Soft materials nanoarchitectonics: liquid crystals, polymers, gels, biomaterials, and others

• Katsuhiko Ariga

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1025–1067, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.77

• substantial history of polymer synthesis and development, and chemical design is also a viable avenue of research [250][251][252][253][254]. Additionally, a range of biopolymers can be derived from natural sources. Moreover, techniques such as LbL assembly can be employed to organize polymers and a range of

• manner. The presented examples illustrate the use of polymers in soft materials nanoarchitectonics. The design of polymers is a well-established field, and chemical design can be executed with a high degree of skill. Furthermore, a range of biopolymers can be sourced from natural sources. Nevertheless

Multifunctional properties of bio-poly(butylene succinate) reinforced with multiwalled carbon nanotubes

• Volodymyr Krasinskyi,
• Krzysztof Bajer,
• Ludmila Dulebova,
• Nickolas Polychronopoulos,
• Oksana Krasinska and
• Daniel Kaczor

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1014–1024, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.76

• , making the latter a more economically viable option for most commercial applications. Therefore, this study focuses on investigating the effect of MWCNTs on the properties of bio-poly(butylene succinate) (BioPBS). The effect of CNTs on various characteristics of biopolymers has been widely studied by

Synthetic-polymer-assisted antisense oligonucleotide delivery: targeted approaches for precision disease treatment

• Ana Cubillo Alvarez,
• Dylan Maguire and
• Ruairí P. Brannigan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 435–463, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.34

Recent advances in photothermal nanomaterials for ophthalmic applications

• Jiayuan Zhuang,
• Linhui Jia,
• Chenghao Li,
• Rui Yang,
• Jiapeng Wang,
• Wen-an Wang,
• Heng Zhou and
• Xiangxia Luo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 195–215, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.16

• excreted by penetrating the renal filtration barrier, but too small AuNPs may enter cell membranes and irreversibly bind to cellular biopolymers, leading to cytotoxicity [217]. Large AuNPs may accumulate in eye, liver, and spleen, causing long-term toxicity. Surfactants such as CTAB and CTAC used to assist

Nanotechnological approaches for efficient N2B delivery: from small-molecule drugs to biopharmaceuticals

• Selin Akpinar Adscheid,
• Akif E. Türeli,
• Nazende Günday-Türeli and
• Marc Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1400–1414, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.113

• [77]. In addition to biopolymers, synthetic biodegradable and biocompatible polymers such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), which are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human administration [78] are relevant options. Extensive testing has been

Unveiling the potential of alginate-based nanomaterials in sensing technology and smart delivery applications

• Shakhzodjon Uzokboev,
• Khojimukhammad Akhmadbekov,
• Ra’no Nuritdinova,
• Salah M. Tawfik and
• Yong-Ill Lee

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1077–1104, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.88

• nanomaterials, particularly alginate-based, has raised the interest of many in the biomedical field for monitoring and regulating human health [14]. Biopolymers are naturally occurring polymeric compounds derived from living organisms [15][16][17][18]. They are mostly used in pharmaceutical and biomedical

• applications. Biodegradable and bioabsorbable polymers are an excellent choice for a variety of innovative drug delivery systems (DDSs). Biopolymers are also used in cutting-edge scientific applications such as gene expression, tissue engineering, smart drug delivery, and biosensors [11][19]. Modern medicine

• in plasma, which makes them incapable of continuous release [20]. In addition, to achieve optimal efficacy and safety, the drug must be administered at a precisely controlled rate and a special target site [21]. To solve these issues in DDSs, biopolymers can be a perfect solution. Because they have

Curcumin-loaded albumin submicron particles with potential as a cancer therapy: an in vitro study

• Nittiya Suwannasom,
• Netsai Sriaksorn,
• Chutamas Thepmalee,
• Krissana Khoothiam,
• Ausanai Prapan,
• Hans Bäumler and
• Chonthida Thephinlap

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1127–1140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.93

• Na2CO3 solutions in the presence of albumin [26][27]. This approach has been shown to have high effectiveness for entrapping various biopolymers (e.g., proteins and hemoglobin) into carbonate particles before dissolving with EDTA to obtain pure biopolymer submicron particles. The CCD technique is a

