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Anodic alumina as a scalable platform for structural coloration and optical rectification

Biological Application of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Targeted Therapeutics and Diagnostics

Biologically Inspired Rosette Nanotube Nanocomposites for Bone Tissue Engineering, Orthopedic and Vascular Applications

Biologically Relevant Degradation of 2D Nanomaterials: Kinetics, Hazard Classification and Biomedical Applications

Enhanced Efficacy of Nanotechnology-Driven Approaches against Antibiotic-Resistant Biofilms in the Presence of Metabolites

Evaluating the Human Health and Environmental Impacts of Exposure to Two-Dimensional Manganese Dioxide Nanosheets

Nano-fabrication and Characterization of Novel Titanium Surfaces for Vascular Stent Application

Nano-Selenium: Novel Formulations for Biological and Environmental Applications

Nanopatterned PLGA for Anti-cancer Implant Applications

Novel Devices, Physical Mechanisms, and Analytical Techniques for Use in Next Generation Cellular Diagnostics

Novel Polymers as Phase Transfer Agents for Gadolinium Oxide Nanoplates: Improving Magnetic Resonance Imaging Contrast

Reliable Computing at the Nanoscale

Select Nanofabricated Titanium Materials for Enhancing Bone and Skin Growth of Intraosseous Transcutaneous Amputation Prostheses

Structural and optical characterization of diamond nanowires

The Use of Entropic Cages For Trapping DNA and Controlling its Configurations in Nanopore Studies

Topics in Nanomechanics, Energy Storage Systems, and Emerging Nanomaterials

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Nanoscience and technology articles from across Nature Portfolio

Nanoscience and technology is the branch of science that studies systems and manipulates matter on atomic, molecular and supramolecular scales (the nanometre scale). On such a length scale, quantum mechanical and surface boundary effects become relevant, conferring properties on materials that are not observable on larger, macroscopic length scales.

High-temperature non-volatile memory technology

Non-volatile memory devices capable of recording and reading information at temperatures up to 600 °C can be built using aluminium scandium nitride ferroelectric diodes.

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Combining two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy with atomic force microscopy

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is coupled with time-domain two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) spectroscopy to develop AFM-2DIR nanospectroscopy, which combines the spatial precision of AFM with the rich spectroscopic information provided by 2DIR spectroscopy. Application of this method reveals the anharmonicity of a carbonyl vibrational mode and the possible energy transfer pathways of hyperbolic phonon polaritons in isotope-rich hexagonal boron nitride.

The synthesis behind the 2023 Nobel Prize

In 1993, a new route for the synthesis of semiconductor nanocrystals was reported that exploited organometallic chemistry to afford nearly monodisperse particles. 30 years later the award of the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry can be directly traced to this single publication.

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Nano-biotechnology, an applicable approach for sustainable future

• Review Article
• Published: 09 February 2022
• Volume 12 , article number  65 , ( 2022 )

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• Nikta Shahcheraghi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1748-0050 1 ,
• Hasti Golchin 2 ,
• Zahra Sadri 2 ,
• Yasaman Tabari 3 ,
• Forough Borhanifar 2 &
• Shadi Makani 2  

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Nanotechnology is one of the most emerging fields of research within recent decades and is based upon the exploitation of nano-sized materials (e.g., nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanomembranes, nanowires, nanofibers and so on) in various operational fields. Nanomaterials have multiple advantages, including high stability, target selectivity, and plasticity. Diverse biotic (e.g., Capsid of viruses and algae) and abiotic (e.g., Carbon, silver, gold and etc.) materials can be utilized in the synthesis process of nanomaterials. “Nanobiotechnology” is the combination of nanotechnology and biotechnology disciplines. Nano-based approaches are developed to improve the traditional biotechnological methods and overcome their limitations, such as the side effects caused by conventional therapies. Several studies have reported that nanobiotechnology has remarkably enhanced the efficiency of various techniques, including drug delivery, water and soil remediation, and enzymatic processes. In this review, techniques that benefit the most from nano-biotechnological approaches, are categorized into four major fields: medical, industrial, agricultural, and environmental.

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Role of Nanomaterials in Environmental Remediation: Recent Advances—A Review

Principles and Potentials of Nanobiotechnology

Nanotechnology and Nanobiotechnology for Environmental Remediation

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Introduction

The development process of a sustainable future generally consists of methods that ensure the satisfaction of future needs, while fulfills the current generation’s requirements (Raghav et al. 2020 ). To obtain a proper overview of upcoming demands in the future, it is important to anticipate future stressors (e.g., climate change) (Iwaniec et al. 2020 ). Since nanotechnology is applicable in various majors, it is expected that nano-based techniques will take a key role in a sustainable future (Raghav et al. 2020 ), along with making substantial impacts on the universal economic situation due to their wide range of applications in variant industries (Adam and Youssef 2019 ). The unification of diverse fields in science, Inspired by the oneness of nature, is one of the most noticeable subject matters now in the early twenty-first century. Merging four massively operational fields of science has received great attention in recent decades: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive sciences (NBIC), which are known as “convergent technologies” (Roco and Bainbridge 2013 ). Non-renewable sources don’t seem efficient for providing large amounts of energy required in various industrial technologies. Convergent technologies are considered as a remedy for this issue. For instance, several nano-based technologies, which consume biological-renewable energy sources, have been introduced (Zhironkin et al. 2019 ). The unification of material on nanoscale makes the mentioned combination of multiple technologies possible. Hence, nanotechnology plays a critical role in NBIC advancement (Roco and Bainbridge 2013 ). According to the definition set by National Nanotechnology Initiatives in 1999, Nanotechnology is an advanced area of research that allows for the production of a wide class of materials in the nanoscale range (less than 100 nm) to make use of size-and structure-dependent properties and phenomena (Luo et al. 2020 ). Although “nano” is defined as that which is less than 100 nm in size, the use of this definition in the biomedical field is less strict and instead may encompass particles up to 1000 nm in size (Landowski et al. 2020 ). Nanotechnology has a wide range of applications, including Agricultural usages (Ndlovu et al. 2020 ), biofuel production (Zahed et al. 2021a ), cancer Immunotherapy (Goracci et al. 2020 ), carbon capture (Zahed et al. 2021b ) and biomarker detection like nanobiochips, nanoelectrodes, or nanobiosensors (Bayda et al. 2020 ). Nanomaterials (NMs) are chemical substances or materials that are manufactured and used at a very small scale, i.e., 1–100 nm in at least one dimension. NMs are categorized according to their dimensionality, morphology, state, and chemical composition (Saleh 2020 ). NMs can be used for rapid extraction of RNA of the novel coronavirus (Kailasa et al. 2021 ). Expanding nanoscience through various branches can eventually enhance the intelligence and capability of individuals, solve various social issues, cure numerous diseases, and generally improve the quality of mankind's life in the long term (Roco and Bainbridge 2013 ). Deploying nanotechnology into biotechnology will help the commercialization process of nano-based techniques and make them more practical in the industry (Maine et al. 2014 ). The idea of developing interdisciplinary research (IDR) (Jang et al. 2018 ) in science presents a promising landscape of the future, in which human intelligence has reached such high levels that the term “superhuman” would be more proper for humankind. According to the Israeli philosopher Harari, with the appearance of a highly technologically advanced society, only individuals with great intelligence and technological advancements can survive through natural selection in society. He states that superhumans will be produced by society eventually, considering the logic of social Darwinism, and this will be a remarkable phenomenon of the twenty-first century (Mantatov et al. 2019 ). One massive application of nanobiotechnology is enhancing the efficiency of various therapies (Table 1 ). The application of nanobiotechnology in delivering chemical drugs or gene modifying agents to their target cells will increase the efficiency of the treatments and reduce the side effects remarkably. Within the previous two decades, RNA-based therapeutic methods, including messenger RNA (mRNA), microRNA, and small interfering RNA (siRNA), have been supremely developed. These therapeutic approaches are expected to be operative in the treatment and prevention of various diseases, such as cancers, genetic disorders, diabetes, inflammatory diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases (Lin et al. 2020 ). In the case of cancers, conventional therapies (surgery, chemotherapy, and irradiation) may cause severe side effects to patients, plus they are often inefficient for disease treatment (Hager et al. 2020 ). Loading anti-cancer drugs into nanomaterials provides a nano-based drug delivery system that detracts the side effects. Platinum (Pt) compounds are one of the most common anti-cancer drugs since 1978. Pt drugs directly aim at the DNA of the targeted cells, thus covering up the defects of the malformed DNA repair mechanisms in cancerous cells. Encapsulating Pt drugs into liposomes constructs a nano-based drug delivery system for treating cancers (Rottenberg et al. 2021 ). Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are advantageous options for cancer treatment and diagnosis. AuNPs are created in the size range between 1 and 150 nm and in various shapes, including nanorods (AuNRs), nanocages, nanostars, and nanoshells (AuNSs). AuNPs consist of high rates of biocapability and exhibit controlled patterns of medicine release in the drug delivery process. AuNPs consist of conduction electrons on their surfaces which get excited by certain wavelengths of light. This feature enables AuNPs to adsorb light and produce heat that is fatal to cells. Destroying the cancerous cells with the heat released under irradiation is called photothermal therapy (PTT) or photodynamic therapy (PDT) (D’Acunto et al. 2021 ).

On the other hand, RNA-based therapies can regulate the expression of immune-relevant genes, therefore increasing anti-tumor immune responses directly. Several nanomaterials have been introduced that can deliver nucleic acid therapeutics to tumors and immune cells (Lin et al. 2020 ). There are biomimetic strategies for providing a co-delivery system that is capable of supporting both chemical and RNA-based therapies (Liu et al. 2019 ). Considering RNAs as therapeutic agents or drug targets requires precise knowledge about the 3D structure of specific RNAs. There are reliable algorithms for pronging the second structure of RNAs, but the tertiary architecture which determines the RNA’s functions is quite challenging to anticipate. Bioinformatics provides several methods for predicting the tertiary structures of RNAs such as Vfold, iFoldRNA, 3DRNA, and RNAComposer. They all face particular hurdles, but it should be noted that the field of computational RNA structure anticipation, has a bright future (Biesiada et al. 2016 ). RNA-based vaccines are quite impressive immunotherapeutic tools in cancer therapies. However, the in vivo delivery of synthesized mRNAs could face some obstacles. Encrusting mRNAs with a lipid-polyethylene glycol (lipid-PEG) shell increases the mRNA delivery rate up to 95% more than the conventional nanoparticle-free mRNA vaccines (Islam et al. 2021 ).

In RNA-based nano-techniques, utilizing large-sized RNAs faces several difficulties. Wang et al. have reported an interesting method of using gold nanoparticles (enriched by expanded genetic alphabet transcriptions) to increase the effectiveness of detecting the large natural or artificially synthesized RNAs through an RNA nano-based labeling technique. These techniques are highly dependent on the conjugation between nanoparticles and RNAs (Wang et al. 2020 ). Since gene sequencing is of great importance, multiple biotechnology-based diagnostic tools, including quantitative PCR, DNA barcoding, next-generation sequencing, and imaging techniques are commonly currently used. These methods are considered economically advantageous, along with providing a reliable diagnosis. Incorporating nano-based sensors with mentioned tools increases the sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolution, which are two fundamental features of the gene sequencing process (Kumar et al. 2020 ). Designing nano-based devices for diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV 2) has been promoted recently. Nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles, magnetic nanoparticles, and graphene (G) significantly increase the accuracy and decrease the required time and costs. Hence, render beneficial tools for viral detection more effective compared to the traditional techniques. Nanoparticles are specified via anti-bodies to identify particular antigens on the surface of the virus. Suspected samples from the patient, air, and surface can get examined by nano-based serological or molecular diagnosis methods (Abdelhamid and Badr 2021 ).

Nanomaterials can be utilized in the form of membranes. Chemically or physically synthesized nanomembranes remarkably advance the conventional water purification techniques (Lohrasebi and Koslowski 2019 ; Kim et al. 2020 ). Incorporating nanomembranes with bioreactors is the basis of the membrane bioreactor (MBR) technique, which is exploited in wastewater reclamation (Ma et al. 2018 ). Eliminating pollutant components from the environment is one of the main purposes of nanobiotechnology (Table 2 ). In the agricultural fields, nano-bio technologically modified pesticides and fertilizers notably prevent crop loss. Nano-based bioremediation processes have been developed to reduce soil pollutions and are expected to improve both environmental and agricultural approaches (Usman et al. 2020 ). Several studies are expanding the idea of producing nano plants that show better biological performances (e.g., photosynthesis) compared to natural plants (Marchiol 2018 ) (Table 3 ). Enzymes empowered by nanomaterials have rendered higher recovery and productivity rates and thus are potentially able to act spotless in different industrial techniques (Adeel et al. 2018 ; Zhang et al. 2021 ) (Table 4 ).

