Modern Nanostructured Piezoelectrics: Development and Application

Dear Colleagues,

Advanced biopiezoelectronics is an emerging interdisciplinary field focused on designing and applying piezoelectric materials that convert mechanical deformation into electrical energy within the human body. These materials hold tremendous promise for stimulating biological processes, promoting tissue regeneration, powering implantable medical devices, and enabling artificial muscle actuation.

Traditional inorganic piezoelectric materials, however, tend to be rigid and brittle and often contain toxic elements, limiting their suitability for biomedical use. Likewise, synthetic polymer-based piezoelectrics, such as polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF), offer limited flexibility and lack biodegradability. To address these challenges, recent research has turned toward innovative, biocompatible alternatives—such as amino acid-, peptide-, and hybrid-based materials—that combine functional performance with safety and flexibility. Nevertheless, significant work remains to enhance their piezoelectric efficiency and successfully integrate them into advanced bioelectronic platforms.

This research topic aims to consolidate state-of-the-art advancements in biocompatible nanostructured materials that exhibit superior piezoelectric, mechanical, optical, and electrical properties, and to highlight their transformative potential in biomedical engineering. Key goals include addressing challenges in synthesis, structural characterization, and device implementation. Research hypotheses may explore the performance of new piezoelectric materials across diverse biomedical contexts, including neural repair, wound healing, energy harvesting, biosensing, and smart tissue interfaces.

By fostering collaboration among materials scientists, biomedical engineers, and nanotechnologists, this initiative seeks to accelerate innovation in biocompatible piezoelectronics and lay the foundation for next-generation medical technologies.

We welcome contributions exploring, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Theoretical modeling of piezoelectricity in biomaterials;
• Synthesis and development of novel organic and polymer-based piezoelectrics;
• Fabrication and characterization of piezoelectric thin films;
• Design of self-assembling and co-assembling functional biomaterials;
• Amino acid-, peptide-, and hybrid-based piezoelectric systems;
• Advanced techniques for property characterization;
• Piezoelectric and triboelectric energy-harvesting biodevices;
• Chemical biosensors and physiological monitoring systems;
• Applications in neural interfaces and tissue regeneration;
• Piezoelectric platforms for controlled drug delivery.

Through this comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach, the research community aims to overcome current limitations and unlock the full potential of nanostructured, biocompatible piezoelectric materials, ushering in a new era of intelligent, responsive biomedical systems.

Dr. Svitlana Kopyl
Guest Editor

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• hybrid nanocomposites
• piezoelectrics
• development and application