Editorial on the Research Topic
Nanobiophotonics and Related Novel Materials Aimed at Biosciences and Biomedicin

Altucci C.

Kurapati R.

Morales-Narvaez E.

English

Archivio della ricerca - Università degli studi di Napoli Federico II

Editorial: Nanobiophotonics andRelated Novel Materials Aimed atBiosciences and BiomedicineCarlo Altucci 1,2*, Rajendra Kurapati 3* and Eden Morales-Narváez4*1Department of Advanced Biomedical Science, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy, 2Istituto Nazionale di FisicaNucleare (INFN), Sec. of Napoli, Napoli, Italy, 3School of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and ResearchThiruvananthapuram, Thiruvananthapuram, India, 4Biophotonic Nanosensors Laboratory, Centro de Investigaciones en Óptica A.C., León, MexicoKeywords: 2D nanobiomaterials, biophotonics, optically active materials, biofunctionalization, nanomedicineEditorial on the Research TopicNanobiophotonics and Related Novel Materials Aimed at Biosciences and BiomedicineNanobiophotonics is an emergent multidisciplinary field embracing nanotechnology, photonics, materials,and biomedicine. In terms of their use in nanobiophotonics, soft- and bio-nanomaterials offer a high levelof structural diversity and tunability. As a matter of fact, nanostructures such as two-dimensionalnanosheets and other nanoscale building blocks, exhibit exciting functions such as an enormous surface-to-volume ratio and unique optical, chemical, and electronic properties. These functions enhance the ability ofmetallic or semiconducting nanomaterials to absorb, reflect, and interact with light, which is of primaryimportance in developing nanophotonics, where photonicsmerges with nanoscience and nanotechnology.Moreover, thesematerials can easily be engineered and functionalized, thusmodifying their organization atthe nanoscale and consequently their physico-chemical properties. The advances in understanding thebehavior of soft matter and biomaterials at a molecular level, with the help of photonics techniques, arebeing translated into functional materials systems and devices, which take advantage of newly discoveredand specifically created morphologies with desired properties. In such scenarios, photonics and nano-biosciences are correlated. On the one hand, photonics provides a powerful set of tools with which toinvestigate nanobiosciences and related novel materials. On the other hand, the investigation of opticallinear and nonlinear properties of thesematerials certainly widens the frontier of themost recent photonicsachievements.Such a multidisciplinary context—rapid advancement in so many directions from functionalized softmatter and novel biomaterials aimed at applications in biosciences and biomedicine to nanophotonicsincluding nonlinear optics—finds its natural platform in the scientific communities at Frontiers, with itscross-sectoral approach to publication, for both undertaking and presenting this inter-disciplinaryResearch Topic. In this context, this article collection highlights recent advancements inbiocompatibility, biosensing, photo-bio reactions, and photo-thermal effects, taking advantage ofnanophotonic phenomena with (potential) applications in biosciences and biomedicine.Nanomedicine, with issues such as biocompatibility and biodegradability of novel nanomaterials,is among the particular areas of research in scope for this Research Topic. The contribution fromMitev et al. explored the cytocompatibility of nanodiamonds purified with novel plasma- andmicrowave-based techniques. Thanks to the large number of tested technologies to tailor the surfacecharacteristics of the realized nanodiamonds, the authors proved in cultures of human fibroblast cellsthat enhanced viability is obtained in the presence of many types of processed nanodiamonds,indicating the potential for dermal applications of these nanomaterials.Yet, the application of novel hetero-hybrid structures, such as molecularly imprinted nanoparticlereceptors, assembled with nanoplasmonic probes, is at the fundament of novel biosensing applications inEdited and reviewed by:Gianni Ciofani,Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Italy*Correspondence:Carlo Altuccialtucci@na.infn.itRajendra Kurapatirkurapati@iisertvma.ac.inEden Morales-Narváezeden@cio.mxSpecialty section:This article was submitted toNanobiotechnology,a section of the journalFrontiers in Bioengineering andBiotechnologyReceived: 17 March 2022Accepted: 23 March 2022Published: 20 April 2022Citation:Altucci C, Kurapati R andMorales-Narváez E (2022) Editorial:Nanobiophotonics and Related NovelMaterials Aimed at Biosciencesand Biomedicine.Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 10:898752.doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.898752Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology | www.frontiersin.org April 2022 | Volume 10 | Article 8987521EDITORIALpublished: 20 April 2022doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.898752Cennamo et al. Here the authors have developed soft, deformable,molecularly imprinted nanoparticles (nano-MIPs) in combinationwith nano-plasmonic sensor chips realized on polymeric substrates torealize highly sensitive bio/chemical nano-sensors (dmean < 50 nm);these are capable of selectively binding Bovine Serum Albumin(BSA), which was used as the test agent. The special, deformablecharacter of the nano-MIPs enabled the significant enhancement ofthe limit of detection of the plasmonic bio/sensor, allowing thedetection of the low femtomolar concentration of analyte (~3 fM),thus attaining ultralow detections, down to the quasi-single molecule.A novel biosensing application focused on the detection ofbiologically relevant molecules such as albumin proteins is a keyconcept in a study by Vespini et al.; they have realized a novel typeof biofunctionalized gold nanoparticle, based