Issue 20, 2022

Nanoclays in medicine: a new frontier of an ancient medical practice

Abstract

Clays have been used as early as 2500 BC in human civilization for medicinal purposes. The ease of availability, biocompatibility, and versatility of these unique charged 2D structures abundantly available in nature have enabled the extensive applications of clays in human history. Recent advances in the use of clays in nanostructures and as components of polymer clay nanocomposites have exponentially expanded the use of clays in medicine. This review covers the details of structures and biomedical applications of several common clays, including montmorillonite, LAPONITE®, kaolinite, and halloysite. Here we describe the applications of these clays in wound dressings as hemostatic agents in drug delivery of drugs for cancer and other diseases and tissue engineering. Also reviewed are recent experimental and modeling studies that elucidate the impact of clay structures on cellular processes and cell adhesion processes. Various mechanisms of clay-mediated bioactivity, including protein localization, modulation of cell adhesion, biomineralization, and the potential of clay nanoparticles to impact cell differentiation, are presented. We also review the current developments in understanding the impact of clays on cellular responses. This review also elucidates new emerging areas of use of nanoclays in osteogenesis and the development of in vitro models of bone metastasis of cancer.

Graphical abstract: Nanoclays in medicine: a new frontier of an ancient medical practice

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
11 Maijs 2022
Accepted
23 Aug. 2022
First published
31 Aug. 2022
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Mater. Adv., 2022,3, 7484-7500

Nanoclays in medicine: a new frontier of an ancient medical practice

K. S. Katti, H. Jasuja, S. V. Jaswandkar, S. Mohanty and D. R. Katti, Mater. Adv., 2022, 3, 7484 DOI: 10.1039/D2MA00528J

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