The objective of this study is to review the applications of nanoscience in enhancing the efficiency of biotechnological methods (Fig.  1 ).

Diverse Applications of Nanobiotechnology: multiple techniques, including Drug delivery-based therapies, remediating processes, and industrial nano-bio catalysts benefit from nano-scaled particles

Application of nano-based materials for drug delivery, therapeutic and diagnostic processes

One recently promoted technique in the gene therapy field is the application of the CRISPR/Cas9 systems, which has been indicated to be highly effective in the treatment of monogenic disorders, non-monogenic disorders, and infectious diseases. Emerging studies have suggested that nanocarriers, which are created from Polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI), are more efficient in delivering CRISPR/Cas9 systems to targeted cells compared to the viral carriers (Deng et al. 2019 ). Gene mutation-related diseases such as cancers and human immunodeficiency viruses are potentially treated by DNA-based vaccines. This type of vaccine enhances disease symptoms by delivering specific gene sequences-which are embedded in plasmids- to targeted cells. Despite having clinical utilization, DNA vaccines face limitations in delivering their genetic cargos to the target cells. Designing efficient nano-delivery systems will eliminate such deficiencies PEI (Lim et al. 2020 ). Virus-like nanoparticles (Jeevanandam et al. 2019 ) seem to form applicable nanocarriers for this purpose (Fig.  2 ).

Encapsulating therapeutic agents within nanoparticles: embedding medicine or gene-modifying agents into the nanoparticles remarkably enhances the therapeutic efficiency along with diminishing potential side effects

Nanomaterials used in cancer diagnosis can be mainly divided into contrasting agents (magnetic, iron oxide and gold nanoparticles) and fluorescent agents (quantum dots). Some nanocarriers have inherent optical properties (such as carbon nanotubes, gold and magnetic nanoparticles) that can be converted into high energy to cells for destruction and can serve as nanotheranostics (Barani et al. 2021 ).

Nanomaterials used in smart drug delivery-based cancer therapies are categorized as organic and inorganic materials. Micelles, vesicles, multilamellar liposomes, and solid lipid nanoparticles are some examples of self-assembled organic nanomaterials. Other organic materials are not capable of self-assembling and need to be synthesized, such as nanotubes and dendrimers. Gold nanoparticles, quantum dots, mesoporous silica nanoparticles, and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are classified as inorganic nanomaterials (Lombardo et al. 2019 ). SPIONs are vastly utilized in therapeutic approaches, including cancer therapy, radiation therapy, and tissue engineering. SPIONs are synthesized through different physical, chemical, and biological methods. Bacteria and plants are the biomaterials upon which the biological method is based (Samrot et al. 2020 ). Nanoparticles containing both organic and inorganic materials (hybrid nanoparticles) have been indicated to be highly efficient, as well (Lombardo et al. 2019 ). Embedding targeting ligands (e.g., antibodies, peptides, aptamers, and small molecules) on the surface of nanoparticles assures the delivery of medicines to specific sites in the body, such as tumor tissues. The mentioned process is called: “targeted drug delivery system” (Doroudian et al. 2021 ). There are two types of targeting delivery: passive targeting and active targeting. In the passive form, the high aggregations of medicines at the tumor sites are related to the nano-scaled size of the nanocarriers. The tight junctions between epithelial cells of the vessel tissues prevent the nanoparticles from exiting the vessel. The cancerous cells loosen the tight junctions of the adjacent vessels. Therefore, nanocarriers can pass through the vessel and get into the tumor site. The targeting ligands incorporated with nanoparticles are not responsible for the passive targeting action. The binding between the targeting ligands and the particular receptors on the cancerous cells-which are exclusively found on the surface of the tumor cells- causes a more precise drug delivery, which is known as active targeting (Doroudian et al. 2019 ). Although drug-loaded nanoparticles efficiently carry the medicines to target cites, according to the in-vivo studies, these nanoparticles might not be quite biodegradable. Hence using such nanoparticles could lead to toxicities and side effects. It is worth mentioning that Zhou et al. have developed biodegradable nanoparticles using poly (aspartic acid) (PASP) microtube, a thin Fe intermediate layer, and a core of Zn (Zhou et al. 2019 ).

Nano-based drug delivery systems provide highly promising prospects for treating neurodegenerative disorders. It is reasonable to assume that treating neurological diseases by conventional drug delivery systems is extremely challenging due to the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). The blood–brain barrier prevents the entrance of therapeutical agents to the central nervous system (CNS), therefore, making the conventional therapies inadequate. The blood–brain barrier provides a stable environment for the CNS and regulates the cell-to-cell interactions, which take place in the CNS. The dysfunction of the blood–brain barrier leads to severe neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS)). The blood–brain barrier is responsible for the proper functioning of the CNS, so naturally, it has a super-sensitive permeability. This feature of the blood–brain barrier is highly related to the tight junctions between the barrier’s cells. Only 1–4 percent of most CNS medicines succeed in passing the blood–brain barrier. Nanoparticles are more likely to pass the barrier because of their nano-scaled size. Encapsulating drugs in nanoparticles can significantly increase the drug transmission rate through the blood–brain barrier (Furtado et al. 2018 ). For instance, graphene, metals, carbon-nanotubes, and metal-oxides are the nanomaterials that can get exploited in the treatment procedure of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is caused by different genetic and environmental cues. Chemical and electrical malformations are observed in the brain of an AD patient. Acrine and physostigmine, which are conventional medicines for AD, have been proved to stimuli severe effects on the gastrointestinal tract and nervous system. Therefore, attention is drawn to nano-based therapies (Nawaz et al. 2021 ). Marcos-Contreras et al. have proposed that the augmentation of VCAM-1 ligands to the drug-loaded nanocarriers can significantly improve the cerebral accumulation rate of nanoparticles in inflamed brains (Marcos-Contreras et al. 2020 ) (Fig.  3 ).

Nano-based drug delivery in the therapies of neurodegenerative disorders: blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a noticeable obstacle for conventional medicines; however, drugs encapsulated within nanoparticles efficiently penetrate through the BBB and reach the central nervous system (CNS)

Although nano-based medications of neurodegenerative disorders seem spotless theoretically, the internal environment of the body puts out several obstacles on the path of the medicine nano-delivering. For instance, lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) may safely carry their therapeutic cargos to the targeted cells, but if the drug needs to reach the cytoplasm, lipid nanoparticles are not capable of efficiently crossing the cell membrane. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are delivered to hepatocytes via lipid nanoparticles, but only 2% of them accomplish reaching to the cytoplasm. It should be mentioned that big data and computational methods can help scientists to predict the in-vivo challenges of nano-drug delivery to design proper techniques to overcome them (Paunovska et al. 2019 ). Besides, bioinformatics provides tools for measuring the interaction rate between exploited nanomaterials and drug targets (Nawaz et al. 2021 ). Designing efficient nanomaterials is fundamental for nanotechnological approaches. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene-based nanomaterials have been vastly utilized in nanotechnology during the last two decades (Kinloch et al. 2018 ). As a case in point, Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) are considered as excellent options for designing nano-based biomedical approaches, including but not limited to drug delivery systems. The most noticeable features of SWCNTs are their great photophysical properties (Farrera et al. 2017 ). Even though Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene-based nanomaterials have unique qualities such as high flexibility, they face some challenges in their load transfer capability, dispersion, and viscosity. Hence, creating more applicable and eco-friendly nanomaterials has drawn intense attention (Kinloch et al. 2018 ). AlNadhari et al. have introduced algae as a green and eco-friendly source of materials that can be used in nanoparticles. Algae-based nanoparticles in the biomedical field consist of therapeutical characteristics, such as antibacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-cancer features (AlNadhari et al. 2021 ). Milk-derived proteins such as β-lactoglobulin (β-LG), lactoferrin (LF), and the caseins (CN) are other biological alternatives for synthesizing nanocarriers. Anti-cancer medicines have been embedded into protein-based nanocarriers and successfully deteriorated cancerous tumors (Tavakoli et al. 2021 ). Azarakhsh et al. have demonstrated specific binding sites for the anti-cancer drug, Oxali-palladium (OX) and iron nanoparticles (NP) on the Beta-Casein (β-CN). Hence, the Beta-Casein can perform as an efficient carrier for both agents (Azarakhsh et al. 2021 ). One common strategy in designing nanocarriers for cancer therapies is to create nanoparticles that can detect the vitamin or growth factor receptors on target cells. Cancerous cells usually over-express the receptors for such nutrients so that they can keep their high proliferation rate (Peer et al. 2020 ). Reprogramming the nutrient signaling and micropinocytosis of the cancer cells seriously affects the efficacy of Nano-particulate albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel, nab-PTX); which is one of the most commonly prescribed nanomedicines (Li et al. 2021 ).

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are short-chain, often cationic, peptides possessing several attributes which make them attractive alternatives to conventional antibiotics with s a low likelihood of resistance developing in target organisms (Meikle et al. 2021 ). Conjugation and functionalization of nanoparticles with potentially active antimicrobial peptides has added advantages that widen their applications in the field of drug discovery as well as a delivery system, including imaging and diagnostics (Mohid and Bhunia 2021 ).

Silver nanoparticles coated with zinc oxide (Ag@ZnO), can stimulate proliferation and migration of human keratinocytes, HaCaT, with increased expression of Ki67 and vinculin at the leading edge of wounds. Interestingly, Ag@ZnO stimulates keratinocytes to produce the antimicrobial peptides hBD2 and RNase7, promoting antibacterial activity against both extracellular and intracellular Staphylococcus aureus isolated from wounds (Majhi et al. 2021 ).

Wound dressing is an important action against an injury. In recent years, nanotechnology has been combined with wound dressing techniques, and there are several new materials and techniques available for this action. The nanoparticles’ dimensions make them suitable for penetrating into the wound. Thus, bioactive agents and drugs can be released locally (De Luca et al. 2021 ). Numerous synthetic and natural materials have been applied for wound healing; Hyaluronic Acid, as an illustration, is one of the most-used materials (Ahire and Dicks 2016 ).

In 2017 Polyethylene Oxide (PEO)-hyaluronic acid (HA) nanofibers as an inhibitor of Listeria monocytogenes infection (Ahire et al. 2017a ). Gauze is a traditional wound dressing used to protect dermal wounds from bacterial infection. In a study in 2021, an antibacterial gauze was prepared by the combined use of antimicrobial peptides and AgNPs. The prepared antibacterial gauze showed excellent antibacterial activity against E.coli, S. enteritidis, S. aureus , and B. cereus and also exhibited good biocompatibility (Chen et al. 2021a , b ). In 2014, Ahire and Dicks introduced 2,3-Dihydroxybenzoic Acid-Containing Nanofiber as a suitable nanomaterial for wound dressing as it prevents Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection (Ahire and Dicks 2014 ). To inhibit the growth of this microorganism, Copper-Containing Anti-Biofilm Nanofiber Scaffolds can be used too. Copper-containing nanoparticles have the potential of inhibiting Escherichia coli growth either (Ahire et al. 2016 ). Surfactin-loaded nanofibers are also a great candidate to be used in wound dressings or in the coating of prosthetic devices to prevent biofilm formation and secondary infections (Ahire et al. 2017b ). In addition to nano-therapies, nano-diagnostic agents- metal nanoparticles- have been indicated to be highly applicable in the detection of viruses, including covid-19 (Fouad 2021 ). Several biotic [e.g., algae (AlNadhari et al. 2021 ) and viral capsid (Jeevanandam et al. 2019 )] and abiotic [e.g., gold, silver, graphene oxide, and zin oxide (Fouad 2021 )] nanomaterials have been reported to be applicable in biomedical processes. The combination of biotic and abiotic sources provides efficient nanomaterials as well. For example, the highly effective graphene-starch nanocomposites, are resulted from embedding graphene-based nanomaterials into the starch biopolymers (Mishra and Manral 2021 ). The delivery of therapeutics via nanoemulsions (NE) has shown striking results. Sánchez-Rubio et al. have successfully defeated deficiencies of vitamin E (e.g., hydrophobicity and low stability) by creating nanoemulsions comprising vitamin E. the sperm samples derived from the red deer’s epididymal tissue was treated with the mentioned nanoemulsions and the sperms’ viability and resistance against oxidative stress, was increased (Sánchez-Rubio et al., 2020 ). Jeong et al. have reported another growth-promoting method that elevates the maturation process of cultured cells. The mentioned technique aims to develop an extremely operational and cost-effective bioreactor that enables in-vitro maturation of heart tissue. Next-generation stage-top incubator (STI) containing nano grooves patterned PDMS diaphragm (NGPPD) was designed to boost cell maturation and myogenic differentiation. The surface of NGPPD was covered with a slim layer of gold (Au) (Jeong et al. 2021 ). Microfluidic systems are proven to have applications in biological analysis, tissue engineering, etc. Embedding nanolitre volumes into micro-sized fluidic channels is the basis of the aforementioned technique (Valencia et al. 2020 ).