• HSA-MPs reflects the negative charge of the albumin biopolymers [26]. In fact, in the cationic HSA-MPs with negative charges, CUR loading did not alter the zeta potential of CUR-HSA-MPs. Furthermore, particles with negative surface charge exhibit the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect

Nanoarchitectonics to entrap living cells in silica-based systems: encapsulations with yolk–shell and sepiolite nanomaterials

• Celia Martín-Morales,
• Jorge Fernández-Méndez,
• Pilar Aranda and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 522–534, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.43

• biocompatible nanocomposites by assembly to diverse biopolymers [5][27][28] that can be of crucial advantage for entrapment and viability of the cells. Initial entrapping trials using sepiolite clay derivatives have yielded encouraging results. Hence, this approach has been considered here [29]. On the other

• carcinogenicity and can be considered biocompatible, which allows its use in fields related to health and food, such as pharmaceuticals, biomedicine, and animal feed [34]. The clay modification with nanometre-scale biopolymers leads to bionanocomposite materials, which are considered as promising

• microorganisms with a clay mineral such as sepiolite and other silica-based porous materials as summarized in Figure 5. Silicate-based bionanocomposites derived from fibrous sepiolite silicate assembled with alginate and chitosan biopolymers have been tested as support of cyanobacteria and compared regarding the

Single-step extraction of small-diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes in the presence of riboflavin

• Polina M. Kalachikova,
• Anastasia E. Goldt,
• Eldar M. Khabushev,
• Timofei V. Eremin,
• Timofei S. Zatsepin,
• Elena D. Obraztsova,
• Konstantin V. Larionov,
• Liubov Yu. Antipina,
• Pavel B. Sorokin and
• Albert G. Nasibulin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1564–1571, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.130

• and discard toxic residual surfactants, which would otherwise limit biological applications. Biopolymers such as DNA and RNA have been widely proven to disperse SWCNTs. Nucleic acids even exhibit sequence-dependent wrapping around nanotubes with different chiralities [12][13][14][15]. The remarkable

Bioselectivity of silk protein-based materials and their bio-inspired applications

• Hendrik Bargel,
• Vanessa T. Trossmann,
• Christoph Sommer and
• Thomas Scheibel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 902–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.81

• interactions (e.g., van der Waals forces), and adhesive chemistry of biopolymers (various types of glues) [5]. On the level of tissues, multiple cell types work together to perform complex tasks, based on their hierarchical arrangement governing the exchange of information between different cell types. To

Micro- and nanotechnology in biomedical engineering for cartilage tissue regeneration in osteoarthritis

• Zahra Nabizadeh,
• Mahmoud Nasrollahzadeh,
• Hamed Daemi,
• Mohamadreza Baghaban Eslaminejad,
• Ali Akbar Shabani,
• Mehdi Dadashpour,
• Majid Mirmohammadkhani and
• Davood Nasrabadi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 363–389, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.31

• . Cell culture in 3D matrices, unlike 2D cultures, provides the opportunity to include and recruit the necessary bioactive molecules for proper cell function [177]. In addition to biopolymers, which provide structural integrity and stability, ECM consists of protein motifs and full-length proteins

Bacterial safety study of the production process of hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers

• Axel Steffen,
• Yu Xiong,
• Radostina Georgieva,
• Ulrich Kalus and
• Hans Bäumler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 114–126, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.8

• possible applications for these microparticles. For example, enzyme particles have been produced to be used as microreactors or biosensors [4]. This method can also represent a promising approach to the production of drug carriers by the precipitation of favorable biopolymers and corresponding surface

The role of deep eutectic solvents and carrageenan in synthesizing biocompatible anisotropic metal nanoparticles

• Nabojit Das,
• Akash Kumar and
• Raja Gopal Rayavarapu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 924–938, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.69

• ]. These additional properties enabled carrageenan to emerge as a suitable alternative for other biocompatible molecules and biopolymers. Similar to DESs, carrageenan is also biocompatible. A good understanding of its role as a green component for synthesizing nanomaterial for biological applications is

