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Towards Functional Biohybrid Materials and Devices for Sensing and Biomedical Applications

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomaterials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2025 | Viewed by 3288

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Desmond K. Loke

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology and The AI Mega Centre, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore 487372, Singapore
Interests: cancer detection; electroporation; cancer therapy
Dr. Lunna Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Thomas Young Centre and Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 7JE, UK
Interests: protein assembly; bioengineering; macromolecules; molecular dynamics simulations; nucleation
Dr. Natasa Bajalovic

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Science, Mathematics and Technology, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore 487372, Singapore
Interests: biomedical sciences; molecular and cell biology; cancer research

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will explore functional biohybrid systems which integrate artificial and biological elements for applications in sensing and biomedical fields. It will examine functional biohybrid materials and devices containing biological and artificial components. Photonics, bioelectronics, and nanotechnology enable interactions with biological entities, while synthetic biology and functional material design and engineering allow for bidirectional communication at the biotic/abiotic interface. The focus will be on actuators and sensors that utilize cells, microorganisms, or tissues in actuation or signal transduction, such as soft robots or living electrodes. Plants offer many opportunities for technological integration due to their ability to sense and sample their environments, their sun-powered hierarchical structures, and their rich biocatalytic signatures, making them ideal for sensing applications. Additive manufacturing enables programmed cell and microbial patterning, resulting in sophisticated 3D structures that can regenerate, self-heal, and adapt to environmental stimuli. The in vivo environment’s biocatalytic activity can be utilized to incorporate functional entities into natural materials, which either remain within the biological environment or are harvested. Furthermore, the utilization of metal nanoparticles in cancer detection, therapy, and drug delivery will be a focus.

The Special Issue will showcase a wide spectrum of biohybrid systems, bringing together experts who are working to integrate biological components into technology. This cross-pollination of expertise and knowledge aims to create increasingly complicated biohybrid systems. The Special Issue will explore the fundamental processes controlling the coupling between technology and biology, as well as materials and device engineering for enhancing biotic–abiotic communication, addressing challenges like long-term operation and high performance. It is my pleasure to invite you to submit your work. Research papers, reviews, and communications are welcome.

Dr. Desmond K. Loke
Dr. Lunna Li
Guest Editors

Dr. Natasa Bajalovic
Guest Editor Assistant

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

  • cell culture
  • microorganisms
  • plant materials
  • additive manufacturing materials
  • metal nanoparticles
  • synthesis and characterization
  • in vitro and in vivo study
  • sensing
  • cancer detection and therapy
  • drug delivery

