Journal
NANOSCALE
Volume 9, Issue 24, Pages 8080-8095Publisher
ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY
DOI: 10.1039/c6nr09736g
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Funding
- Department of Defense, Defense Threat Reduction Agency [HDTRA-13-1-0038, NIH R01-EB017755]
- NSF [PHY-1454673]
- MRSEC Program of the National Science Foundation [DMR - 0819762]
- Burroughs Wellcome Fund [1012566]
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship [1122374]
- Division Of Physics
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [1454673] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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Biological hydrogels such as mucus, extracellular matrix, biofilms, and the nuclear pore have diverse functions and compositions, but all act as selectively permeable barriers to the diffusion of particles. Each barrier has a crosslinked polymeric mesh that blocks penetration of large particles such as pathogens, nanotherapeutics, or macromolecules. These polymeric meshes also employ interactive filtering, in which affinity between solutes and the gel matrix controls permeability. Interactive filtering affects the transport of particles of all sizes including peptides, antibiotics, and nanoparticles and in many cases this filtering can be described in terms of the effects of charge and hydrophobicity. The concepts described in this review can guide strategies to exploit or overcome gel barriers, particularly for applications in diagnostics, pharmacology, biomaterials, and drug delivery.
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