Nanomaterial surface modification toolkit: Principles, components, recipes, and applications.

Surface-functionalized nanostructures are at the forefront of biotechnology, providing new opportunities for biosensors, drug delivery, therapy, and bioimaging applications. The modification of nanostructures significantly impacts the performance and success of various applications by enabling selective and precise targeting. This review elucidates widely practiced surface modification strategies, including click chemistry, cross-coupling, silanization, aldehyde linkers, active ester chemistry, maleimide chemistry, epoxy linkers, and other protein and DNA-based methodologies. We also delve into the application-focused landscape of the nano-bio interface, emphasizing four key domains: therapeutics, biosensing, environmental monitoring, and point-of-care technologies, by highlighting prominent studies. The insights presented herein pave the way for further innovations at the intersection of nanotechnology and biotechnology, providing a useful handbook for beginners and professionals. The review draws on various sources, including the latest research articles (2018-2023), to provide a comprehensive overview of the field.

Material and Design Toolkit for Drug Delivery: State of the Art, Trends, and Challenges.

The nanomaterial and related toolkit have promising applications for improving human health and well-being. Nanobased drug delivery systems use nanoscale materials as carriers to deliver therapeutic agents in a targeted and controlled manner, and they have shown potential to address issues associated with conventional drug delivery systems. They offer benefits for treating various illnesses by encapsulating or conjugating biological agents, chemotherapeutic drugs, and immunotherapeutic agents. The potential applications of this technology are vast; however, significant challenges exist to overcome such as safety issues, toxicity, efficacy, and insufficient capacity. This article discusses the latest developments in drug delivery systems, including drug release mechanisms, material toolkits, related design molecules, and parameters. The concluding section examines the limitations and provides insights into future possibilities.

Aza-BODIPY-based Fluorescent and Colorimetric Sensors and Probes.

Aza-boron-dipyrromethenes (Aza-BODIPYs) represent an important class of chromophores absorbing and emitting in the near-infrared (NIR) region. They have unique optical and electronic features and higher physiological and photo stability than other NIR dyes. Especially after the development of facile synthetic routes, Aza-BODIPYs have become indispensable fluors that can find various applications ranging from chemosensors, bioimaging, phototherapy, solar energy materials, photocatalysis, photon upconversion, lasers, and optoelectronics. Herein, we review Aza-BODIPY based fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensors. We show the potential and untapped toolbox of Aza-BODIPY based fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensors. Hence, we divide the fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensors and probes into five sections according to the target analytes. The first section begins with the chemosensors developed for pH. Next, we discuss Aza-BODIPY based ion sensors, including metal ions and anions. Finally, we present the chemosensors and probes concerning reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen species (RNS) along with biologically relevant species in the last two sections. We believe that Aza-BODIPYs are still in their infancy, and they have a promising future for translation from the bench to real biomedical and materials science applications. After two decades of intensive research, it seems that there are many more to come in this already fertile field. Overall, we hope that future work will further expand the applications of Aza-BODIPY in many areas.

BODIPY and 2,3-Dihydrophthalazine-1,4-Dione Conjugates As Heavy Atom-Free Chemiluminogenic Photosensitizers.

We disclose an interesting concept for developing heavy atom-free chemiluminogenic photosensitizers. To accomplish this, conjugates 2 and 3, which are composed of boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) and 2,3-dihydrophthalazine-1,4-dione units, are investigated. 2 and 3 are compared in terms of their photophysical properties, chemiluminescence responses, and singlet oxygen production. Strikingly, the results indicate that decoration of BODIPY with the 2,3-dihydrophthalazine-1,4-dione scaffold boosts the singlet oxygen generation. Furthermore, treatment of epidermoid laryngeal carcinoma Hep-2 (Hep-2) cells with conjugates 2 and 3 results in efficient cellular internalization which ensures live- cell imaging of Hep-2 cells. Finally, it is noteworthy that in vitro cytotoxicity assays reveal that both 2 and 3 induce cytotoxicity when illuminated with red light. Thus, 2 and 3 represent heavy atom-free chemiluminogenic photosensitizers.