Bioconjugation in Materials Science

Abstract

With the advent of bioconjugation chemistry in the last two decades, highlighted by the Nobel Prize 2022, the quest for possible novel applications has been greatly intensified, broadening the prospects of these mostly simple, specific, and high-yield reactions. The advancement of bioconjugation methods is anticipated to expand the scope of bioinstructive and bioadaptive materials science in the future. This perspective article will discuss the reactions developed in this research area over the last 10 years for coupling various biological entities such as polysaccharides, oligonucleotides, peptides, and proteins. Building on this, the impact of bioconjugation reactions in materials science and 3D printing, including their challenges and requirements is shown. Established procedures for modifying molecular structures such as Covalent and Metal Organic Frameworks (COF/MOF) or hybrid materials for biomedical applications and the scope for future research and optimization will be presented.