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 4837 KiB  
Article
Construction of Antibacterial MoS2-ACF Phenotype Switcher for Bidirectionally Regulating Inflammation–Proliferation Transition in Wound Healing
by Mengxin Mao, Diyi Li, Yunyun Wu, Bing Li, Xiaoqing Han, Jiao Yan, Lei Shang, Haiyuan Zhang and Xi Li
Materials 2025, 18(5), 963; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18050963 - 21 Feb 2025
Viewed by 506
Abstract
The transition between the inflammatory phase and the proliferative phase is critical for wound healing. However, the development of proper switchers that can regulate this transition is facing great challenges. Macrophages play versatile roles in all wound healing phases because they can readily [...] Read more.
The transition between the inflammatory phase and the proliferative phase is critical for wound healing. However, the development of proper switchers that can regulate this transition is facing great challenges. Macrophages play versatile roles in all wound healing phases because they can readily switch from pro-inflammatory M1 phenotypes to anti-inflammatory M2 phenotypes in response to different microenvironment stimuli. Herein, taking advantage of enhanced electron transfer by coupling MoS2 with a highly conductive activated carbon fiber (ACF) network, a MoS2-ACF heterojunction structure was constructed as a macrophage M1-M2 phenotype switcher (MAPS) for regulating inflammation–proliferation transition to accelerate wound healing. In the early stages of wound repair, MAPS-mediated photothermal effects with near-infrared laser irradiation could promote macrophage reprogramming to the M1 phenotype, which can expedite inflammation. NIR photo-induced hyperthermia, together with M1 macrophages, directly and indirectly kills bacteria. Later, during the healing process, the MAPS could further reprogram macrophages towards the M2 phenotype via its inherent reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging ability to resolve inflammation, promoting cell proliferation. Therefore, MoS2-ACF heterojunction structures provide a new strategy to modulate inflammation–proliferation transition by rebalancing the immuno-environmental equilibrium of macrophage M1/M2 phenotypes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Functional Biohybrid Materials and Devices for Sensing and Biomedical Applications)
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13 pages, 3241 KiB  
Article
Fluorescent Neutron Track Detectors for Boron-10 Microdistribution Measurement in BNCT: A Feasibility Study
by Laura Galuzzi, Gabriele Parisi, Valeria Pascali, Martin Niklas, Davide Bortot, Nicoletta Protti and Saverio Altieri
Materials 2025, 18(3), 621; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18030621 - 29 Jan 2025
Viewed by 880
Abstract
Boron Neutron-Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a form of radiation therapy that relies on the highly localized and enhanced biological effects of the 10B neutron capture (BNC) reaction products to selectively kill cancer cells. The efficacy of BNCT is, therefore, strongly dependent on [...] Read more.
Boron Neutron-Capture Therapy (BNCT) is a form of radiation therapy that relies on the highly localized and enhanced biological effects of the 10B neutron capture (BNC) reaction products to selectively kill cancer cells. The efficacy of BNCT is, therefore, strongly dependent on the 10B spatial microdistribution at a subcellular level. Fluorescent Nuclear Track Detectors (FNTDs) could be a promising technology for measuring 10B microdistribution. They allow the measurement of the tracks of charged particles, and their biocompatibility allows cell samples to be deposited and grown on their surfaces. If a layer of borated cells is deposited and irradiated by a neutron field, the energy deposited by the BNC products and their trajectories can be measured by analyzing the corresponding tracks. This allows the reconstruction of the position where the measured particles were generated, hence the microdistribution of 10B. With respect to other techniques developed to measure 10B microdistribution, FNTDs would be a non-destructive, biocompatible, relatively easy-to-use, and accessible method, allowing the simultaneous measurement of the 10B microdistribution, the LET of particles, and the evolution of the related biological response on the very same cell sample. An FNTD was tested in three irradiation conditions to study the feasibility of FNTDs for BNCT applications. The FNTD allowed the successful measurement of the correct alpha particle range and mean penetration depth expected for all the radiation fields employed. This work proved the feasibility of FNTD in reconstructing the tracks of the alpha particles produced in typical BNCT conditions, thus the 10B microdistribution. Further experiments are planned at the University of Pavia’s LENA (Applied Nuclear Energy Laboratory) to test the final set-up coupling the FNTD with borated cell samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Functional Biohybrid Materials and Devices for Sensing and Biomedical Applications)
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15 pages, 2321 KiB  
Article
Energy-Efficient and Effective MCF-7 Cell Ablation and Electrothermal Therapy Enabled by M13–WS2–PEG Nanostructures
by Maria P. Meivita, Fitya S. Mozar, Shao-Xiang Go, Lunna Li, Natasa Bajalovic and Desmond K. Loke
Materials 2024, 17(18), 4624; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17184624 - 20 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1064
Abstract
Thermal agents (TAs) have exhibited promise in clinical tests when utilized in cancer thermal therapy (TT). While rapid degradation of TAs may address safety concerns, it limits the thermal stability required for effective treatment. TAs, which possess exceptional thermal stability, experience gradual deterioration. [...] Read more.
Thermal agents (TAs) have exhibited promise in clinical tests when utilized in cancer thermal therapy (TT). While rapid degradation of TAs may address safety concerns, it limits the thermal stability required for effective treatment. TAs, which possess exceptional thermal stability, experience gradual deterioration. There are few approaches that effectively address the trade-off between improving thermal stability and simultaneously boosting material deterioration. Here, we control the thermal character of tungsten disulfide (WS2)-based 2D materials by utilizing an M13 phage through Joule heating (the M13–WS2–PEG nanostructures were generated and termed a tripartite (T) nanostructure), and developed a T nanostructure-driven TT platform (we called it T-TT) for efficient thermal ablation of clinically relevant MCF-7 cells. A relative cell viability of ~59% was achieved, as well as onset time of degradation of ~0.5 week. The T-TT platform also discloses an energy density of 5.9 J/mL. Furthermore, the phage-conjugated WS2 can be utilized to achieve ultrasound imaging for disease monitoring. Therefore, this research not only presents a thermal agent that overcomes TA limitations, but also demonstrates a practical application of WS2-type material system in ultra-energy efficient and effective cancer therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Towards Functional Biohybrid Materials and Devices for Sensing and Biomedical Applications)
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