Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 9
Nano-Bio Integration
Abstract
The aim of nanobiotechnology is the integration of nanodevices with
biological molecules, such that both components maintain their functionalities. This
chapter provides examples of such hybrid materials and devices.
The issue of nano-bio integration, which bridges the fields of nanotechnology and
molecular biology, can be seen from two perspectives: biological/medical or techno-
logical. Successful examples of nano-bio integration related to the first perspective
include tissue engineering using nanoscale scaffolds and drug delivery using nano-
sized devices, presented in Chap.
4
, as well as the search for nanomaterials for neural
interfaces (
Kotov et al. 2009
), for example. The second perspective is the focus of
this chapter. More precisely, we provide examples of hybrid materials and devices
that take advantage from nanotechnology, as developed for inorganic materials, and
the recognition and self-organization properties of biological molecules.
9.1
Nano-bio Materials for Electronics and Optoelectronics
The combination of biological molecules with nanosized inorganic solids is
expected to render composites with properties that are found in one of their
constituents. In biological applications, properties such as biocompatibility,
biodegradability, and hierarchical organization are highly desired, as discussed
previously with respect to tissue engineering and implants, while in technological
applications, tunability of electrical, optical, or mechanical properties is an
advantage. In this respect, biomolecules can become active parts in electrochemical
sensors based on chitosan-montmorillonite clay intercalation compounds, for
example, since chitosan chains arrange in mono- or bilayer configurations between
clay layers depending on its concentration, the two configurations showing different
properties. Bio-nano hybrid materials can also exhibit multifunctionality as, for
instance, the sucrose-sepiolite mixture, which is at the same time the sensing
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