Fullerenes tend to follow the isolated pentagon rule, which requires that each of the 12 pentagons is surrounded only by hexagons. Over the past decade many violations to this rule were reported for endohedral fullerenes. Based on the ionic model M(3)N(6+)@C(2n)(6-) and the orbital energies of the isolated cages, in 2005 we formulated a molecular orbital rule to identify the most suitable hosting cages in endohedral metallofullerenes. Now, we give physical support to the orbital rule, and we propose the maximum pentagon separation rule, which can be applied to either isolated pentagon rule cages or to non-isolated pentagon rule cages with the same number of adjacent pentagon pairs. The maximum pentagon separation rule can be formulated as 'The electron transfer from the internal cluster to the fullerene host preferentially adds electrons to the pentagons; therefore, the most suitable carbon cages are those with the largest separations among the 12 pentagons'.

An extensive theoretical study of the Bingel-Hirsch addition of bromomalonate on scandium nitride endohedral fullerenes has been carried out. The prototypical and highly symmetrical Sc3N@I(h)-C80, with a structure that satisfies the isolated pentagon rule (IPR), and the non-IPR Sc3N@D3(6140)-C68 fullerene show analogous reaction paths despite the distinct topology of the carbon networks and different rotation freedom of the internal nitride cluster. For the two metallofullerenes, our results predict that the reaction takes place under kinetic control yielding open-cage fulleroids on [6,6] bonds, which is in good agreement with experimental data. The theoretical studies also show that predicting the reactivity of endohedral metallofullerenes is not straightforward and often an accurate analysis of the potential energy surface is required.

applications, facilitating rapid results while providing an environment similar to in vivo tissue with large surface areas for cell or biomaterial attachment, proliferation, and sensing. In addition to regenerative applications, a larger surface area can be an asset for biosensing and drug delivery applications, providing increased sensitivity and concentration range and higher drug loads.

The Bingel-Hirsch reactions on non-isolated pentagon rule (non-IPR) Gd(3)N@C(2n) (2n = 82, 84) are studied. Computational results show that the two metallofullerenes display similar reactivity according to their related topologies. Long C-C bonds with large pyramidalization angles lead to the most stable adducts, the [5,6] bonds in the adjacent pentagon pair being especially favored. The lesser regioselectivity observed for Gd(3)N@C(82) is probably due to the activation of some C-C bonds by means of the metal cluster.

Conducting polymers (CPs) have been attracting great attention in the development of (bio)electronic devices. Most of the current devices are rigid two-dimensional systems and possess uncontrollable geometries and architectures that lead to poor mechanical properties presenting ion/electronic diffusion limitations. The goal of the article is to provide an overview about the additive manufacturing (AM) of conducting polymers, which is of paramount importance for the design of future wearable three-dimensional (3D) (bio)electronic devices. Among different 3D printing AM techniques, inkjet, extrusion, electrohydrodynamic, and light-based printing have been mainly used. This review article collects examples of 3D printing of conducting polymers such as poly(3,4-ethylene-dioxythiophene), polypyrrole, and polyaniline. It also shows examples of AM of these polymers combined with other polymers and/or conducting fillers such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and silver nanowires. Afterward, the foremost applications of CPs processed by 3D printing techniques in the biomedical and energy fields, that is, wearable electronics, sensors, soft robotics for human motion, or health monitoring devices, among others, will be discussed.

The utilization of graphene-based nanomaterials combined with magnetic nano-particles offers key benefits in the modern biomedicine. In this minireview, we focus on the most recent advances in hybrids of magnetic graphene derivatives for biomedical applica-tions. We initially analyze the several methodologies employed for the preparation of gra-phene-based composites with magnetic nanoparticles, more specifically the kind of linkage between the two components. In the last section, we focus on the biomedical applications where these magnetic-graphene hybrids are essential and pay special attention on how the addition of graphene improves the resulting devices in magnetic resonance imaging, con-trolled drug delivery, magnetic photothermal therapy and cellular separation and isolation. Finally, we highlight the use of these magnetic hybrids as multifunctional material that will lead to a next generation of theranostics.

of the cells, including protein secretion and gene expression, among others, and using other kind of electroactive cells, as well as the growth potential on primary cells by in vivo implantation of the scaffolds in injured spinal cord. We will also develop further strategies and scaffolds with lower YM for application in brain and cardiac tissues. ASSOCIATED CONTENT Supporting Information includes: photographs of the cell device manufactured for the conductivity measurements, XPS analyses, cyclic compression graphs, and supplementary TGA plots and data, SEM images, µCT analyses, and in vitro assays (Zstacks).

Bingel-Hirsch reactions on fullerenes take place under kinetic control. We here predict, by means of DFT methodology, the products of the Bingel-Hirsch addition on non-isolated-pentagon-rule (non-IPR) metallofullerenes Gd3N@C2n (2n = 82, 84), as modeled by closed-shell Y3N@C2n systems. Adducts on [6,6] B-type bonds placed near the pentalene unit are predicted for the two cages, as found for other non-IPR endohedral fullerenes such as Sc3N@C68.