Application of nanoparticles on bioreactors as contributory agents

Since wastewater reclamation is a universal challenge and plays a major role in providing clean water for many people across the world, various techniques have been developed for this purpose. Among them, the application of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) in water purification has attracted great attention recently. In the MBR technique, the conventional activated sludge (CAS) process is incorporated with a filtration process provided by a physicochemical membrane (Ma et al. 2018 ). It has been shown that treating the mentioned membrane with nanoparticles in different types of MBR techniques can significantly improve the efficiency of the process (Abass and Zhang 2020 ; Jiang et al. 2019 ). The pharmaceutical industry produces one of the most pollutant wastewaters; which contains various amounts of organic compounds, including benzene, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heterocyclic, etc. these compounds have high Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and low degradability; which makes conventional biological treatments inefficient for treating them. However, applying O 3 , O 3 /Fe 2+ , O 3 /nZVI (nano zerovalent iron) processes in wastewater purgation has made noticeable signs of progress. Nano catalytic ozonation process (O 3 /nZVI) in a semi-batch reactor has the highest effect on advancing degradation amongst all (Malik et al. 2019 ). An experiment conducted in southern Tehran succeeded in removing the Methyl Tertio Butyl Ether (MTBE) and benzene from groundwater, using Fenton’s chemical oxidation with stabilized nano zerovalent iron particles (S-NZVI) as a catalyst. The removal efficiency of MTBE and benzene were increased to 90% and 96%, respectively, by reducing the pH of the reaction environment down to 3.2. Acidification of the environment decreased iron consumption as well (Beryani et al. 2017 ).

Nano-bioremediation

One green and cost-effective approach for treating the pollutant soils to reduce their toxicity is applying living organisms (bacteria, fungi, plants, etc.) through a process named: “bioremediation.” Integrating bioremediation with nanoparticles increases the efficiency of the process (Usman et al. 2020 ). The technology of nano-remediation is a sustainable method to reduce the contaminants of the soil by various means (Yue et al. 2021 ; Sajjadi et al. 2021 ; Lian et al. 2021 ). As an example, the reduction of Cr (VI) levels using this technology is known to be worthwhile in many aspects (Azeez et al. 2020 ; He et al. 2020 ). Chemically active nanoparticles can trigger the dechlorination/dehalogenation process in organic pollutants and neutralize them, consequently. Even the toughest pollutants are targeted in this nano-bio-based remediation method. The time needed for the purgation of highly contaminated soils will be minimized by virtue of the mentioned technique (Usman et al. 2020 ). Iron oxide nanoparticles (NP) and Fe 3 O 4 /biochar nanocomposites are vastly exploited in the synthesis of nanoparticles of nano-bioremediation (Patra Shahi et al. 2021 ). It is worth noting that nano zerovalent iron (nZVI) is an effective technology in the case of remediation that has been applied broadly in recent years due to high levels of reactivity for contaminants (Luo et al. 2021 ; Visentin et al. 2020 ; Ken and Sinha 2020 ; Hou et al. 2019 ; Zhu et al. 2019 ).

The bioremediation process can be used in water purification as well. Separating solid components from liquid waste is a necessary stage in the water remediation process. The fresh market waste may contain infectious components, which can seriously harm humans and plants. Hence, it is important to develop methods to collect, separate, and treat these adverse agents. Solid wastes in the wastewater contain high amounts of carbohydrates and proteins, and they provide matrices for the colonization of infectious organisms. Altogether, the presence of solid wastes improves the growth rate of pathogenic organisms. After solid matters got collected, they should be stored and treated immediately. The treatment process must not be delayed because the enriched environment of the solid wastes can easily get corrupted. One way to treat them is through triggering the fermentation and composting processes. Adding effective microorganisms (EM), such as lactic acid/phototropic bacteria and yeast, accelerates the conventional fermentation and composting processes used for the solid waste treatment (Al-Gheethi et al. 2020 ). Costa et al. have sequenced the whole genome of the strain Streptomyces sp. Z38, and detected growth-promoting, heavy metal-eliminating, and anti-microbial features within specific biosynthetic genes. Streptomyces sp. Z38 seems to be a suitable agent for bioremediation due to its ability to decompose heavy metals such as Cr (VI) and Cd (II). Costa et al. have supplemented the bioactive water (BW) extracted from Streptomyces sp. Z38 with AgNO 3 additives and produced silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) that are capable of performing the bioremediation process (Costa et al. 2020 ). There are other effective nanomaterials exploited to reduce many pollutants from soil and wastewater. For instance, utilization of nano-manganese oxide to eliminate ZnII/CoII from water (Mahmoud et al. 2020 ), application of nano-semiconductors on water and their Photocatalytic effectiveness (Oliveira et al. 2021 ), nano-scaled Iron (II) sulfide exploited to reduce hexavalent chromium from soil (Tan et al. 2020 ), production of nanocomposite for eliminating viruses (Al-Attabi et al. 2019 ), and successful application of nano biosurfactants which cause no toxicity for the environment (Debnath et al. 2021 ). Nano-bioremediation as an emergent approach causes some concerns and benefits at the same time. It is possible that nanomaterials exploited in this method would be a threat to the organism populations that exist naturally in water bodies. On the other hand, new living organisms would be introduced through bioremediation. The mentioned two scenarios can potentially put the anthropogenic features of ecosystems in danger (Weijie et al. 2020 ). Concerning this problem, however, scientists are trying to apply new methods to remove nanoparticles from marine ecosystems via other technologies (Ebrahimbabaie et al. 2020 ).

Designing nano-based water purification techniques, to overcome the problem of lack of clean water, across the world

Waterborne diseases that cause almost 10–20 million deaths annually are considered crucial health-related issues. According to the World Health Organization and environmental protection agencies, the pollution level of several water bodies has long crossed the defined limitations. Thus, developing methods for purging water from adverse components is of great concern (Sahu et al. 2021 ). The water purification process profits extremely from nanobiotechnology. Nanoparticles are extremely efficient in eliminating pollutants (e.g., dye components) due to their nano-scaled size and increased surface areas. In the case of dye removal, magnetic nanoparticles have been proved to be proper candidates (Lohrasebi and Koslowski 2019 ). Nanoadsorbents such as silica gel, activated alumina, clays, limestone, chitosan, activated carbon, and zeolite are cost-effective and profitable options for eliminating the contaminating agents during water purification process (Ali et al. 2020 ).

Copper and copper compounds are potent biocides and have been utilized as a disinfectant for centuries due to their anti-microbial properties. It becomes more functional in its nano form and exhibits outstanding synergist, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial effects (Bashir et al. 2021 ).

Copper nanoparticles have the potential of combination with other materials like Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibres and Polyethylene Terephthalate Filters to act more beneficial (Ahire and Neveling 2018 ; Nguyen et al. 2021 ).

Metallic nanomaterials, carbon-based nanomaterials, nanocomposites, and dendrimers are four major types of nanomaterials that can be applied in wastewater purgation (Murshid et al. 2021 ). Graphene-based nano-channels, which are inspired by aquaporin channels, have been utilized as water filters and are expected to enhance the water permeability and the salt rejection rate. It is worth noting that the efficiency of these filters can be affected by various factors. For example, it has been indicated that increasing the charges on the channel will decrease the water flow through the channel but, on the other hand, increase the ion rejection rate (Lohrasebi and Koslowski 2019 ). Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have rendered noticeable results in eliminating the water contaminants, as well (Kutara et al. 2016 ).

The biosafety of water purification via finger-sized unit (FSU) has been certified by cellular and animal tests. In one study, Li et al. loaded 3D printed finger-sized units with prepared wheat straw (WS). To prepare WS for mentioned technique, the carbonized wheat straw (CWS) was adjusted with nano-scaled zinc oxide during an in-situ surface-modification process (CWS/ZnO). The resulted FSU was able to reduce bacteria, organic dyes, and heavy metal ions; therefore, elevating the purification efficiency. Since WS is one of the major agricultural wastes worldwide, applying it in water purification will not only cost very low but will reduce the air pollution which is caused by burning WS in many countries. The WS has a hallow, flexible, and electrical conductor structure. These features make WS a great candidate for enhancing water purification performance (Li et al. 2019 ).

For designing a nano-based filtering membrane, nanoparticles don’t always have to be chemically synthesized or externally applied on the membrane. An emerging study has suggested a top-down approach that uses biomass to provide a functional membrane for the purification of the emulsions. This method can be used massively in cleaning oily waters resulting from industrial or domestic activities. The biomass used in the mentioned technique is wood tissue. The lignin and hemicellulose fractions are removed sectionally, and therefore, a highly porous, flexible, and durable membrane is provided. Since the lignin is removed and there is no hydrophobia left, the resulting wood membrane consists of outstanding water-absorbing and anti-oil properties. The wood-nanotechnology-based membrane shows significant efficiency due to its numerous advantages, including being green, economical, easy to produce, durable, and having selective wettability (Kim et al. 2020 ).

Rezaei et al. have synthesized a flower-shaped ZnO/GO/Fe 3 O 4 ternary nanocomposite through the co-precipitation method, which is considered a rather fast and easy synthesis approach. The mentioned nanocomposite improves the ZnO degradation through a performance with an efficiency that is more than two times greater than the efficiency of the methods using ZnO particles alone. Hence, the ZnO/GO/Fe 3 O 4 ternary nanocomposite seems to be an economical and time-saving approach for wastewater remediation (Rezaei et al. 2021 ).

It is worth noting that the vast uses of nanoparticles in different industrial products increase the risk of the inevitable release of nanoparticles into the environment, and therefore cause some concerns about the potential damages of nanobiotechnology. The urban wastewater seems to be highly exposed to industrial nanoparticles. The high concentrations of nanoparticles in the urban wastewater contaminate the sewage sludge, consequently. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are currently exploited to remove nanoparticles from wastewater and sewage sludge (Wang and Chen 2016 ). Nanoparticles synthesized and utilized in the industry can end up in marine ecosystems. Nanoparticles are developed from various chemical components such as carbon, silver, gold, and copper, which are potentially hazardous to live organisms. Since nanoparticles are extremely small in size, likely, they will easily enter the bodies of aquatic animals. It has been demonstrated that the accumulation of nanoparticles in the animal’s body can cause severe morphological and behavioral deformities. Genetic materials of cells may undergo various changes as well (Gökçe 2021 ).

FeO ion, which is known as Nanoscale zerovalent iron particles (nZVI), is massively used in the synthesis of nanoparticles applied in wastewater nano-based treatments. Bensaida et al. have shown that combining nZVI with another metal (Cu) enhances the growth of the microbial populations in the wastewater treated with this nZVI\Cu bimetallic nanoparticles (Bensaida et al. 2021 ).

Exploiting nanobiotechnology-based methods in food industry

Nanotechnology-based pharmaceuticals were developed primarily, but wide applications of nanoscience in food and agricultural industries have been introduced as well (Sahani and Sharma 2020 ). Utilizing nanoscience in any stage of the food production process-either cultivation, production, post-harvest processing, or packaging—seems to be lucrative. The application of nano-based methods in the food industry has various advantages, but the most arguable of them would be its impact on shelf life augmentation and spoilage prevention (Bhuyan et al. 2019 ). Since Oxygen is known as an important cause of food spoilage in the food industry, scientists have developed the technology of advanced coatings based on nanotechnology to prevent Oxygen from spoiling the product (Rovera et al. 2020 ). Multiple nanoparticles have the potential to deliver nutritional or antimicrobial components into food materials (Bhuyan et al. 2019 ). It has been reported that nanotechnology is a good option to deliver pesticides and nutrients successfully into the soil and improve the strength and tolerance of products in different stressful situations and reduce the probable contaminations (Ali et al. 2021 ). Among different nanoparticles such as silver, titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide, nanoliposomes are found to be small and have a large surface area which makes them more adhesive to biological tissues- therefore more bioavailable in comparison to others. Nanoliposomes are suitable candidates for creating a delivery system during food preparation. Food provided with the help of nanotechnology is called “Nano food” (Bhuyan et al. 2019 ). Nano foods can perform as therapeutic options. It is interesting to mention a recent study that has proposed exploiting nanoemulsions to convey needed nutrients to gastrectomy patients. These types of patients usually suffer from conditions like anorexia, energy deficit, and malnutrition, which can be treated by efficient nutrition delivery provided by nano food (Razavi et al. 2020 ). As mentioned earlier, in the food preparation process, antimicrobial components can be delivered along with nutritional components via a nano-based delivery system. Polyphenols are great examples of substantial antioxidant and antimicrobial agents in the food industry. Nevertheless, polyphenols have some limitations, including instability, low solubility, inefficient bioavailability, and being drastically susceptible to being degraded. There are several factors that reinforce degradation: Oxygen, light, pH, and interactions between polyphenols and other components in food. Polyphenol-loaded nanoparticles relatively overcome the mentioned obstacles due to their capacity to protect phenolic compounds against degrading processes (Milinčić et al. 2019 ). As a renewable and biodegradable source, starch is a useful polymer that has been applied in different fields such as the pharmaceutical and food industries. Nano-size starch is an advanced material with new abilities in the matter of hydrophobicity and stability (Wang and Zhang 2020 ). In the field of the food industry, there are also many other new methods based on nanotechnology, for instance, designing natural proteins as nano-architectures to deliver nutraceuticals (Tang 2021 ), new strategies for packaging food products by exploitation of the knowledge of nano-biotechnology, and nanomaterials (Reshmy et al. 2021 ; Jogee et al. 2021 ; Tiwari et al. 2021 ), utilization of the nano-delivery techniques to overcome the problems of consuming bioactive ingredients (Hosseini et al. 2021 ; Ozogul et al. 2021 ), producing nanoparticles in the shape of powder using the nanospray driers (Jafari et al. 2021 ), detection of food contaminants by nano-Ag combinations (Yao et al. 2021 ), and even the application of nano-engineering in the field of the beverage industry (Saari and Chua 2020 ).

