Remote Control of Cellular Functions: The Role of Smart Nanomaterials in the Medicine of the Future.
The remote control of cellular functions through smart nanomaterials represents a biomanipulation approach with unprecedented potential applications in many fields of medicine, ranging from cancer therapy to tissue engineering. By actively responding to external stimuli, smart nanomaterials act as real nanotransducers able to mediate and/or convert different forms of energy into both physical and chemical cues, fostering specific cell behaviors. This report describes those classes of nanomaterials that have mostly paved the way to a "wireless" control of biological phenomena, focusing the discussion on some examples close to the clinical practice. In particular, magnetic fields, light irradiation, ultrasound, and pH will be presented as means to manipulate the cellular fate, due to the peculiar physical/chemical properties of some smart nanoparticles, thus providing realistic examples of "nanorobots" approaching the visionary ideas of Richard Feynman.
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Smart Bio-Interfaces, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.
Giada Graziana
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Genchi
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Smart Bio-Interfaces, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.
Attilio
A
Marino
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Smart Bio-Interfaces, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.|Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, The BioRobotics Institute, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.
Agostina
A
Grillone
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, The BioRobotics Institute, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.
Ilaria
I
Pezzini
Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Smart Bio-Interfaces, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, 56025, Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.|Politecnico di Torino, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Torino, Italy.
Gianni
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Ciofani
D008962:Models, Theoretical; D050997:Nanomedicine / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction
cerium oxide nanoparticles; magnetic nanoparticles; near infrared stimulation; piezoelectric nanoparticles; smart nanoparticles