Bioinspired and Biomimetic Nanomaterials as Coatings for Advancing Nanomedicine

Dear Colleagues,

The convergence of nanotechnology and medicine has ushered in a new era of therapeutic and diagnostic possibilities. However, a persistent challenge lies in ensuring these advanced systems interface effectively and safely with the complex biological environment. Bioinspired and biomimetic approaches offer powerful solutions, drawing on design principles found in nature, such as self-assembly, stimuli-responsiveness, and molecular recognition, to engineer nanomaterials with superior functionality, biocompatibility, and targeted action. This paradigm is crucial for tackling global healthcare challenges, including targeted cancer therapy, antimicrobial resistance, regenerative medicine, and personalized diagnostics, where achieving high specificity and minimizing off-target effects are paramount.

The development of intelligent materials as functional coatings represents a particularly transformative frontier. Coatings can serve as a critical intermediary, transforming conventional implants, devices, and nanocarriers into sophisticated platforms capable of modulating cellular responses, controlling drug release, resisting biofouling, and providing real-time diagnostic signals. The field is ripe with opportunities driven by advances in fabrication techniques like layer-by-layer assembly, pulsed laser deposition, and 3D bioprinting, yet challenges remain in scaling production, ensuring long-term stability in vivo, and navigating regulatory pathways. Research in this timely area is significant for both academia, pushing the boundaries of materials science and biophysics, and clinical practice, by directly contributing to the next generation of medical devices and treatments.

This Special Issue aims to present and disseminate the most recent advances related to the design, synthesis, characterization, and application of bioinspired and biomimetic nanomaterial coatings for nanomedicine. We consider contributions addressing novel coating strategies, their biological interactions and translational potential in therapeutic, diagnostic, and theranostic applications.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Biomimetic polymer, peptide, and extracellular matrix-mimetic coatings.
• Bioinspired antifouling and antimicrobial surface modifications.
• Stimuli-responsive (pH-, enzyme-, redox-, light-) smart coatings for controlled delivery.
• Nanocoatings for implant osseointegration and soft tissue integration.
• Lipid-bilayer-inspired and cell-membrane cloaking technologies.
• Characterization of coating interfaces, degradation, and bio–nano interactions.
• In vitro and in vivo evaluation of biocompatibility and efficacy.
• Computational modelling and design of bioinspired coating systems.
• Scalable fabrication and manufacturing processes for clinical translation.
• AI-assisted design, modelling, and optimization of functional coatings.
• AI-enabled process control in laser deposition and thin-film fabrication.

We invite the submission of original research articles, comprehensive reviews, and insightful perspectives that will illuminate current progress and future directions in this dynamic field.

Dr. Anita Ioana Visan
Dr. Carmen Ristoscu
Dr. Gianina Popescu-Pelin
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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.

• bioinspired coatings
• biomimetic nanomaterials
• nanomedicine
• drug delivery
• surface functionalization