Nano-bio catalysts; an attempt to remove the barriers of enzymatic bioprocesses in the biotechnology industry

Organic enzymes, which are normally found in nature, have large applications in the biotechnology industry. Since organic enzymes are green and eco-friendly, they are usually preferred to commercially synthesized enzymes. Pectinase is considered to be extremely useful for manufacturing purposes. Pectinase application in industrial bioprocesses covers a large range from clarification of juice/ wine and tea/coffee fermentation to wastewater and industrial waste remediation. All enzymes- regardless of being organic or chemically synthesized- consist of limitations that make their usage challenging. Three major disadvantages of enzymes are inefficient recoverability, operational stability, and recyclability (Zhang et al. 2021 ). Functional nanomaterial-based bio-carriers render a proper environment for the enzymatic immobilization process, therefore facilitating recovery and recycling of enzymes and enhancing the efficiency of bioprocesses in the long run. Accordingly, designing nano-based carriers with these features has been attracted great attention. To achieve this aim, Graphene- immobilized nano-bio-catalysts have been proved to be greatly useful due to the Graphene’s characteristics: electrical, optical, thermal, and mechanical high potency (Adeel et al. 2018 ; Zhang et al. 2021 ).

Nanomaterial-based nanocatalysts are useful in optimizing the biodiesel production process. This ability is related to the features of nano-scaled materials, including crystallisability, high adsorption and storage potential, having catalytic activities, and great stability and durability. Various materials can be used to create nanoparticles for this mean; some examples are metal oxide (calcium, magnesium oxide, and strontium oxide), Magnetic material, and Carbon. Carbon-based nanomaterials consist of multiple types, such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, graphene oxide, and biochar.

All examples mentioned above have been proved to be highly effective in increasing the efficiency of the biodiesel synthesizing process and reducing the time and cost required for operating the process without utilizing nanotechnology (Nizami and Rehan 2018 ).

Replacing non-renewable energy sources with renewable ones is a great step in guaranteeing a sustainable future. Various devices, including solar and fuel cells, have been developed for this purpose. Conventional fuel cells are made from metal reactants instead of fossil fuels. They provide an electron circulation, transfer electrons from the substrate to specific electrodes, and eventually produce sustainable energy. The metals used as catalysts in fuel cells (e.g., hydrogen, methane, and methanol) are usually expensive and non-durable. On the other hand, biofuel cells use cost-effective bio-catalysts (e.g., microbes and enzymes) instead of metal catalysts. Despite the mentioned advantages, biofuel cells have one major limitation: the low rate of electron transfer between substrate and electrodes, which is significantly enhanced by supplementing biofuel cells with nanomaterials. Nanomaterials are able to assemble the substrate (e.g., enzymes) with the electrodes. In other words, using them in the structure of electrodes, the electron absorption of electrodes improves- related to the high surface area rate of nanomaterials- therefore, a direct transition of electrons between enzymes and electrodes develops. Silver nanoparticles-Graphene oxide (Ag-GO), Graphite, Carbon-nanotube forest (CNTF), Carbon nanotube (CNT), and Nitrogen-doped hollow nanospheres with large pores (pNHCSs) are the nanomaterials applied in nano- biofuel cells. Respectively, Glucose oxidase (GO x ), Glucose oxidase and Laccase, Fructose dehydrogenase & laccase, Glucose oxidase and laccase, and NADH dehydrogenase form the enzymatic system of each nanomaterial (Sharma et al. 2021 ).

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs); highly advantageous materials

Porous materials are known to be highly advantageous due to their high absorption and surface areas. Zeolites, activated carbons, and silicas are examples of this family, but the most eminent member among them are Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs have features that make them unique for several applications. For example, MOFs show a high absorption rate, which is caused by their high surface areas. Another property of MOFs is their possession of several adjustable microporous channels, which makes it easy to produce different and changeable functional sites through them. The latest feature brings MOFs the shape and size selectivity. By controlling the starting materials and reaction parameters, it is possible to determine the morphology of MOFs (Kinik et al. 2020 ; Jun et al. 2020 ) into various shapes, including granule, pellet, thin-film, gel, foam, paper sheet, monolith, and hollow structures (Kinik et al. 2020 ).

There are two types of MOFs: (1) neutral MOFs and (2) ionic MOFs. Ionic MOFs are able to be used directly in anion purgation processes. For example, one approach for reducing the pollutant anions from the environment is synthesizing a cationic framework along with extra-framework anions. The synthesis of mentioned frameworks occurs by utilizing neutral nitrogen donors. The extra-framework anions will exchange with pollutant anions through an Ion exchange process called: “Anion trapping”.

Anions are extremely abundant in nature. One of the most pollutant and hazardous anions is phosphates. These toxic anions are highly used in pesticides. Other examples of toxic anions, which are considerably frequent in industrial wastes, are the bulky anions. These are the dye molecules exploited in industry. Various diseases like cancers, lung/kidney dysfunction, and brain diseases, including Alzheimer’s, are caused by dangerous anions like those mentioned above. Hence, creating methods that are able to recognize and delete the perilous anions from the environment is one of the most appreciated scientific approaches. MOFs have been proved to be functional for this mean (Desai et al. 2019 ).

Since MOFs have considerable surface areas and modifiable structure—different open metal sites and other functional groups can be introduced into their frameworks—they are suitable options for numerous applications which are generally related to detection and storage. In the case of storage, they exhibit acceptable physical adsorption for CO 2 (one of the major causes of global warming), H 2 (a clean energy source), and Methane (CH 4 ). The ability to adsorb variant components makes MOFs proper for water purification applications. Several toxic and harmful components which are responsible for water contamination, including organic pollutants (like dyes and oils) and heavy metal ions, can be detected, adsorbed, and removed by MOFs. Introducing different chemical groups into MOFs creates different internal interactions, which enable MOFs to detect target molecules functionally. Therefore, they can be used in active centers of catalysts, photocatalysts, and biosensors (Kinik et al. 2020 ).

MOFs-based nanozymes

Nanozymes are classified into two types: (1) natural enzymes that are incorporated with nanomaterials and (2) nanomaterials that exhibit inherent enzymatic features. Exploiting MOFs as nanomaterials in nanozyme structures will produce an emergent form of nanozymes, called: “MOF-based nanozymes”; which have multiple advantages over conventional forms. MOFs provide more catalytic sites, simplify the entrance of small substrate molecules -due to their porous structure-, enhance the substrate exclusivity, and altogether improve the catalytic function of enzymes. MOF-based nanozymes are effective in designing biosensors, biocatalysis, and biomedical imaging techniques. A recent promising application of them is in cancer therapy which reduces side effects significantly (Ding et al. 2020 ).

Agricultural usages of nanobiotechnology

Applying nanobiotechnology in agriculture to improve the agricultural production rate has been of great importance recently. Achieving this purpose will solve several problems related to the universal hunger dilemma. Several nanofertilizers, nano pesticides, and nano-bio sensors have been created, which are able to increase crop value and decrease crop loss caused by agricultural pests (Usman et al. 2020 ). Conventional chemical pesticides and fertilizers can be deteriorative for soil composition and fertility. This happens because chemical residues can target many molecules other than the ones that have been defined as their main targets (Chhipa 2019 ). Besides, pesticides can have ruinous impacts on the microorganisms that naturally exist in the environment and are required for the crop’s growth (Nehra et al. 2021 ). Utilizing nanoparticles can considerably reduce such unwanted events due to the high exclusivity of these particles. Silver, zinc, iron, titanium, phosphorus, molybdenum, and polymer are suitable materials to be used in the structure of agricultural nanoparticles (Chhipa 2019 ). Nanoparticles containing nutrients, fertilizers, and pesticides, can be sprayed externally to the plant. The folium will adsorb the nanoparticles and send them to the soil (Chugh et al. 2021 ).

Another application of nanobiotechnology in diminishing the damages of some traditional pesticides is designing nano-bio sensors that can efficiently detect toxic pesticides. Dichlorvos is one of these toxic pesticides that accumulate in the air, soil, water, and crops; and therefore causes neural, genetical, respirational, and muscular disorders. Dichlorvos-sensitive Nano-biosensors comprise immobilized enzymes embedded in nanomaterials. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE), tyrosinase enzymes, and some others are options for the enzymatic part of the nanodevice. For the nano- matrix section, both organic (carbon, graphene, chitosan, and onion membrane) and inorganic (silver, gold, silica, and Titania) options are available (Mishra et al. 2021 ). Nanomaterials can enhance the remediation process of contaminated soils through distinct abiotic and biotic directions, including the nano-bioremediation process (Usman et al. 2020 ).

Other than improving the functions of existed plants, the possibility of introducing engineered plants with better performances has been discussed recently. The term “plant nano bionics” refers to a pioneering idea of involving nanoparticles in living plants to make their intrinsic functions adjustable. The landscape of this idea is designing engineered artificial photosynthetic systems, enhancing the growth rate of this new type of plant, and many other novel applications which are expected to grow extremely in the years ahead (Marchiol 2018 ).

It is necessary to mention that inorganic nanoparticles that may be found in consumer products, may alter the gut composition and could lead to various gut-related diseases. Thus, there have to be some limitations in nanoparticle agricultural usages (Gangadoo et al. 2021 ; Ghebretatios et al. 2021 ).

Using nanoparticles in cosmetic products

Nowadays, due to special and distinctive physicochemical characteristics, nanomaterials are being vastly used in different industries. Recent studies are focused on applying nano-based technologies to improve the quality of cosmetic products. Nanostructures are about to deliver active ingredients to the skin. For this reason, it is more suitable to use lipid particles that are better adaptable to dermal absorption. The high stability of the combination of nanomaterials and lipid particles with cosmetic components indicates high efficiency. However, the probable risks of this method should not be ignored (Benrabah et al. 2020 ; Khezri et al. 2018 ). Producing nanoparticles using plants (Phyto-metal nano-based particles) is another advantageous method to decrease the toxicity of nanomaterials and their hazardous effects on the body. For this reason, this material is suitable for dermal uses and cosmetic applications (Paiva-Santos et al. 2021 ). Chitosan nanoparticles with better penetrability (Ta et al. 2021 ; Sakulwech et al. 2018 ), Gold and silver nanoparticles with a higher ability to reduce microbial contaminants (Séby 2021 ), Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles deposited with yttrium oxide (Y 2 O 3 ) with better attenuation of ultraviolet radiation and less cytotoxicity (Borrás et al. 2020 ), nanoparticles with high uptake of oily components (de Azevedo Stavale et al. 2019 ) are other examples of the efficient application of nanotechnology in the field of cosmetic products.

Since nanoparticles are small in size, they exhibit perfect penetrability through the skin. Hence, using nanoparticles in cosmetic productions improves the supplementation of skin, hair, or teeth with active cosmetic ingredients (APIs). It is important to note that utilizing nanoparticles for several applications, as an emerging field of science, causes various concerns about being toxic or harmful for the body or the environment. The cosmetic industry’s products are commonly designed for skin, hair, nail, teeth, and therefore, are directly related to the health of the human body. Thus, it is reasonable to assume that there are even more concerns about using nanoparticles in this industry compared to others (Santos et al. 2019 ).

In addition to these cases, nanotechnology can be useful for the detection of harmful components in cosmetic ingredients. Therefore the application of methods like covered iron oxide nanoparticles with silver for detection of mercury contamination in cosmetics (Chen et al. 2021a , b ), Quantitative assessment of the Triamcinolone acetonide (TCA) (which is a hazardous component in high doses) using nanoparticles with luminescence property (Zhang et al. 2019a ), And detection of harmful N-nitrosamines with the utilization of magnetic nanoparticles (Miralles et al. 2019 ) are worth mentioning.

