About this Research Topic
Self-assembly is a powerful strategy to fabricate a myriad of novel materials with unique physicochemical and biological characteristics, making it highly attractive in cancer-related biomedical applications, such as cancer diagnosis and therapy. By leveraging various chemical and physical assembly methods, we are currently able to create various inorganic and organic materials with sophisticated structures and desired functions. Compared with self-assembled inorganic materials, self-assembled organic materials possess a series of advantages, such as good biodegradability, biocompatibility, and ease of modification, enabling them the mostly explored bioactive materials during the past decades. To date, a plethora of self-assembled biodegradable materials based on peptides, proteins, DNA and RNA, lipids, and biodegradable polymers have been reported, and their utilities in drug delivery (i.e., RNA and protein delivery), vaccination, sensing, and disease intervention have been extensively investigated.
With the escalating knowledge on controllable assembly and the interactions between materials and human bodies, the rational, de novo design and synthesis of assembled bioactive materials have been greatly realized. Nevertheless, it is far away from the goal of “intelligent materials” that can be customized to display any shape and function. Currently, we are still confronting numerous challenges in almost every aspect with respect to the synthesis, manipulation, and biological application of self-assembled biodegradable materials. Addressing these challenges calls for highly interdisciplinary research and the collaboration of researchers from complementary backgrounds. More importantly, there is a great need to revisit the status, state-of-the-art progress, and urgent challenges in self-assembled biodegradable materials. In this Research Topic, we aim to highlight the most recent advances in the synthesis of self-assembled biodegradable materials and their functions and applications in the field of medical sensing, diagnosis, and therapy.
We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
• Development and preparation of organic self-assembled biodegradable materials
• Nanotechnologies for uniform preparation of organic self-assemblies
• Stimuli-responsive self-assembled biodegradable materials
• Drug delivery systems based on self-assembled biodegradable materials
• Self-assembled biodegradable materials for cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment
• Multifunctional self-assembled biodegradable materials
• Preparation and properties of functional biodegradable materials
• Applications of biodegradable materials in medical sensing, diagnosis, and therapy
• Medical devices based on biodegradable materials
With the escalating knowledge on controllable assembly and the interactions between materials and human bodies, the rational, de novo design and synthesis of assembled bioactive materials have been greatly realized. Nevertheless, it is far away from the goal of “intelligent materials” that can be customized to display any shape and function. Currently, we are still confronting numerous challenges in almost every aspect with respect to the synthesis, manipulation, and biological application of self-assembled biodegradable materials. Addressing these challenges calls for highly interdisciplinary research and the collaboration of researchers from complementary backgrounds. More importantly, there is a great need to revisit the status, state-of-the-art progress, and urgent challenges in self-assembled biodegradable materials. In this Research Topic, we aim to highlight the most recent advances in the synthesis of self-assembled biodegradable materials and their functions and applications in the field of medical sensing, diagnosis, and therapy.
We welcome Original Research, Review, Mini Review, and Perspective articles on themes including, but not limited to:
• Development and preparation of organic self-assembled biodegradable materials
• Nanotechnologies for uniform preparation of organic self-assemblies
• Stimuli-responsive self-assembled biodegradable materials
• Drug delivery systems based on self-assembled biodegradable materials
• Self-assembled biodegradable materials for cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment
• Multifunctional self-assembled biodegradable materials
• Preparation and properties of functional biodegradable materials
• Applications of biodegradable materials in medical sensing, diagnosis, and therapy
• Medical devices based on biodegradable materials
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