onpyroelectrohydrodynamic jet printing technology, to sensebiomolecules by means of surface-enhanced Ramanspectroscopy. Here, the signal behavior was also tested in thecase of the BSA as a model analyte to demonstrate the affinitywith biomolecules by means of strong SERS activity across thewhole spot area of the probing laser beam.Di Meo et al., developed a plasmonic metasurface, in particular agold metasurface on a silicon chip, for the detection ofdeoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fragments. The authorsbiofunctionalized this chip to accomplish a biosensing platformbased on surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopyexhibiting an analytical sensitivity in the femtomolar range. Theteam also discussed the advantages of this approach in terms ofprocessing time, versatility, and implementation.A molecular model system for photo-crosslinking between nucleicacids and proteins was analyzed by Bende et al., who discussed themechanisms and molecular pathways required for such an importantreaction to occur. In view of the results, it can be concluded that theDNA–protein crosslinking reaction can be induced by the externalelectromagnetic field via the dimerization reaction between the six-membered rings of the uracil–benzene pair at the electronic excited-statelevel of the complex. This can shed light on important biological photo-reactions, indicating that during the photo-process induced by a UVlight pulse both scenarios can take place: a biologically positive internalconversion, serving as a protectionmechanismagainst theUVradiation,and biologically negative dimerization leading to DNA damage.Photonic 2D materials and their interactions with human cells,normal, and tumor type, have been discussed by Rusciano et al.,where the photothermal effect of 2D-nanoflakes has been studied at asingle-cell level, based on Raman microscopy bioimaging, mostly forthe sake of anti-cancer application in theranostics. It has beendemonstrated that irradiation of human breast cancer MCF7 cellstargeted withMoS2 nanosheets causes a relevant photothermal effect,which is particularly high in the presence of MoS2 nanosheetaggregates. Laser-induced heating is strongly localized near suchparticles which, in turn, tend to accumulate near the cytoplasmicmembrane. As an outcome of the experiment, novel indications fortuning the nanosheet fabrication process are traced with the aim ofexciting biomedical applications such as anti-cancer drugs based onthe photothermal action against tumor cells and specially designeddrug delivery systems.Exploring these new Frontiers of research andinterdisciplinarity is a fascinating journey toward novelprospects. We can indeed foresee a tremendous impact for thenext 10 years in terms of novel nanomaterials being properlybiofunctionalized and treated through photonics techniquesgiven the striking applications in nano-biotechnology, nano-photonics, and nanosciences in general. Our hope and ourmain scope with this Research Topic is to give valuable anduseful insights into this exciting field.AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONSCA and EM-N conceived the idea and coordinated the ResearchTopic. CA, EM-N and RK co-edited this Research Topic andapproved the submitted version of the Editorial Article. All authorscontributed to the article and approved the submitted version.FUNDINGCA acknowledges financial support from MIUR (ItalianMinistry for Research) under the project PRIN “Predictingand controlling the fate of bio-molecules driven by extreme-ultraviolet radiation” (Prot. 20173B72NB) and by theCampania Region under the project POR/FSE “Interventiper il rafforzamento dell’offerta regionale di innovazioneverso le imprese del settore Agrifood” (CUP:B69J19000500007), EM-N acknowledges financial supportby CONACYT, Grant No. 376135. RK acknowledgesfinancial support from the Department of Biotechnology,Ministry of Science and Technology, Govt. India, throughthe Ramalingaswami re-entry Fellowship for the year 2021.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSWe acknowledge and thank the authors who contributed to thisResearch Topic; the Editors Paolo Bianchini; and the Reviewers,Rajendra K. Singh, Shuwen Zeng, Otto C. Wilson Jr, Yong Shin, IvaChianella, Rakesh S. Moirangthem, Spiridoula Matskika, HongmeiSu, Claudio Parolo, Fulvia Villani, Stefano Luin, Shi-Wei Chu. Allthose involved contributed professional insights in editing andreviewing this inter-disciplinary Research Topic.Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in theabsence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as apotential conflict of interest.Publisher’s Note: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authorsand do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those ofthe publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated inthis article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed orendorsed by the publisher.Copyright © 2022 Altucci, Kurapati and Morales-Narváez. This is an open-accessarticle distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CCBY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided theoriginal author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the originalpublication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice.No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply withthese terms.Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology | www.frontiersin.org April 2022 | Volume 10 | Article 8987522Altucci et al. Editorial: Applied Nanobiophotonics

Editorial: Nanobiophotonics and Related Novel Materials Aimed at Biosciences and Biomedicine

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Editorial: Nanobiophotonics and Related Novel Materials Aimed at Biosciences and Biomedicine

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