Oil industry benefits from multiple types of nanomaterials

Nanomaterials can play a major role in the advancement of the oil industry. Almost every form of nanomaterial—discussed in previous sections—has been exhibited to have numerous applications in the oil industry. Nanomaterial can be effectively exploited in various processes of this industry, including oil exploration/production and recovering the oilfield. Nanofluids (synthesized from nanomaterials) optimize the oil production process. Nanocatalysts have applications in petrochemical processes along with operating an efficient oil purgation function. Several applications of this technology are mentioned below.

There are nanomembranes designed to provide a proper matrix for separating water and oil from gas. They eventually purify the gas and delete redundant components from wastewater (Saleh 2018 ). Metal workings such as machining and stamping industry require some types of lubricants and coolants, which are mostly oil products. There has been produced an oil-based cutting fluid made up of Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles to decrease the friction force between the object and snipping tool (Subhedar et al. 2021 ). Encapsulation of extracted essential oil from hyssop in a nano-complex improves the antioxidant and antifungal efficiency of the oil (Hadidi et al. 2021 ). The application of nano-silica in the procedure of oil cementing enhances the resistance of the cement (Goyal et al. 2021 ; Thakkar et al. 2020 ). In the process of oil recovery, there is a high energy loss that imposes damages to the injection system and lowers the heat level. To keep the rate of temperature in a higher range and decrease the energy loss, scientists have applied nano-thermal insulators that are more economical (Afra et al. 2021 ; Zhao et al. 2021 ; Zhou et al. 2020 ). Gas and oil products can be cleaned from H 2 S by applying nanomaterials (Agarwal and Sudharsan 2021 ). Utilizing starch nano coatings (Wang et al. 2021 ), Lignin and nano-silica (Gong et al. 2021 ), Lotus leaf coated with nano-SiO 2 (Yang et al. 2021 ), and nano zeolite membrane are new methods for the separation of oil and water due to their high hydrophobic property (Anis et al. 2021 ). Nanotechnology can be used to improve the quality of engine oil, which results in the better stability and lubricity power as well as a reduced rate of released carbon mono oxide (Tonk 2021 ; Saidi et al. 2021 ; Thirugnanam et al. 2021 ; Ardebili et al. 2020 ). Advanced nanoemulsions show high stability and benefits for the oil industry due to the larger surface and the ability to wet (Kumar et al. 2021 ). Encapsulation of essential oils in nanostructures indicates a better performance as a pesticide due to better maintenance of the oil (Campolo et al. 2020 ). Producing an oil-in-water emulsion by applying protein nanoparticles can protect unstable and active ingredients and benefit the medicine and food industry (Xu et al. 2020 ).

Combining diverse fields of science in a manner that they overcome each other’s deficiencies indicates promising results. Within the last decades, biotechnology has made a lot of progress. Merging nanotechnology with biotechnological methods enables scientists to design less time taking, more economical, and more efficient techniques. This Nano-biotechnological approach influences multiple therapeutic, agricultural, environmental, and industrial methods. For instance, the effectiveness of the emergent crisper/cas9 systems increases noticeably by applying the nano-scaled additives at the process.

In this review, we investigated the current advancements and limitations of biotechnology, along with the nano-based alternatives rendered by nanotechnology. It seems highly probable that biotechnology will accomplish even more improvements in the future, and its incorporation with nanotechnology gets humankind one step closer to a sustainable future. Besides, the nano-based techniques are less costly compared to the conventional ones. Thus, with nano-biotechnology promoting, a revolution in the economic situation of the world is not implausible.

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Shahcheraghi, N., Golchin, H., Sadri, Z. et al. Nano-biotechnology, an applicable approach for sustainable future. 3 Biotech 12 , 65 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-021-03108-9

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Nanotechnology Research: Applications in Nutritional Sciences 1 , 2

Pothur r. srinivas.

3 Atherothrombosis and Coronary Artery Diseases Branch, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 4 Division of Nutrition Research Coordination, 5 Office of Science Policy Analysis, Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director, 6 Office of Dietary Supplements, Office of the Director, and; 7 Nutritional Science Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892; 8 University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; 9 Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, OR 97239; 10 Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901; 11 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Urbana, IL 61801; 12 National Institute for Food and Agriculture, USDA, Washington, DC 20024; 13 Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Fort Detrick, MD 21702; and 14 Jean Mayer Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111

Martin Philbert

Tania q. vu, qingrong huang, josef l. kokini, hongda chen, charles m. peterson, karl e. friedl, crystal mcdade-ngutter, van hubbard, pamela starke-reed, nancy miller, joseph m. betz, johanna dwyer, john milner, sharon a. ross.

The tantalizing potential of nanotechnology is to fabricate and combine nanoscale approaches and building blocks to make useful tools and, ultimately, interventions for medical science, including nutritional science, at the scale of ∼1–100 nm. In the past few years, tools and techniques that facilitate studies and interventions in the nanoscale range have become widely available and have drawn widespread attention. Recently, investigators in the food and nutrition sciences have been applying the tools of nanotechnology in their research. The Experimental Biology 2009 symposium entitled “Nanotechnology Research: Applications in Nutritional Sciences” was organized to highlight emerging applications of nanotechnology to the food and nutrition sciences, as well as to suggest ways for further integration of these emerging technologies into nutrition research. Speakers focused on topics that included the problems and possibilities of introducing nanoparticles in clinical or nutrition settings, nanotechnology applications for increasing bioavailability of bioactive food components in new food products, nanotechnology opportunities in food science, as well as emerging safety and regulatory issues in this area, and the basic research applications such as the use of quantum dots to visualize cellular processes and protein-protein interactions. The session highlighted several emerging areas of potential utility in nutrition research. Nutrition scientists are encouraged to leverage ongoing efforts in nanomedicine through collaborations. These efforts could facilitate exploration of previously inaccessible cellular compartments and intracellular pathways and thus uncover strategies for new prevention and therapeutic modalities.

Introduction

“Nanotechnology” is the creation of functional materials, devices, and systems through the manipulation of matter at a length scale of ∼1–100 nm. At such a scale, novel properties and functions occur because of size ( 1 ). This emerging field is becoming important in enabling breakthroughs of new and effective tools in the medical sciences (e.g. nanomedicine), because it offers the possibility of examining biological processes in ways that were not previously possible. The medical use of nanotechnology includes the development of nanoparticles for diagnostic and screening purposes (i.e. early detection of cancer), development of artificial cellular proteins such as receptors, DNA and protein sequencing using nanopores and nanosprays, the manufacture of unique drug (and nutrient) delivery systems, as well as gene therapy and tissue engineering applications ( 2 ). Nanotechnology offers a range of tools capable of monitoring individual cells at the level of individual molecules. It enables researchers to investigate and monitor cellular and molecular function and to alter systems that are deregulated in disease. It is conceivable that nanomachines with the ability to circulate through the bloodstream, kill microbes, supply oxygen to hypoxic organs, or undo tissue damage could one day be delivered to the human body through medicines or even foods. There are challenges with the emergence of nanomedicine that include issues related to toxicity and the environmental impact of nanoscale materials. The social, ethical, legal, and cultural implications of nanotechnology must also be considered.

In nutrition research, nanotechnology applications may assist with obtaining accurate spatial information about the location of a nutrient or bioactive food component in a tissue, cell, or cellular component. Ultrasensitive detection of nutrients and metabolites, as well as increasing an understanding of nutrient and biomolecular interactions in specific tissues, has become possible. In theory, such new technologies have the potential to improve nutritional assessment and measures of bioavailability. They may help to identify and characterize molecular targets of nutrient activity and biomarkers of effect, exposure, and susceptibility and therefore may also inform “personalized” nutrition. Specific applications of nanotechnology to date in food and nutrition include: modifying taste, color, and texture of foods; detection of food pathogens and spoilage microorganisms; enhancing nutrition quality of foods; and novel vehicles for nutrient delivery, as well as serving as a tool to enable further elucidation of nutrient metabolism and physiology ( 3 – 5 ). For example, one food technology application involves creating coatings for foods and food packaging that serve as barriers to bacteria or that contain additional nutrients ( 6 ).

Nutritional products claiming to use nanotechnology are currently available in the market. It is important to recognize that the potential toxicity of nutrients can be affected by a change in particle size [see ( 7 ) for current updates]. Furthermore, little is known about the absorption and excretion of nanoparticles by experimental animals or in humans. Thus, there are challenges with the application of nanoscale compared with microscale materials. These include higher exposure per unit mass; small size:large surface area ratio; different routes of exposure due to smaller size (i.e. dermal penetration); different distribution to tissues by virtue of their different size or surface coating, chemistry, or particle charge; and novel properties of a nanoscale material that may alter absorption, digestion, metabolism, or excretion in the body.

To highlight nanotechnology applications and challenges for nutrition research and to encourage collaboration between various disciplines with the aim of advancing food and nutrition research, a symposium was convened at Experimental Biology 2009 on the topic “Nanotechnology Research: Applications in Nutritional Sciences.” This session presented various nanotechnology approaches for use in food and nutrition research. It also identified several safety/regulatory issues in nanotechnology, foods, and health. Experts focused on topics that included “Nanotechnology approaches for medical and nutrition research,” presented by Martin A. Philbert, University of Michigan School of Public Health. He provided an overview to set the stage about the application of nanotechnology in research, particularly focusing on how nanotechnology will be used to guide new prevention and therapeutic strategies for nutrition scientists. “Quantum dot technologies for visualizing live cell dynamic signaling and ultra-sensitive protein detection” was presented by Tania Q. Vu, Oregon Health and Sciences University. She discussed the use of quantum dots (QD) 15 to visualize cellular processes. The 3rd presentation, focused on nanotechnology applications for increasing bioavailability of bioactive food components in new food products, was presented by Dr. Qingrong Huang, Rutgers University (entitled “Bioavailability and delivery of dietary factors using nanotechnology”). “Food, nutrition and nanotechnology research: challenges and promises” was presented by Jozef Kokini, University of Illinois. He provided a compendium of nanotechnology opportunities for food science as well as safety and regulatory issues. A panel comprised of individuals from various federal agencies discussed and emphasized research opportunities and challenges in nanotechnology, foods, and health. The sections that follow provide a synopsis of each of these topics as well as recommendations for future applications of nanotechnology research in the nutritional sciences.

Nanotechnology approaches for medical and nutrition research

Dr. Martin Philbert discussed the challenges and opportunities of nanotechnology applications in clinical and nutrition settings. The very properties of nanostructured materials that make them so attractive could potentially lead to unforeseen health or environmental hazards ( 8 ). Some of these properties include high aspect ratio, bio-persistence, reactive surfaces and points that are capable of producing reactive oxygen species, composition and solubility. Coating the nanoparticle with biocompatible materials, however, has been shown to significantly reduce toxicity in some applications. Dr. Philbert also encouraged the design of products and processes in nanotechnology that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. The translation of much of the current research in nanotechnology into clinical practice will rely on solving challenges that relate to the toxicity of nanoparticles.

Examples from this presentation highlight both the promises/possibilities and problems of nanomedicine. Probes encapsulated by biologically localized embedding (PEBBLE) 15 are sub-micron optical sensors that have been designed for minimally invasive analyte monitoring in viable, single cells ( 8 ). PEBBLE nanosensors are composed of matrices of cross-linked polyacrylamide, cross-linked poly(decyl methacrylate), or sol-gel silica, which have been fabricated as sensors for H + , Ca 2+ , K + , Na + , Mg 2+ , Zn 2+ , Cu 2+ , Cl − , and some nonionic species ( 9 ). A number of techniques have been used to deliver PEBBLE nanosensors into mouse oocytes, rat alveolar macrophages, rat C6-glioma, and human neuroblastoma cells ( 9 ). Using gene gun injection as a delivery method, a sol gel-based PEBBLE nanosensor for reliable, real-time measurement of subcellular molecular oxygen was inserted into rat C6 glioma cells. The cells responded to differing oxygen concentrations and provided real-time intracellular oxygen analysis. The PEBBLE contained an oxygen-sensitive fluorescent indicator, Ru(II)-Tris(4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) chloride ([Ru(dpp) 3 ] 2+ ), and an oxygen-insensitive fluorescent dye, Oregon Green 488-dextran, as a reference for the purpose of ratiometric intensity measurements ( 10 ). The small size and inert matrix of these sensors allow them to be inserted into living cells with minimal physical and chemical perturbations to their biological functions. Compared with using free dyes for intracellular measurements, the PEBBLE matrix protects the fluorescent dyes from interference by proteins in cells, enabling reliable in vivo chemical analysis. The matrix significantly reduces the toxicity of the indicator and reference dyes to the cells so that a wide variety of dyes can be used in optimal fashion. Hence, the sol gel-based PEBBLE sensors are extremely useful for real-time intracellular measurements such as oxygen levels. It is conceivable that PEBBLE technology can be utilized to monitor nutrient metabolism, the effects of reactive oxygen species generation, and ion distributions.