Comprehensive review on ultrasound-responsive theranostic nanomaterials: mechanisms, structures and medical applications

• Sepand Tehrani Fateh,
• Lida Moradi,
• Elmira Kohan,
• Michael R. Hamblin and
• Amin Shiralizadeh Dezfuli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 808–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.64

Multilayer capsules made of weak polyelectrolytes: a review on the preparation, functionalization and applications in drug delivery

• Varsha Sharma and
• Anandhakumar Sundaramurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 508–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.41

• biopolymers. The selection of a sacrificial template for capsule formation, the driving forces involved, the encapsulation of a variety of cargo and release based on different internal and external stimuli have also been addressed. We describe recent perspectives and obstacles of weak polyelectrolyte

• also been seen in natural biopolymers such as polypeptides, polynucleotides, lipids and polysaccharides as they are biodegradable under common physiological conditions via enzymatic and pH induced degradation [8]. The advantage of LbL-assembled capsules lies in the versatility of interactions (e.g

• to easy engineering of the properties. Although recent interest has been shown in exploring weak PE system with biopolymers for several applications, their unique responsiveness and advantages are not yet addressed in detail. With the emerging applications of weak PEs, it is imperative to accurately

High-tolerance crystalline hydrogels formed from self-assembling cyclic dipeptide

• Yongcai You,
• Ruirui Xing,
• Qianli Zou,
• Feng Shi and
• Xuehai Yan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1894–1901, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.184

• conditions, including in the presence of charged biopolymers, extreme acid/base environments, and changing thermal conditions. Such high tolerance enables the crystalline hydrogels to be applied in the complex and harsh environments of electrochemistry. In addition, this study demonstrates that the self

• hydrogel with crystal features and close-knit three-dimensional network structures. Importantly, the C-WY hydrogel exhibited adjustable rheological properties, excellent stability, and high tolerance under various conditions, including in the presence of charged biopolymers (poly-ʟ-lysine (PLL), alginate

• of the C-WY hydrogel, charged biopolymers, including positively charged PLL and negatively charged HA and ALG, were selected for co-incubation with the hydrogel. The mechanical properties, including modulus (G’, G’’), shear-thinning behavior, and self-healing capability, improved after the

Layered double hydroxide/sepiolite hybrid nanoarchitectures for the controlled release of herbicides

• Ediana Paula Rebitski,
• Margarita Darder and
• Pilar Aranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1679–1690, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.163

• in vitro tests of MCPA release, confirming the improvement of retention properties. For a better control in the MCPA release, the hybrid nanoarchitectures were also combined with mixtures of alginate–zein biopolymers [36] to improve the retention properties. Results and Discussion MCPA-LDH/sepiolite

• prepared following the following procedure adapted from Alcântara and co-workers [36]: i) The required amount of alginate to achieve a final total concentration of 2% in biopolymers was dissolved in 83 mL of water previously heated at 60 °C; ii) the required amount of zein (17% of the total biopolymer mass

Multicomponent bionanocomposites based on clay nanoarchitectures for electrochemical devices

• Giulia Lo Dico,
• Bernd Wicklein,
• Lorenzo Lisuzzo,
• Giuseppe Lazzara,
• Pilar Aranda and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1303–1315, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.129

• , MWCNTs and poly(vinyl alcohol) [25], sepiolite, graphene nanoplatelets, and biopolymers (e.g., alginate, gelatine) [26] and cellulose or foams of microfibrillated cellulose and starch [47], which exhibit Young’s moduli in the range from 0.1 to 9 GPa. The high stiffness of these materials has been

• PBS at 30 °C, after which 93% of the initial power was retained. Conclusion This work reports a preliminary study showing the viability to integrate nanoclays, biopolymers, and graphene-based conducting components into homogeneous multifunctional nanoarchitectured materials. The presence of sepiolite

Liquid-crystalline nanoarchitectures for tissue engineering

• Baeckkyoung Sung and
• Min-Ho Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 205–215, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.22

