Advances in materials for cellular applications (Review)

Abstract

The goal of this review is to highlight materials that show exciting promise for either entirely new cellular-level applications or new approaches to long-standing biological challenges. The authors start with two more established materials, graphene and carbon nanotubes, and then progress to conducting polymers, followed by an overview of the microresonators, nanowires, and spasers used as intracellular lasers. These materials provide new approaches to gene and drug delivery, cellular regeneration, mechanical sensing, imaging, and the modulation and recording of cellular activity. Of specific interest is the comparison of these materials with existing technologies, the method of cellular delivery, and the all-encompassing challenge of biocompatibility. Concluding remarks examine the extension of these materials from cellular-level experiments to in vivo applications, including the method of activation: light, electricity, and ultrasound. Overall, these materials and their associated applications illustrate the most recent advances in material-cell interactions.