular diagnostics and targeted therapeutics into a single system. These dual capabilities enable monitoring of the biodistribution and interaction of these biomaterials with the targeted tissues via minimally invasive molecular imaging techniques, as well as a localized therapeutic response that can be personalized to the biological characteristics of the disease.  Nanotechnology plays a vital role in this field by enabling the use of nanoscaled systems to overcome the limitations of current invasive diagnostic methods and traditional therapeutic options. Several technologies are critical to the development of these functional systems and are of interest for this Special Issue including but not limited to (1) nanoparticle-based contrast agents for biomedical imaging, (2) novel stimuli-responsive biomaterials including those preprared from synthetic polymers, functional nucleic acids, or polypeptides, and (3) externally activatable biomaterials including those used in laser-, ultrasound-, magnetic- or radiation-induced drug delivery and thermal ablation.

This special issue focuses on the synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of novel polymeric, inorganic and hybrid biomaterials that can enable future diagnostic, imaging, and therapeutic strategies. Original research articles, research communications and reviews highlighting recent advances in the topics described above are cordially invited.

Assoc. Prof. Tania Betancourt
Guest Editor

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• Nanomedicines
• Stimuli-responsive biomaterials
• Theranostics
• Biodegradable biomaterials
• Hydrogels
• Micelles
• Photoresponsive materials
• Drug delivery
• Image-guided therapy
• Combinatorial therapy
• Thermal ablation
• Biopolymers
• Molecular imaging
• Diagnostics
• Biosensing