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Elzein B. Nano Revolution: "Tiny tech, big impact: How nanotechnology is driving SDGs progress". Heliyon 2024; 10:e31393. [PMID: 38818162 PMCID: PMC11137564 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Nanotechnology has emerged as a powerful tool in addressing global challenges and advancing sustainable development. By manipulating materials at the nanoscale, researchers have unlocked new possibilities in various fields, including energy, healthcare, agriculture, construction, transportation, and environmental conservation. This paper explores the potential of nanotechnology and nanostructures in contributing to the achievement of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by improving energy efficiency and energy conversion, leading to a more sustainable and clean energy future, improving water purification processes, enabling access to clean drinking water for communities, enabling targeted drug delivery systems, early disease detection, and personalized medicine, thus revolutionizing healthcare, improving crop yields, efficient nutrient delivery systems, pest control mechanisms, and many other areas, therefore addressing food security issues. It also highlights the potential of nanomaterials in environmental remediation and pollution control. Therefore, by understanding and harnessing nanotechnology's potential, policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders can work together toward a more sustainable future by achieving the 17 UN SDGs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Basma Elzein
- Electrical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Business and Technology, Jeddah, 21451, Saudi Arabia
- Sustainable Development Department, Global Council for Tolerance and Peace, Valetta, Malta
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Trossmann VT, Lentz S, Scheibel T. Factors Influencing Properties of Spider Silk Coatings and Their Interactions within a Biological Environment. J Funct Biomater 2023; 14:434. [PMID: 37623678 PMCID: PMC10455157 DOI: 10.3390/jfb14080434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Biomaterials are an indispensable part of biomedical research. However, although many materials display suitable application-specific properties, they provide only poor biocompatibility when implanted into a human/animal body leading to inflammation and rejection reactions. Coatings made of spider silk proteins are promising alternatives for various applications since they are biocompatible, non-toxic and anti-inflammatory. Nevertheless, the biological response toward a spider silk coating cannot be generalized. The properties of spider silk coatings are influenced by many factors, including silk source, solvent, the substrate to be coated, pre- and post-treatments and the processing technique. All these factors consequently affect the biological response of the environment and the putative application of the appropriate silk coating. Here, we summarize recently identified factors to be considered before spider silk processing as well as physicochemical characterization methods. Furthermore, we highlight important results of biological evaluations to emphasize the importance of adjustability and adaption to a specific application. Finally, we provide an experimental matrix of parameters to be considered for a specific application and a guided biological response as exemplarily tested with two different fibroblast cell lines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa T. Trossmann
- Chair of Biomaterials, Faculty of Engineering Science, University of Bayreuth, Prof.-Rüdiger-Bormann-Straße 1, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany; (V.T.T.); (S.L.)
| | - Sarah Lentz
- Chair of Biomaterials, Faculty of Engineering Science, University of Bayreuth, Prof.-Rüdiger-Bormann-Straße 1, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany; (V.T.T.); (S.L.)
| | - Thomas Scheibel
- Chair of Biomaterials, Faculty of Engineering Science, University of Bayreuth, Prof.-Rüdiger-Bormann-Straße 1, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany; (V.T.T.); (S.L.)
- Bayreuth Center for Colloids and Interfaces (BZKG), University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Bavarian Polymer Institute (BPI), University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth Center for Molecular Biosciences (BZMB), University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Bayreuth Materials Center (BayMAT), University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Würzburg, Pleicherwall 2, 97070 Würzburg, Germany
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Chung SC, Park JS, Jha RK, Kim J, Kim J, Kim M, Choi J, Kim H, Park DH, Gogurla N, Lee TY, Jeon H, Park JY, Choi J, Kim G, Kim S. Engineering Silk Protein to Modulate Polymorphic Transitions for Green Lithography Resists. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:56623-56634. [PMID: 36524808 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c17843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Silk protein is being increasingly introduced as a prospective material for biomedical devices. However, a limited locus to intervene in nature-oriented silk protein makes it challenging to implement on-demand functions to silk. Here, we report how polymorphic transitions are related with molecular structures of artificially synthesized silk protein and design principles to construct a green-lithographic and high-performative protein resist. The repetition number and ratio of two major building blocks in synthesized silk protein are essential to determine the size and content of β-sheet crystallites, and radicals resulting from tyrosine cleavages by the 193 nm laser irradiation induce the β-sheet to α-helix transition. Synthesized silk is designed to exclusively comprise homogeneous building blocks and exhibit high crystallization and tyrosine-richness, thus constituting an excellent basis for developing a high-performance deep-UV photoresist. Additionally, our findings can be conjugated to design an electron-beam resist governed by the different irradiation-protein interaction mechanisms. All synthesis and lithography processes are fully water-based, promising green lithography. Using the engineered silk, a nanopatterned planar color filter showing the reduced angle dependence can be obtained. Our study provides insights into the industrial scale production of silk protein with on-demand functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soon-Chun Chung
- Material Research Center, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon 16678, Korea
| | - Joon-Song Park
- Material Research Center, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon 16678, Korea
| | - Rakesh Kumar Jha
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
| | - Jieun Kim
- Material Research Center, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon 16678, Korea
| | - Jinha Kim
- Material Research Center, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon 16678, Korea
| | - Muyoung Kim
- Department of Plasma Engineering, Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon 34103, Korea
| | - Juwan Choi
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
| | - Hongdeok Kim
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, BK21 FOUR ERICA-ACE Center, Hanyang University, Ansan 15588, Korea
| | - Da-Hye Park
- Material Research Center, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon 16678, Korea
