In this article, the biofunctionalization of 6H–SiC (0001) surfaces via self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) has been studied as a means to modify the in vitro biocompatibility of this semiconductor substrate with H4 (human neuroglioma) and PC12 (rat pheochromocytoma) cells. Silanization with aminopropyldiethoxymethylsilane (APDEMS) and aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), which provided moderately hydrophilic surfaces, and alkylation with 1-octadecene that produced hydrophobic surfaces were used to control the 6H–SiC surface chemistry and evaluate changes in cell viability and morphology due to these surface modifications. The morphology of the cells was evaluated with atomic force microscopy. In addition, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assays were used to quantitatively evaluate the cell viability on the SAM-modified surfaces. In all cases, the cell proliferation was observed to improve with respect to untreated 6H–SiC surfaces, with up to a 2x increase in viability on the 1-octadecene-modified surfaces, up to 6x increase with APDEMS-modified surfaces, and up to 8x increase with APTES-modified surfaces. This proves the potential of SiC as a substrate for medical devices given the possibility to tailor its surface chemistry for specific applications.

Gene therapy harbors great promise for the treatment of a variety of inherited and acquired diseases, but its potential can be realized only with safe and effective carriers. Although viruses can efficiently transfer foreign genes to cells, their long-term safety remains a concern. Polymers can serve as a carrier to facilitate gene transfer, either by condensing DNA to the size of nanoparticles that can be internalized by cells, or by entrapping DNA in matrices or micro/nanoparticles for sustained release. However, polymeric controlled gene delivery remains highly inefficient. This review covers the major barriers for nonviral gene transfer and briefly describes the different types of polymers developed to overcome these barriers. With the tremendous promise of genetic medicine, nonviral gene delivery is a worthy goal for biomaterials and nanotechnology research.

Numerous barriers, both extracellular and intracellular, hinder successful and efficient nonviral nucleic acid delivery. Due to their small size and ability to specifically recognize and interact with molecular targets, peptides can be incorporated as modular elements into synthetic nucleic acid delivery systems to overcome many of these barriers. Three classes of peptides that have frequently been integrated as components in nucleic acid delivery systems include cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), endosomal release peptides, and nuclear localization sequences (NLSs).Various additional classes of peptides show promise for enhancing nucleic acid delivery by targeting cell surface receptors, inhibiting nuclease activity, and directing nucleic acids toward intracellular targets. In addition to a review of the various existing approaches to peptide-enhanced nucleic acid delivery, this article will discuss strategies for the development of new peptides and approaches for the incorporation of these peptides into nucleic acid delivery systems.

Nanoscale ceramic particles, such as layered double hydroxides (LDHs), have been developed to deliver drugs or genes into biological cells. In this article, we describe the controlled-release properties of LDHs as drug delivery carriers, the formation of bio-LDH nanohybrids, their in vivo and in vitro cytotoxicity tests, and their potential as anticancer gene delivery carriers. Unstable biomolecules can be intercalated into LDHs, displacing the interlayer anions; the drug or gene's negative charge is thus shielded, enabling penetration into the cell. In the slightly acidic environment of the cell, ceramic nanoplatelets of ∼100 nm diameter dissolve, thus releasing the intercalates in a controlled manner.

Protein biochips have recently gained a lot of attention as bioanalytical tools in the life sciences. The creation of such biochips has been made possible by the integration of scientific approaches and methodologies in microfabrication, organic interface chemistry, protein engineering, detection physics, and—last but not least—advances in microarrays and microfluidic dispensing technologies. This article reviews some of the current drop-on-demand technologies developed for printing biomolecular arrays, with an emphasis on proteins and the technical challenges associated with them.

Combinatorial methods are high-efficiency methods to create large composition “libraries” of materials, for example, continuous composition variations, and test those compositions systematically in parallel for specific properties of interest, in contrast to the time-consuming one-composition-at-a-time approach. These methods have captured the attention of the materials industry with the promise of providing new discoveries “faster, better, and cheaper.” However, in the academic community, combinatorial methods often meet with less enthusiasm, perhaps due to the perception of combinatorial methodology as an Edisonian approach to science. The facts are quite to the contrary. In addition to impressive successes arising from the application of combinatorial methods to materials discovery, results coming out of systematic high-throughput investigations of complex materials phenomena (which would be too time-consuming or expensive to undertake) provide data leading to improvement in theories and models of materials chemistry and physics. Indeed, combinatorial methods provide a new paradigm for advancing a central scientific goal—the fundamental understanding of structure–property relationships of materials behavior.

The value of Nitinol (Ni-Ti) in the field of medicine has proven to be far greater than just as the simple “springy metal” it was once considered to be. In particular, its use in vascular implants highlights many valuable yet subtle behaviors, including a “biased stiffness,” enhanced fatigue resistance, low magnetic susceptibility, and good biocompatibility. Nitinol today is nearly as well known to medical-device designers and physicians as are stainless steel and titanium, and it is the enabling ingredient in a growing number of successful and profitable life-saving devices.