• levels of biosystems, from simple biopolymers, subcellular organelles, single cells, and macroscopic tissues to bulky organs. Especially, biological tissues and cells have long been known to exhibit liquid crystal (LC) orders or their structural analogues. Inspired by those native architectures, there

• hydrophobic molecular interactions [25][26][27]. Even simple solutions of purified biopolymers and biocolloids, considered as rod-like particles, may exhibit multiple phases of self-organization depending on the rod concentration, ionic conditions, confinements, and shear forces [28][29]. Figure 1 shows an

• [36] and drug delivery systems [37]. For tissue regeneration, the mostly studied biomaterials are collagen and chitin, which are, respectively, protein-based and glucose-based biopolymers [38][39]. When denatured, collagen and chitin can be transformed into gelatin and chitosan, respectively, which

Humidity-dependent wound sealing in succulent leaves of Delosperma cooperi – An adaptation to seasonal drought stress

• Olga Speck,
• Mark Schlechtendahl,
• Florian Borm,
• Tim Kampowski and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 175–186, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.20

• healing phase can also be found individually [1]. Self-sealing and self-healing can be characterised by various functional principles, such as physical, chemical and/or biological principles, and can take place on one or more hierarchical levels, namely organs, tissues, cells and extracellular biopolymers

Cationic PEGylated polycaprolactone nanoparticles carrying post-operation docetaxel for glioma treatment

• Cem Varan and
• Erem Bilensoy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1446–1456, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.144

• from Sigma-Aldrich, USA. Chitosan (Protasan® G 113, MW < 200 kDa, deacetylation degree 75–90%) was purchased from FMC Biopolymers, Norway. HpC (Klucel™ hydroxypropylcellulose) was purchased from Ashland, USA. The model anticancer drug, docetaxel (purity 97%), was purchased from Fluka, Switzerland

The longstanding challenge of the nanocrystallization of 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX)

• Florent Pessina and
• Denis Spitzer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 452–466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.49

• biopolymers produced by ASES have been reported since the 1990s by Reverchon [55] and Dixon et al. [56]. Nevertheless, that technique can still be used on NC-based composites due to its polymer-like behavior. Solution-enhanced dispersion by supercritical fluid (SEDS) The solution-enhanced dispersion by

Template-controlled piezoactivity of ZnO thin films grown via a bioinspired approach

• Nina J. Blumenstein,
• Fabian Streb,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Thomas Schimmel,
• Zaklina Burghard and
• Joachim Bill

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 296–303, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.32

• composite nacre with its remarkable mechanical stability [37]. The growth of the inorganic, polycrystalline aragonite platelets is directed by biopolymers. This organic template leads to oriented attachment of the CaCO3 crystallites so that a preferred orientation along the c-axis arises [38]. According to

Intercalation and structural aspects of macroRAFT agents into MgAl layered double hydroxides

• Dessislava Kostadinova,
• Ana Cenacchi Pereira,
• Muriel Lansalot,
• Franck D’Agosto,
• Elodie Bourgeat-Lami,
• Fabrice Leroux,
• Christine Taviot-Guého,
• Sylvian Cadars and
• Vanessa Prevot

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2000–2012, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.191

• matrices [5][6][7]. For instance, hybrid LDH involving amino acids, peptides, nucleosides, nucleic acids [8][9][10], biopolymers [11][12] and various drugs [13][14][15] were investigated to develop efficient systems for therapeutic applications [16][17]. Various dyes (sulfonated spyrospiran, methyl orange

3D solid supported inter-polyelectrolyte complexes obtained by the alternate deposition of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate)

• Eduardo Guzmán,
• Armando Maestro,
• Sara Llamas,
• Jesús Álvarez-Rodríguez,
• Francisco Ortega,
• Ángel Maroto-Valiente and
• Ramón G. Rubio

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 197–208, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.18

• polyelectrolytes, biopolymers – such as peptides, proteins and nucleic acids – colloidal particles, carbon nanotubes, and/or microgels [8][9][10], which confers to this method an almost unlimited chemical versatility. Even though the method frequently makes use of electrostatic interactions, the multilayers can