| | - Narendar Gogurla
- Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea
| | - Tae-Yun Lee
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Heonsu Jeon
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
| | - Ji-Yong Park
- Department of Energy Systems Research, Ajou University, Suwon 16499, Korea
| | - Joonmyung Choi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, BK21 FOUR ERICA-ACE Center, Hanyang University, Ansan 15588, Korea
| | - Ginam Kim
- Material Research Center, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon 16678, Korea
| | - Sunghwan Kim
- Department of Electronic Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
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Bittencourt DMDC, Oliveira P, Michalczechen-Lacerda VA, Rosinha GMS, Jones JA, Rech EL. Bioengineering of spider silks for the production of biomedical materials. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:958486. [PMID: 36017345 PMCID: PMC9397580 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.958486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Spider silks are well known for their extraordinary mechanical properties. This characteristic is a result of the interplay of composition, structure and self-assembly of spider silk proteins (spidroins). Advances in synthetic biology have enabled the design and production of spidroins with the aim of biomimicking the structure-property-function relationships of spider silks. Although in nature only fibers are formed from spidroins, in vitro, scientists can explore non-natural morphologies including nanofibrils, particles, capsules, hydrogels, films or foams. The versatility of spidroins, along with their biocompatible and biodegradable nature, also placed them as leading-edge biological macromolecules for improved drug delivery and various biomedical applications. Accordingly, in this review, we highlight the relationship between the molecular structure of spider silk and its mechanical properties and aims to provide a critical summary of recent progress in research employing recombinantly produced bioengineered spidroins for the production of innovative bio-derived structural materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Matias de C. Bittencourt
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, National Institute of Science and Technology—Synthetic Biology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Elibio L. Rech, ; Daniela Matias de C. Bittencourt,
| | - Paula Oliveira
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
| | | | - Grácia Maria Soares Rosinha
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, National Institute of Science and Technology—Synthetic Biology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Justin A. Jones
- Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
| | - Elibio L. Rech
- Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, National Institute of Science and Technology—Synthetic Biology, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- *Correspondence: Elibio L. Rech, ; Daniela Matias de C. Bittencourt,
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Diverse silk and silk-like proteins derived from terrestrial and marine organisms and their applications. Acta Biomater 2021; 136:56-71. [PMID: 34551332 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2021.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 09/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Organisms develop unique systems in a given environment. In the process of adaptation, they employ materials in a clever way, which has inspired mankind extensively. Understanding the behavior and material properties of living organisms provides a way to emulate these natural systems and engineer various materials. Silk is a material that has been with human for over 5000 years, and the success of mass production of silkworm silk has realized its applications to medical, pharmaceutical, optical, and even electronic fields. Spider silk, which was characterized later, has expanded the application sectors to textile and military materials based on its tough mechanical properties. Because silk proteins are main components of these materials and there are abundant creatures producing silks that have not been studied, the introduction of new silk proteins would be a breakthrough of engineering materials to open innovative industry fields. Therefore, in this review, we present diverse silk and silk-like proteins and how they are utilized with respect to organism's survival. Here, the range of organisms are not constrained to silkworms and spiders but expanded to other insects, and even marine creatures which produce silk-like proteins that are not observed in terrestrial silks. This viewpoint broadening of silk and silk-like proteins would suggest diverse targets of engineering to design promising silk-based materials. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Silk has been developed as a biomedical material due to unique mechanical and chemical properties. For decades, silks from various silkworm and spider species have been intensively studied. More recently, other silk and silk-like proteins with different sequences and structures have been reported, not only limited to terrestrial organisms (honeybee, green lacewing, caddisfly, and ant), but also from marine creatures (mussel, squid, sea anemone, and pearl oyster). Nevertheless, there has hardly been well-organized literature on silks from such organisms. Regarding the relationship among sequence-structure-properties, this review addresses how silks have been utilized with respect to organism's survival. Finally, this information aims to improve the understanding of diverse silk and silk-like proteins which can offer a significant interest to engineering fields.
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Whittall DR, Baker KV, Breitling R, Takano E. Host Systems for the Production of Recombinant Spider Silk. Trends Biotechnol 2021; 39:560-573. [PMID: 33051051 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2020.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Spider silk is renowned for its impressive mechanical properties. It is one of the strongest known biomaterials, possessing mechanical properties that outmatch both steel and Kevlar. However, the farming of spiders for their silk is unfeasible. Consequently, production of recombinant spider silk proteins (spidroins) in more amenable hosts is an exciting field of research. For large-scale production to be viable, a heterologous silk production system that is both highly efficient and cost effective is essential. Genes encoding recombinant spidroin have been expressed in bacterial, yeast, insect, and mammalian cells, in addition to many other platforms. This review discusses the recent advances in exploiting an increasingly diverse range of host platforms in the heterologous production of recombinant spidroins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic R Whittall
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Katherine V Baker
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Rainer Breitling
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK
| | - Eriko Takano
- Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, Manchester Synthetic Biology Research Centre SYNBIOCHEM, Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M1 7DN, UK.
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