Special section guest editorial: Biomimetic and bioinspired materials for applications in biophotonics

Bahman AnvariUniversity of CaliforniaRiverside, Department of Bioengineering900 University AvenueRiverside, California 92521E-mail: anvarib@ucr.eduPablo del PinoCIC biomaGUNEBioengineered Particles LaboratoryPaseo Miramon no 18220009 San Sebastian, SpainE-mail: pdelpino@cicbiomagune.esVikas KundraUniversity of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer CenterDepartment of RadiologyJoint appointment: Department of Cancer Systems ImagingUnit 1473, P.O. Box 301439Houston, Texas 77230E-mail: vkundra@mdanderson.orgWolfgang J. ParakPhilipps Universitat MarburgFachbereich PhysikRenthof 7, 35037 Marburg, GermanyandCIS biomaGUNESan Sebastain, SpainE-mail: wolfgang.parak@physik.uni-marburg.deBiomimetic and bioinspired materials present an emergingfield in the areas of biomedicine, bioengineering, and biologi-cal sciences. One of the current trends is the production ofbiofunctional materials that are able to interact with lightand thereby enable applications in therapy, biosensing, andbioimaging. The aim of this special section is to presentsome of the current state-of-the-art research activities onthe use of such materials in relation to the field ofbiophotonics.Two of the papers are review articles, which focus on theopportunities and current challenges of nanomaterial-basedapplications towards life sciences. Vazquez-Gonzalez andCarrillo-Carrion present a review article on “bio-inspired” or“bio-mimetic” analytical platforms based on quantum dots(QDs) with great potential in the field of detection of heavymetal ions. They provide an overview on state-of-the-artstrategies for surface modification of QDs, which togetherwith the photophysical properties of QDs allow for highlysensitive assays. Three main analytical mechanisms basedon the interaction of QDs and light are discussed: quenchingand enhancement of the photoluminescence, and charge andenergy transfer.Del Pino provides a review article on the relevant param-eters and some of the most promising applications resultingfrom the interactions between electromagnetic (EM) fieldsand nanoparticles. This review focuses on EM-activenanoparticles, which upon coupling with light or magneticfields can provide highly useful responses, such as photo-luminescence, nanoheating, energy or charge transfer,magnetic resonance, optoacoustic signal, etc. Severalexamples of bio-functional materials (that is, functionalizednanoparticles towards bio-applications) and correspondingapplications in therapy, bioimaging, and biosensing aregiven. A significant part of this review discusses how cur-rent synthetic methods allow for tailoring the couplingand response of materials toward EM fields. Indeed, thistopic connects very well with the report of Fujimoto et al.on the use of titanium oxide powder, localized on the tipof a quartz optical fiber, as a medium for transduction ofoptical energy emitted from a 980 nm semiconductorlaser into heat. The authors propose high-power tip-func-tionalized semiconductor lasers with emission within theNIR window (also called biological window) as an alterna-tive surgical tool for the clinic. By means of this interestingapproach, extremely high temperatures can be produced atthe tip of the fiber, which may find very useful applications insurgical procedures such as drilling holes in bone.Maawy et al. present a study on the effectiveness ofPEGylation of near-infrared dyes conjugated to a chimericanti-carcinoembryonic antigen antibody, as an approach toenhance labeling of prostate tumor models. Their results sug-gest the potential for clinical applications of this optical probe