Themed collection Highlighting materials research in the UK for biology and medicine

Fabrication of biomaterials scaffolds using various methods and techniques is discussed, utilising biocompatible, biodegradable and stimuli-responsive polymers and their composites. This review covers the lithography and printing techniques, self-organisation and self-assembly methods for 3D structural scaffolds generation, and smart hydrogels, for tissue regeneration and medical devices.

New perspectives on the efficiency of metallic nanoparticles as synthetic scaffolds for molecular imaging probe design and their use in medical diagnosis of degenerative diseases such as cancer.

We report the preparation and characterization of films of electroactive supramolecular polymers based on non-electroactive oligoalanines and electroactive oligoanilines.

Multiphoton microfabrication was used to prepare CP-based materials for drug delivery and stimulating tissues.

By varying the oligolysine units of chitosan-graft-oligoNIPAM-graft-oligolysine, high internal phase emulsions of different droplet sizes can be stabilized which can subsequently serve as template for macroporous polymers.

A paclitaxel loaded PEGylated rapamycin micelle effectively bypasses the resistance mechanism, allowing for potent treatment of multidrug resistant cancer cells.

Tetrabutylammonium methacrylate introduced as functional monomer for the stoichiometric imprinting of sulfonylurea drug glibenclamide.

Inorganic/organic sol–gel hybrids have nanoscale co-networks of organic and inorganic components that give them the unique potential of tailored mechanical properties and controlled biodegradation in tissue engineering applications.

Thiol-bearing microgels have been synthesised from copolymerisation of 2-(acetylthio)ethylacrylate and 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, and subsequent deprotection using sodium thiomethoxide.

Poly(amidoamine)s enhance cellular uptake of wild-type RNase A in B16F1 melanoma cells and help its cytosolic delivery, inducing increased cell death.

Bactericidal polymer surfaces were prepared by crystal violet and ZnO nanoparticle encapsulation, demonstrating 99.9% dark kill of E. coli.

Folate receptor mediated delivery of BSA to HeLa cells by a mesoporous phosphonate@silica nanoparticle carrier is described.

An efficient emulsion templating route using branched copolymers as droplet stabilizers for the synthesis of fluorescently labelled calcium phosphate capsules.

Inorganic chemical infiltration in polyelectrolyte multilayer films results in a considerable change in morphology and mechanical properties mimicking natural composite materials.

Amphiphilic microgels that were able to encapsulate and release both hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties were fabricated via a new methodology using a lab-on-a-chip device.

New strontium derivatives based on folic acid resulted in the formation of biocompatible SrFO compounds with osteogenic activity.

The first detailed description of the structure and function of the silicifying peptide R5.

Photoluminescent conjugated polymeric nanoparticles (CPNs) exhibit favourable properties as fluorescent probes due to their brightness, high photostability, tunable emission spectra and ease of surface modification.

Robust protocols for antibody-nanoparticle (Ab-NP) conjugation, and improved method for long-term stability and storage of Ab-NPs using cryoprotectants.

This work reports novel silica/polyelectrolyte composite microcapsules, which exhibit superior ultrasonic sensitivity and reduced permeability. The composite capsules were facilely incorporated with silica nanoparticles and successfully applied to encapsulate Rh-B dyes with low molecular weight.