A nanoimaging example highlights the current challenge of brain tumor surgery to achieve complete resection without damaging normal structures near the tumor. Achieving maximal resection currently relies on the neurosurgeon's ability to judge the presence of residual tumor during surgery ( 11 ). The use of fluorescent and visible dyes has been proposed as a means of visualizing tumor margins intraoperatively. Such investigations have been hampered by difficulties in achieving tumor specificity, achieving adequate visual contrast, and identifying a dye useful for a wide range of tumors. Dye-loaded nanoparticles may be able to meet these challenges ( 11 ). Nanoparticle-based magnetic resonance contrast agents have been demonstrated to be useful to visualize portions of tumor in the brain that would be unclear with conventional imaging techniques. Nanoparticle-based contrast agents with a core of iron oxide crystals with or without a shell of organic material, such as polyethylene glycol, have been designed for such purposes ( 11 ).

Challenges related to nanoparticle clearance and toxicity need to be overcome before nanoparticles can be used clinically. Also, a greater understanding of the relationship between toxicity and particle size, geometry, pharmacokinetics, and surface coating is required before nanoparticles should be used in clinical practice.

QD technologies for visualizing live cell dynamic signaling and ultra-sensitive protein detection

Dr. Tania Vu demonstrated how nanotechnology can offer new capabilities that allow investigators to probe the function of key molecules using multiple modalities at the scale of single molecules in live cells. QD allow investigators to examine activities that cannot normally be resolved under a microscope with conventional dyes and florescent labels. When excited by laser light, the QD nano crystals emit photons and shine more brightly and longer in duration than any conventional label. Dr. Vu presented 2 main QD-based technologies that her laboratory has developed to investigate cellular function: 1 ) QD imaging probes for imaging protein trafficking and endocytic events in live cells; and 2 ) ultrasensitive QD assays for studying protein expression and specific protein-protein interactions in limited cell samples. Dr. Vu described tracking a protein within rat cells that regulates the growth of nerve tissue with the use the peptide ligand β nerve growth factor (NGF) conjugated to QD surfaces ( 12 ). The βNGF-QD were found to retain bioactivity, activate tyrosine kinase A (TrkA) receptors, and initiated downstream cellular signaling cascades to promote neuronal differentiation in PC12 cells. This example of receptor-initiated activity of QD-immobilized ligands has wide-ranging implications for the development of molecular tools and therapeutics targeted at understanding and regulating cell function. It is possible that QD may soon be used to visualize drugs or nutrients as they move in cells and cellular compartments in living systems.

QD hybrid gel blotting, which allows the purification and analysis of the action of QD bioconjugate-protein complexes in live cells, was also discussed. This is an alternative approach to PAGE-based Western blotting and immunoprecipitation ( 13 ). Interestingly, the protein interactions that are identified can also be correlated with spatial location in cells. Dr. Vu initially employed this technique to investigate the association of ligand NGF with the TrkA receptor in PC12 cells ( 14 ). It was found that NGF-QD could be retrieved and separated from a mixture of cellular lysate, NGF-QD were colocalized with an anti-TrkA receptor antibody, indicating TrkA −NGF-QD ligation, and discrete NGF-QD were bound to TrkA receptor puncta on the cell membrane surface. This novel nano-based technique has several advantages as a method for: 1 ) identifying specific QD-protein interactions in cells; 2 ) correlating QD-protein interactions with their spatial location in live cells; 3 ) studying the size and composition of QD bioconjugate probes/complexes; and 4 ) directly isolating and visualizing proteins from complex mixtures, offering an improvement over traditional bead-based immunoprecipitation methods ( 13 ).

These QD-based technologies offer investigators a means to probe specific inter-molecular interactions with significantly improved sensitivity and to relate these interactions with high-resolution in real time in live cells at the scale of single molecules. Nutrition researchers can adopt these QD-based technologies to examine questions of interest in nutrient metabolism and physiology.

Bioavailability and delivery of dietary factors using nanotechnology

Dr. Qingrong Huang described how the disease prevention properties of dietary supplements such as polyphenols have attracted much attention in recent years. Their biological effects include antioxidative, anticancer, and other properties that may prevent chronic disease as suggested by evidence from in vitro, animal, and human studies. Sales of the dietary supplements are high and growing annually. Thus, the development of high quality, stable dietary supplements with good bioavailability could become important. Although the use of dietary supplements in capsules and tablets is abundant, their effect is frequently diminished or even lost, because many of these compounds present solubility challenges. The major challenges of dietary polyphenols include their poor water solubility and oral bioavailability. Thus, novel delivery systems are needed to address these problems.

Dr. Huang presented a series of experiments integrating food processing, formulation, and in vivo/in vitro test development for the design of novel polyphenol nanocapsules, specifically for the water insoluble compounds curcumin, extracted from the turmeric plant ( Curcuma longa ), and dibenzoylmethane, a β -diketone analogue of curcumin. For example, high-speed and high-pressure homogenized oil-in-water emulsions using medium-chain triacylglycerols as oil and Tween 20 as emulsifier, were successfully prepared to encapsulate curcumin ( 15 ). These curcumin nanoemulsions were evaluated for antiinflammatory activity using a mouse ear inflammation model. An enhanced antiinflammatory activity was demonstrated (43 and 85% inhibition effect of 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced edema of mouse ear for 618.6 and 79.5 nm 1% curcumin oil-in-water emulsions, respectively), but a negligible effect was found for 1% curcumin in 10% Tween 20 water solution ( 15 ). Dr. Huang highlighted other recent in vivo biological and pharmacological experiments, which included a skin carcinogenesis model, measures of a series of proinflammatory biomarkers, and products that have demonstrated greatly improved antiinflammation activity and oral bioavailability of nanoencapsulated curcumin and dibenzoylmethane.

A wide variety of encapsulation platforms, including nanostructured emulsions, water-in-oil-in-water or oil-in-water-in-oil double emulsions, solid lipid or biopolymer-based nanoparticles, and direct conjugation of phytochemicals to biopolymer side chains have been developed to encapsulate food constituents for enhanced delivery and bioavailability ( 6 , 16 ). With the aid of nanoencapsulation, in vivo absorption and circulation of bioactive food components appear to increase, which should assist in achieving the desired concentration and biological activity of these compounds. Although an increase in nutrient intake from an enhanced food supply may be beneficial, food and nutrition professionals may need to monitor overconsumption and potential signs of toxicity more closely. Additionally, micronutrient imbalances may become more prevalent and drug-nutrient interactions will also require careful observation ( 5 ). Thus, a greater understanding of the metabolic consequences of nutrients in novel food systems are required as nanotechnology applications expand in the food sciences.

Food, nutrition, and nanotechnology research: challenges and promises

Dr. Josef Kokini described the opportunities for nanotechnology applications to foods and agriculture, including nanomaterials in food packaging, food protein-based nanotubes to bind vitamins or enzymes, and rapid sampling of biological and chemical contaminants using nanocantilevers as detection tools for water and food safety. Nanotechnology has the potential to transform the entire food industry by changing the way food is produced, processed, packaged, transported, and consumed. Applications in food packaging are very promising, because they can improve the safety and quality of food products ( 17 ). The use of bionanocomposites for food packaging not only has the potential to protect the food and increase its shelf life but can also be considered more environmentally friendly, because such composites would reduce the requirement to use plastics as packaging materials, thus decreasing environmental pollution in addition to consuming less fossil fuel for their production ( 17 ). Zein, a prolamin and the major protein found in corn, has been an important material in science and industry because of its distinctive properties and molecular structure. Novel approaches are expected to yield new applications for zein in the foods and biodegradable plastics industry. After solvent treatment, zein can form a tubular structure meshwork that is inert and resistant to microbes ( 17 ). Zein nanoparticles have been synthesized and examined as edible carriers of flavor compounds, for nanoencapsulation of dietary supplements, as well as to improve the strength of plastic and bioactive food packaging. Importantly, controlling the uniformity and organization of zein films at the nanolevel is critical for its mechanical and tensile properties. Dr. Kokini et al. ( 18 ) tested different solvents and found that zein films that were generated in acetic acid were smoother and structurally more homogeneous than those produced using ethanol. Other investigators are examining the use of silicates to strengthen zein films.

Novel nanosensors are being tested to detect food pathogens. Array techniques with thousands of nanoparticles on a platform have been designed to fluoresce in different colors on contact with food pathogens. Furthermore, intelligent packaging with nanosensors is being considered that has the ability to react to the environment and perhaps interact with the food product with specific applications. One application might be to detect food spoilage.

The challenges for the application of nanotechnology in food and food science were also described. Because of their increased surface area, nanomaterials might have toxic effects in the body that are not apparent in bulk materials. Extensive use of nanoparticles in foods as additives is less likely in the near future because of possible safety concerns. Although nanomaterials from food packaging would not ordinarily be ingested or inhaled, the potential exists for unforeseen risk, such as release of airborne nanoparticles that might aggravate lung function or inadvertent consumption due to leakage of packaging materials into foods. The U.S. FDA requires that manufacturers demonstrate that food ingredients and food products are not harmful to health, but specific regulations about nanoparticles do not exist. Although there is a lack of regulation and knowledge of risk, still there are a number of food and nutrition products that claim to contain nanoscale additives, including iron in nutritional drink mixes, micelles that carry vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals in oil, and zinc oxide in breakfast cereals ( 17 , 19 ). Although more research is needed on the health consequences of nanoparticles, it is unclear what the full range of concerns are, because measurement of exposure to nanomaterials is neither well developed nor characterized. Therefore, an emerging challenge to benefiting from nanotechnology is having the foresight to develop and use it wisely. To this end, governmental agencies (via the National Nanotechnology Initiative) are working together to proactively research and evaluate the benefits and harms of nanotechnology.

Research opportunities and challenges in nanotechnology, foods, and health

A panel discussion entitled “Research Opportunities and Challenges in Nanotechnology, Foods and Health” followed the presentations and included federal government representatives from the Division of Nutrition Research Coordination, NIH (Dr. Crystal McDade-Ngutter), Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (Dr. Charles Peterson), and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA; formerly Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service), USDA (Dr. Etta Saltos). Each panelist provided information about research opportunities in nanotechnology from their agencies that would be of interest to nutrition scientists as well as a perspective on the challenges of nanotechnology, foods, and health. The NIH has supported many initiatives on the topic of nanotechnology, such as the NIH Nanomedicine Roadmap Initiative ( 20 ) and the NCI Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer ( 21 ), but none that have been specifically targeted for nutrition research. More opportunities for nutrition scientists to interact and collaborate with nanotechnology experts were emphasized as a way forward for such NIH applications. Similarly, Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command supports a Nanotechnology and Biomaterials Portfolio that is focused on identifying novel developments in materials science and biomaterials that can improve drugs and devices for diagnosis and therapy of a broad range of medical conditions ( 22 ). NIFA, USDA in collaboration with food and agricultural scientists from land grant universities and the National Nanotechnology Initiative agencies developed the first strategic roadmap titled “Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems” ( 23 ). The resulting NIFA, USDA initiative “Nanoscale Science and Engineering for Agriculture and Food Systems” has been offered every other year with next cycle of new applications to be announced in fiscal year 2010 ( 24 ). The goal of this program is to provide knowledge, expertise, and highly qualified research and development in nanotechnology for food and agricultural systems. Examples of 2008 priorities included novel nanoscale processes, materials and systems with improved delivery efficacy, controlled release, modification of sensory attributes, and protection of micronutrients and functional ingredients suitable for food matrices as well as the assessment and analysis of perceptions and acceptance of nanotechnology and nano-based products by the general public, agriculture, and food stakeholders using appropriate social science tools.

During the discussion, several research areas in the nutritional sciences that would benefit from nanotechnology applications were highlighted (summarized in Table 1 ). Nutrition scientists may wish to leverage ongoing efforts and collaborate with experts in nanotechnology so that novel approaches can be developed to tackle many of these research questions. The panel discussion provided insight into the research opportunities and challenges concerning applications for nanotechnology so that nutrition and food scientists can be more informed and productive in their research endeavors.

Examples of research areas in nutrition with nanotech enhancement potential

Recent advances in biomedical and agricultural technology will likely assist in advancing our understanding of health and disease processes. The symposium “Nanotechnology Research: Applications in Nutritional Sciences” highlighted new and emerging technologies that are currently, or soon to be, available for nutritional sciences. Examples discussed included: 1 ) nanoscale optical sensors, such as PEBBLE, for intracellular chemical sensing; 2 ) QD technologies to visualize and quantify cellular protein interactions; 3 ) nanoencapsulation of bioactive food components to improve their bioavailability; and 4 ) intelligent food packaging that acts as a biosensor to monitor and detect spoilage or infection ( Fig. 1 ).

