Issue 4, 2023

Extraordinary microcarriers derived from spores and pollens

Abstract

Spores and pollens refer to the reproductive cells of seed plants and asexually reproducing sporophytes, exhibiting a natural core–shell structure and exquisite surface morphology. They possess extraordinary dimensional homogeneity, porosity, amphiphilicity and adhesion. Their sporopollenin exine layer endows them with chemically stable, UV resistant, and biocompatible properties, which can also be facilely functionalized due to sufficient groups on the surface. The unique characteristics of spores and pollens have facilitated a wide range of applications in drug carriers, biological imaging, food science, microrobotics, environmental purification, flexible electronics, cell scaffolds, 3D printing materials and biological detection. This review showcases the common structural composition and physicochemical properties of spores and pollens, describes the extraction and processing methods, and summarizes the recent research on their applications in various fields. Following these sections, this review analyzes the existing challenges in spores and pollen research and provides a future outlook.

Graphical abstract: Extraordinary microcarriers derived from spores and pollens

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
03 Oct 2022
Accepted
20 Dec 2022
First published
20 Dec 2022

Mater. Horiz., 2023,10, 1121-1139

Extraordinary microcarriers derived from spores and pollens

D. Zhao, Y. Li, Z. Zhang, T. Xu, C. Ye, T. Shi and Y. Wang, Mater. Horiz., 2023, 10, 1121 DOI: 10.1039/D2MH01236G

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