Chameleon-inspired multifunctional plasmonic nanoplatforms for biosensing applications

Abstract

One of the most fascinating areas in the field of smart biopolymers is biomolecule sensing. Accordingly, multifunctional biomimetic, biocompatible, and stimuli-responsive materials based on hydrogels have attracted much interest. Within this framework, the design of nanostructured materials that do not require any external energy source is beneficial for developing a platform for sensing glucose in body fluids. In this article, we report the realization and application of an innovative platform consisting of two outer layers of a nanocomposite plasmonic hydrogel plus one inner layer of electrospun mat fabricated by electrospinning, where the outer layers exploit photoinitiated free radical polymerization, obtaining a compact and stable device. Inspired by the exceptional features of chameleon skin, plasmonic silver nanocubes are embedded into a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based hydrogel network to obtain enhanced thermoresponsive and antibacterial properties. The introduction of an electrospun mat creates a compatible environment for the homogeneous hydrogel coating while imparting excellent mechanical and structural properties to the final system. Chemical, morphological, and optical characterizations were performed to investigate the structure of the layers and the multifunctional platform. The synergetic effect of the nanostructured system’s photothermal responsivity and antibacterial properties was evaluated. The sensing features associated with the optical properties of silver nanocubes revealed that the proposed multifunctional system is a promising candidate for glucose-sensing applications.

Bioinspired Hydrogels as Platforms for Life-Science Applications: Challenges and Opportunities

“…From a chemical point of view, the hydrogels can be obtained from natural or synthetic water soluble (co)polymers of various structures and architectures, interpenetrated polymer networks (IPNs), proteins, peptides, clays, multicomponent systems, etc., having different morphologies and functions [1][2][3]. In particular, smart networks able to respond to physical, chemical, and biological stimuli gained much attention for a wide range of applications: tissue engineering [4], bone regeneration [5], controlled-release drug delivery vehicles [6], wound healing [7], soft robotics [8], biosensing [9], intelligent electronics and artificial intelligence [10], actuators [11][12][13], stretched electronic devices [14], hygiene products [15,16], contact lens [17], cosmetics [18], food nutrition and health, food safety and food engineering and processing [19], advanced wastewater treatment [20], catalysis [21][22][23], etc.…”

PVA-Based Electrospun Biomembranes with Hydrolyzed Collagen and Ethanolic Extract of Hypericum perforatum for Potential Use as Wound Dressing: Fabrication and Characterization

“…ES is a kind, tunable, and easy to operate electrohydrodynamic technique, which permits the production of electrospun fibers with a size range from a few micrometers to tens of nanometers and with properties dependent on the ambient and processing parameters, as well as the solutions’ physicochemical properties, which together will determine the characteristics of the products [ 6 ]. This method allows obtaining many kinds of systems to be used in the biomedical field, e.g., membranes or scaffolds for tissue engineering to repair cardiac tissue, to treatment of nerve injury, for wound healing, for bone and skeletal muscle regeneration among others [ 7 ]; to fabricate biosensors [ 8 ]; to produce drug delivery systems [ 9 ] for distribution of proteins, drugs, or any bioactive compounds, etc. ; to deposit non-woven micro/nanofibers which mimic the extracellular matrix, exhibiting a high surface-to-volume ratio high porosity as reported by Azimi B. et al, [ 10 ].…”

Heterogeneous Thermochromic Hydrogel Film Based on Photonic Nanochains

“…Thermosensitive smart materials have vigorous development in frontier research fields such as thermoresponsive grafted brush coatings [ 1 ], biomedical applications [ 2 ], biomolecule sensing systems [ 3 ], soft actuators [ 4 ], smart windows [ 5 ], and so on. Of these materials, hydrogel-based thermally responsive photonic crystal films (TRPCFs) have attracted increasing attention because of their promising applications in flat-panel displays, optical switches, sensors, and temperature monitoring [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”