Examples of nanotechnology applications and their associated discipline highlighted during the symposium.

Nutrition and food science research areas that might benefit from applying or understanding nanotechnology include research that aims to: 1 ) identify sites of action (molecular targets) for bioactive food components; 2 ) characterize biomarkers that reflect exposure, response, and susceptibility to foods and their components; 3 ) identify new target delivery systems for optimizing health; and 4 ) improve food composition. Because there is little information about the potential health risks of nanoparticles, more research on the toxicology of nanoparticles, both on a case-by-case basis and for general applicability, is also warranted. Nanotechnology has the potential to advance the science of nutrition by assisting in the discovery, development, and delivery of several intervention strategies to improve health and reduce the risk and complications of several diseases. This symposium was designed to enhance knowledge and understanding about technologies that may be utilized or are currently being employed and or/modified for nutrition and food science research. It is hoped that by highlighting these technologies the potential benefit of nanomaterials to revolutionize food and nutrition research is recognized.

Acknowledgments

P.R.S. and S.A.R. wrote the paper and had primary responsibility for final content; M.P., T.Q.V., Q.H., J.L.K., E.S., H.C., C.M.P., K.E.F., C.M-N., V.H., P.S-R., N.M., J.M.B., J.D., and J.M. provided essential materials and information for the creation and revisions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

1 Published as a supplement to The Journal of Nutrition . Presented as part of the symposium entitled “Nanotechnology Research: Applications in Nutritional Sciences” given at the Experimental Biology 2009 meeting, April 21, 2009, in New Orleans, LA. This symposium was sponsored the Division of Nutrition Research Coordination, NIH; the Nutritional Science Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, NIH; the Office of Science Policy, Office of the Director, NIH; Office of Dietary Supplements, Office of the Director, NIH; the Atherothrombosis and Coronary Artery Diseases Branch, Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH; and the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. This symposium was supported by the Division of Nutrition Research Coordination, NIH; the Nutritional Science Research Group, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, NIH; and the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command. The symposium was chaired by Pothur R. Srinivas and Sharon A. Ross. Guest Editor for this symposium publication was Sharon M. Nickols-Richardson. Guest Editor disclosure: Sharon M. Nickols-Richardson had no conflicts to disclose.

2 Author disclosures: P. R. Srinivas, M. Philbert, T. Q. Vu, Q. Huang, J. L. Kokini, E. Saos, H. Chen, C. M. Peterson, K. E. Friedl, C. McDade-Ngutter, V. Hubbard, P. Starke-Reed, N. Miller, J. M. Betz, J. Dwyer, J. Milner, and S. A. Ross, no conflicts of interest.

15 Abbreviations used: NGF, nerve growth factor; NIFA, National Institute for Food and Agriculture; PEBBLE, probes encapsulated by biologically localized embedding; QD, quantum dot; TrkA, tyrosine kinase A.

Student Guide

Master's Programme in Electronics and Nanotechnology

Programme main page, agree on the topic with a professor.

• Register to ELEC-E0210 Master's thesis process

Apply for Master’s thesis topic approval

Write the master’s thesis, give a seminar presentation, maturity essay, apply for the approval of your master’s thesis, where i can find topic for my master's thesis.

Master's thesis topic is agreed with a professor from the subject field of your major. There are three primary sources for finding a topic:

• topics offered by research groups as a part of ongoing research projects (announced on department websites, during courses, etc.)
• individual topics offered by professors (announced on professor's websites or agreed individually)
• topics offered by companies, the public sector, etc.

There is no general list of available topics, in all cases, you should contact the corresponding professor directly yourself. If you do not find a funded thesis position, you may always do your thesis in one of the university's research groups without funding. All supervisors are obliged to offer you a topic. You can also suggest a topic based on your own interest. Descriptions of possible thesis topic areas by professors in each programme:

Electronics and Nanotechnology Automation and Electrical Engineering Computer, Communication and Information Sciences

Master's thesis supervisor and advisor

The supervisor of the thesis must be a professor or a university lecturer working in Aalto University. You must also have one or two advisors for your thesis. A Master's thesis advisor must have completed at least a Master's degree.

The Supervisor’s responsibility is to provide guidance on the scientific validity and format of the thesis and the thesis as a whole.

Advisor's role is to take care of daily guidance and support the student in the planning and execution of the experimental part of the thesis as well as in the writing process. The supervisor of the thesis can also work as the advisor.

At the beginning of the thesis process, the supervisor and the student (and possibly advisor(s)) should organize an initial master's thesis meeting. Initial master's thesis meeting template below.

Register to ELEC-E0210 Master's thesis process (if applicable)

If ELEC-E0210 is part of your major's compulsory courses, remember to register for the course. The course is compulsory in many programmes in ELEC and students from programmes where it is not compulsory can also attend. Register for the course as soon as you have agreed on the topic with your supervisor. The course supports you in the initial stages of your thesis. Register in Sisu and then proceed to the further steps according to the instructions on the course's MyCourses page.

Apply for approval of the thesis topic as soon as you start the thesis process. For the topic application it is sufficient that you have agreed on the topic in a broad sense, i.e. the field of the thesis. The final title of the thesis emerges during the thesis work, and it has to be within the field of the original topic application. The thesis topic is officially approved by the Degree Programme Committee. Committee also approves the language of the thesis as well as the thesis supervisor and advisor(s). See application deadlines at the end of the page.

How to apply for Master’s thesis topic approval

Topic is applied electronically in eAge system ( enter application form ). With the application you must attach a confirmation about the topic from your supervisor (for example a screenshot of an e-mail discussion or a separate document).

You can apply for thesis topic approval when:

• you have completed your Bachelor's degree (graduation date passed)
• you have an approved personal study plan for the Master's degree

The thesis topic and the completed thesis cannot be approved in the same committee meeting. The Master’s thesis topic is valid for one year from the date of approval. However, the target time for completing the thesis is six months. Time used for completing the thesis affects the thesis evaluation. Note, that this time period is not calculated from the approval date of the topic but from the actual start date of the thesis as agreed and judged by the supervisor.

If you have problems completing your thesis within the target time, please contact your supervisor as soon as possible. The thesis supervisor can extend the target time if there is a good reason for it.

Re-approval of the topic is needed if:

• the topic expires before the thesis is ready (same topic can be re-approved)
• the topic changes significantly (minor changes to the title don't require re-approval)
• the supervisor and/or the advisor(s) change

Thesis work in brief consists of topic definition, research plan, literature review, experiments, analysis and conclusion. It is essential to start writing the actual thesis from the very beginning and continue the writing process throughout each phase of your research.

The evaluation of the Master's thesis is based on the School of Electrical Engineering common guideline for thesis evaluation . By reading the guideline you will get an idea of what is expected of a Master's thesis.

Support for thesis writing

Support courses for thesis writing:

• ELEC-E0210 Master's Thesis Process
• LC-1320 Thesis Writing for engineers (MSc) (w)
• LC-1315 Tools for Master's Thesis
• LC-7109 Tieteellinen kirjoittaminen maisteriopiskelijoille

Other support services:

• Writing clinic (language support for writing in English offered by the language center )
• Starting Point of Wellbeing’s Theses & Tomatoes
• Turnitin (online tool for practicing scientific writing and prevention of plagiarism

Master's thesis templates

Write your thesis on a master's thesis template. Two templates are available:

• Thesis template for LaTeX (recommended). For LaTeX use Aalto provides free accounts for students on Overlief (a web-based Latex tool) or you can download a free Latex software on your own computer.
• Thesis template for Microsoft Word .

Master's theses as public documents

Please note that the Master’s thesis is a public document once it has been approved. The thesis can't have any confidential sections. If there are confidential sections, only the "visible" part of the thesis will be evaluated and the thesis must form a coherent whole also without the concealed parts. Read more about theses as public documents .

A seminar presentation about the topic of your thesis is a compulsory requirement in the approval process. The schedule and the arrangements of the presentation are agreed with the supervisor.  When applying for the thesis approval you must indicate if you have already held the seminar presentation or inform the agreed date of the presentation. Please note that the seminar presentation must be completed at the latest in the deadline for submitting theses and applications.

Notification of seminar presentation below

According to the Universities Act 794/2004 students are required to complete a maturity essay. The abstract of your thesis will serve as the maturity essay. Hence, you don't need to agree on writing a maturity essay separately with your supervisor. When you submit your thesis with an abstract completed according to the instruction in the master's thesis template, your maturity essay is considered done.

The Master’s thesis will be evaluated in the Degree Programme Committee meeting. The topic of the thesis must still be valid at the time of thesis approval. The topic is valid for one year from topic approval. See application deadlines for the approval of Master’s thesis at the end of the page.

How to apply for the approval of your Master’s thesis

In order to have your Master's thesis approved:

• check the application deadlines (see topic approval section above)
• convert your thesis into pdf/A format ( instructions )
• fill in the online application form in the eAge system for the approval of your thesis
• attach a pdf/A version of your thesis in the online application form
• if you also want to apply for graduation, see the instructions under Graduation.

Please make sure that the electronic version submitted in the application is the final and corrected version of your thesis. Your supervisor will write the evaluation statement on the basis of this electronic version. Also, this version is the one that will be evaluated by the degree programme committee. In addition, this will be the archive version which is used for example as the official copy of the thesis in thesis grade appeal cases.

The degree programme committee evaluates and grades the thesis based on the written statement and grade proposal provided by the thesis supervisor. The evaluation statement will be provided to the student after the Committee meeting and at the same time when the student receives information on the Committee's decision. The evaluation decision is subject to appeal, i.e., students dissatisfied with the evaluation may submit an appeal.

Application deadlines for applying Master’s thesis topic approval and the approval of Master’s thesis

Application deadlines in 2023, application deadlines in 2024.

Turnitin - an aid for skilful writing and prevention of plagiarism

Errors in approved theses are corrected on an errata page, feedback about the page.

• Published: 23.5.2022
• Updated: 2.4.2024

• Bibliography
• More Referencing guides Blog Automated transliteration Relevant bibliographies by topics
• Automated transliteration
• Relevant bibliographies by topics
• Referencing guides

Renewable grid: Recovering electricity from heat storage hits 44% efficiency

Thermophotovoltaics developed at U-M can recover significantly more energy stored in heat batteries.

Michigan Chemical Engineering

Written by Patricia DeLacey and originally published by Michigan News .

Closing in on the theoretical maximum efficiency, devices for turning heat into electricity are edging closer to being practical for use on the grid, according to University of Michigan research.

Heat batteries could store intermittent renewable energy during peak production hours, relying on a thermal version of solar cells to convert it into electricity later.

“As we include higher fractions of renewables on the grid to reach decarbonization goals, we need lower costs and longer durations of energy storage as the energy generated by solar and wind does not match when the energy is used,”  Andrej Lenert , U-M associate professor of chemical engineering and corresponding author of the study recently published in Joule.

Thermophotovoltaic cells work similarly to photovoltaic cells, commonly known as solar cells. Both convert electromagnetic radiation into electricity, but thermophotovoltaics use the lower energy infrared photons rather than the higher energy photons of visible light.

The team reports that their new device has a power conversion efficiency of 44% at 1435°C, within the target range for existing high-temperature energy storage (1200°C-1600°C). It surpasses the 37% achieved by previous designs within this range of temperatures.

“It’s a form of battery, but one that’s very passive. You don’t have to mine lithium as you do with electrochemical cells, which means you don’t have to compete with the electric vehicle market. Unlike pumped water for hydroelectric energy storage, you can put it anywhere and don’t need a water source nearby,” said  Stephen Forrest , the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering at U-M and contributing author of the study.

In a heat battery, thermophotovoltaics would surround a block of heated material at a temperature of at least 1000°C. It might reach that temperature by passing electricity from a wind or solar farm through a resistor or by absorbing excess heat from solar thermal energy or steel, glass or concrete production.

“Essentially, using electricity to heat something up is a very simple and inexpensive method to store energy relative to lithium ion batteries. It gives you access to many different materials to use as a storage medium for thermal batteries,” Lenert said.

The heated storage material radiates thermal photons with a range of energies. At 1435°C, about 20-30% of those have enough energy to generate electricity in the team’s thermophotovoltaic cells. The key to this study was optimizing the semiconductor material, which captures the photons, to broaden its preferred photon energies while aligning with the dominant energies produced by the heat source.

But the heat source also produces photons above and below the energies that the semiconductor can convert to electricity. Without careful engineering, those would be lost.

To solve this problem, the researchers built a thin layer of air into the thermophotovoltaic cell just beyond the semiconductor and added a gold reflector beyond the air gap—a structure they call an air bridge. This cavity helped trap photons with the right energies so that they entered the semiconductor and sent the rest back into the heat storage material, where the energy had another chance to be re-emitted as a photon the semiconductor could capture.

“Unlike solar cells, thermophotovoltaic cells can recuperate or recycle photons that are not useful,” said Bosun Roy-Layinde, U-M doctoral student of chemical engineering and first author of the study.

A recent study found  stacking two air bridges  improves the design, increasing both the range of photons converted to electricity and the useful temperature range for heat batteries.

“We’re not yet at the efficiency limit of this technology. I am confident that we will get higher than 44% and be pushing 50% in the not-too-distant future,” said Forrest, who also is the Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering and professor of electrical engineering and computer science, materials science and engineering, and physics.

The team has applied for patent protection with the assistance of U-M Innovation Partnerships and is seeking partners to bring the technology to market.

This research is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (grant numbers 2018572 and 2144662) and the Army Research Office (grant number W911-NF-17-0312).

related links

Study:  High efficiency air-bridge thermophotovoltaic cells (DOI:10.1016/j.joule.2024.05.002)

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Mossavar-rahmani center announces 2024 dunlop undergraduate thesis prize winner.

Aden Barton.

Courtesy Aden Barton

The Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government (M-RCBG) at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government announced Aden Barton as the 2024 winner of the John T. Dunlop Undergraduate Thesis Prize in Business and Government.

Barton won for his thesis, “The Causal Effect of Welfare Retrenchment: Evidence from Medicaid and SNAP.” He is graduating from Harvard College this week with an A.B. in economics.

The John T. Dunlop Thesis Prize in Business and Government is awarded to graduating seniors who write the best thesis on a challenging public policy issue at the interface of business and government. The prize carries a $2,000 award.

This year’s winning thesis by Barton examines the ongoing Medicaid Unwinding, in which millions have been removed from public insurance based on a state’s caseload prioritization. He finds that disenrollment increases the likelihood of being on private insurance and of being uninsured, and reduces the likelihood of enrollees and disenrollees working in the last week by about 5 percentage points, as individuals likely reduced their labor supply to maintain eligibility. His findings also indicate an increased household financial strain, most conclusively by greatly raising the likelihood individuals delay medical treatment.

In explaining why the center chose to award the John Dunlop Prize to Barton, John A. Haigh, co-director of M-RCBG, said that “Aden’s thesis was impressive in its conception and execution. It represents the type of excellent analysis and policy recommendations at the intersection of business and government that we value so highly here at the center.”

John T. Dunlop, the Lamont University Professor Emeritus, was a widely respected labor economist who served as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences from 1969 to 1973. An adviser to many U.S. presidents, beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dunlop was secretary of labor under Gerald Ford, serving from March 1975 to January 1976. In addition to serving as secretary of labor, Dunlop held many other government posts, including: director of the Cost of Living Council, (1973-74), chairman of the Construction Industry Stabilization Committee (1993-95), chair of the Massachusetts Joint Labor-Management Committee for Municipal Police and Firefighters (1977-2003) and Chair of the Commission on Migratory Farm Labor (1984-2003). Dunlop served as the second director of the Center for Business and Government from 1987 to1991. The Center, renamed in 2005 as the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, focuses on policy issues at the intersection of business and government. Dunlop died in 2003.

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Q&A: Investigating the remarkable reproductive cycle of Michigan's threatened mollusks

by Jim Erickson, University of Michigan

Michigan is home to 43 species of native freshwater mussels, 30 of which are considered to be at risk of extinction. Among the many factors that threaten the hard-shelled bottom dwellers are competition from invasive zebra and quagga mussels, water pollution, and—especially—dams.

The Huron River in Southeast Michigan, for example, has 19 dams on its main stem and at least 96 across its entire drainage. Damming completely transforms a river's ecology, replacing native mussel-rich shoal, riffle, and pool habitats with less suitable lake-like reservoirs.

Two University of Michigan biologists led a recent freshwater mussel study based on fieldwork along the Huron River and the River Raisin, also in Southeast Michigan. The study, published May 24 in the journal PeerJ , investigates freshwater mussels' remarkable reproductive cycle, which includes the use of fleshy "mantle lures" by pregnant females to attract nearby fish and "infect" them with mussel larvae.

The study's lead author, Trevor Hewitt, conducted the fieldwork for his doctoral dissertation in the U-M Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. The senior author, Diarmaid Ó Foighil, is a professor in the department and was Hewitt's adviser.

What background information would someone who is completely unfamiliar with your field need to know to understand the findings of your study?

Hewitt: Freshwater mussels undergo an obligate parasitic larval development in which pregnant females must infect a suitable fish host with her young. The mussel larvae typically attach to the host fish's gills, and after two to four weeks they metamorphose into juveniles and drop to the riverbed. Many mussel species are host specialists, infecting just one or a few species of fish, and utilizing distinct host infection strategies.

One of the most striking strategies involves use of a mantle lure. This is a pigmented tissue flap displayed by pregnant females to mimic a host prey item (a small fish, an invertebrate, etc.), eliciting an attack by the host fish and resulting in its infection.

Mantle lure displays are a remarkable and understudied example of mimicry in nature that occurs in many of our streams and rivers each spring and summer.

What exact research question did you set out to answer, and what methods did you use?

Hewitt: Our research focused on the mantle-lure diversity present in one mussel species, the wavy-rayed lampmussel, which is found from Michigan to Alabama. This mussel uses smallmouth bass as its primary fish host and, most unusually, it has two highly distinctive types of mantle lures.

One, previously termed "darter-like," resembles a small fish called a darter, complete with eye spots, mottled body coloration and prominent marginal extensions including a tail. The other, previously termed "worm-like," is uniformly bright orange underlain with black. Both lure forms, or morphs, co-occur throughout the animal's range.

Our research aims were to: confirm that the mantle lure diversity represents a true polymorphism, meaning a clearly different form within a population of the species; investigate its ecological persistence through time; identify the range of putative model species targeted by this mimicry system in a natural population; and determine whether the two mantle lure morphs differ in their display behavior in addition to their pigmentation and morphology.

What are the most important findings of your study, and how do they go beyond previous studies of this topic?

Ó Foighil: We were able to demonstrate that the mantle lure morph diversity in this species is a true polymorphism using two independent criteria: evolutionary trees based on genomic data and inheritance of both morphs within a captive-raised brood—the first such record in freshwater mussels.

Using museum specimens from a River Raisin population, we found that the polymorphism appears stable over ecological time frames. The ratio of the two lure morphs in 2017 was consistent with that of museum samples collected at the same site six decades earlier.

We were able to identify likely model species for the mantle lure variants—meaning the species of fish or invertebrates the mantle lures mimic—within the River Raisin mussel population. Four main darter-like lure motifs visually approximated four co-occurring darter fish species, and the worm-like lure resembled the North American medicinal leech. Darters and leeches are typical prey of smallmouth bass.

Using a GoPro camera, field recordings were made of the darter and leech lure display behaviors in the River Raisin and the Huron River. The displays were largely similar despite the pronounced difference in lure appearance and in model species, implying that the mimicry is only skin deep.

Were there any big surprises?

Hewitt: There were several big surprises. Most important was the unexpected discovery of within-brood mantle lure polymorphism, meaning that different forms of the mantle lure were found within a single group of offspring laid by a female mussel. This critical result was hard-earned, requiring infection of fish hosts and two years of juvenile mussel culture at the Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center.

Another surprise was the discovery of 1950s mussel samples from our River Raisin study site in the U-M Museum of Zoology's mollusk collection. The mantle lures on these old specimens were still intact, and they enabled us to compare the ratio of the leech lure morph to the darter lure morph over a 60-plus-year period.

What are the main implications or potential applications of these findings?

Ó Foighil: Discovery of discrete within-brood inheritance of the mantle lure polymorphism is particularly exciting because it implies potential control by a single genetic locus. Virtually nothing is known about the regulatory genes that control mantle lures, representing a significant knowledge gap. Our results identify the wavy-rayed lampmussel as a promising study system to identify the regulatory genes controlling a key adaptive trait of North American endangered freshwater mussels.

The other authors of the PeerJ study are Paul Johnson and Michael Buntin of the Alabama Aquatic Biodiversity Center and Talia Moore of the University of Michigan.

Journal information: PeerJ

Provided by University of Michigan

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New method for diagnosing sleep disorders in children

Clinicians can now screen for multiple problems at once.

Research at the University of Oklahoma, in collaboration with The University of Tulsa, has resulted in a new method of screening for sleep disorders in children. The tool, the first of its kind, allows health professionals to assess children for multiple sleep problems at once, resulting in a quicker evaluation and more targeted treatment recommendations.

The research that created the tool, called a structured clinical interview, was published recently in the journal Behavioral Sleep Medicine . The publication details the effectiveness of the interview questions across several types of sleep disorders, which often have overlapping symptoms but can require distinct treatments.

"Sleep problems can be common in kids, but we have not had a means of getting a comprehensive view of what is going on with their sleep," said child and adolescent psychiatrist Tara Buck, M.D., an associate professor in the OU School of Community Medicine in Tulsa. "It takes time to go through all the individual disorders to narrow down what's going on. This structured clinical interview allows us to screen for the most common sleep problems at once and gain a better idea of how to treat them."

Development of the structured clinical interview was led by Mollie Rischard, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the OU School of Community Medicine. The project also served as the dissertation topic for her doctoral studies at The University of Tulsa. She started with the adult comprehensive assessment for sleep disorders, which already existed, and began the meticulous work of adapting it for children. After several iterations, input from clinical experts, and ensuring it aligned with criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (the authoritative guide for diagnosing mental disorders), it was tested in a clinical trial. Results showed it to be an effective tool.

The gold standard for diagnosing sleep disorders is a sleep study, in which a child spends the night in a sleep lab connected to sensors that measure the quality of sleep. However, sleep studies are expensive and may not be needed in every instance, Rischard said.

"Sleep apnea, for example, is a medical problem that must be diagnosed through a sleep study, but before we make costly referrals and ask families to undergo a sleep study, we want to be as sure as we can that it's necessary," she said. "There are a lot of overlapping symptoms among sleep disorders, where a child has difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, so it's important to determine what is driving the problems. They may have restless leg syndrome or a disruption in their circadian rhythm. Having a better understanding will give us a better sense of how to treat it. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be effective for several sleep disorders.

"We advocate for targeting sleep problems because there's such a high degree of daytime impairment when kids don't sleep well," Rischard added. "It's not just excessive daytime sleepiness, but we often see a paradox where kids can appear hyperactive and may be misdiagnosed with something like ADHD. Many sleep disorders are very treatable because we make behavioral changes that can produce quick improvements. And if you start sleeping better, you genuinely feel better."

The need for a comprehensive structured clinical interview for pediatric sleep disorders grew out of a related research collaboration between OU and TU: a clinical trial studying a new cognitive behavioral treatment for youth with nightmares. Lisa Cromer, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at TU and a volunteer child psychiatry faculty member at OU-Tulsa, led development of the treatment because of a growing recognition in the field that nightmares should be addressed as a singular problem rather than a symptom of another problem. The new structured clinical interview helps identify children who have nightmare disorders.

"There is growing evidence that nightmares are a signal for very serious mental health problems, in particular suicidal ideation and behavior," Cromer said. "Another big risk factor for suicidality is impulsivity, and we know that people are better able to control impulses when they've been sleeping well."

Cromer's cognitive behavioral treatment incorporates relaxation strategies, stress management, sleep behaviors, and visualization to change the structure of dreams. Parents are involved in the treatment process as well. Data from the trial, though ongoing, show a promising decrease in suicidal thinking among children with nightmares after they've received the treatment. Cromer and Buck plan to publish the results of their study soon.

"In the past, we've seen nightmares as a symptom of other conditions, and we thought there wasn't much we could do," Buck said. "We might try to treat their PTSD or anxiety and hope that the nightmares got better. But now there are treatments to empower kids to reduce or eliminate their nightmares. It's a paradigm shift for both families and health professionals."

• Sleep Disorders
• Obstructive Sleep Apnea
• Child Development
• Poverty and Learning
• Public Health
• Scientific Conduct
• Privacy Issues
• Sleep disorder
• Circadian rhythm sleep disorder
• Sleep deprivation
• Night terror
• Double blind
• Delayed sleep phase syndrome
• Rapid eye movement

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Oklahoma . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Mollie E. Rischard, Tara R. Buck, Kristi E. Pruiksma, Aviva Johns, Lisa D. Cromer. Construction and Initial Examination of Inter-Rater Reliability of a Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5-TR Sleep Disorders (SCISD) – Kid . Behavioral Sleep Medicine , 2024; 1 DOI: 10.1080/15402002.2024.2324035

Cite This Page :

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