Chiral Inorganic Nanomaterials for Biological Features

Abstract

Inorganic nanomaterials typically exhibit a wide variety of structures with flexibility and versatile functional properties. The introduction of chirality can influence the physicochemical properties of materials, such as their size, shape, crystal structure, surface charge and optical activity. These properties can directly affect the in vivo fate of chiral inorganic nanomaterials. Given the inherent chirality and enantiomer selectivity of biological systems, there has been increasing interest in manipulating the chirality of nanomaterials to enhance biomolecular interactions and improve stability and target selectivity. This has led to remarkable advancements, establishing nanomaterial chirality as a highly innovative research domain. Based on controlling the synthesis of chiral nanomaterials, various design models can be developed for the regulation of diverse biological processes, thereby continuously contributing to the development of the next-generation chirality-based platforms toward nanobiomedicine.

In this Account, we introduce recent advances and representative works on chiral inorganic nanomaterials, and summarize our efforts in this area. Initially, we highlight the design principles and fabrication strategies of chiral noble metals, chiral metal oxides, chiral inorganic semiconductors, and chiral metal hybrid nanomaterials, while analyzing the underlying origins of chirality in detail. We investigate the effects of various chiral molecules, circularly polarized light (CPL), and magnetic fields on chiral structures and chiral preferences. Furthermore, we outline emerging applications of such functional chiral inorganic nanomaterials in biomedical fields, including biosensing, biocatalysis, immune modulation, cellular behavior regulation, antibacterial effects, and disease theranostics. Chiral inorganic nanomaterials demonstrate enantioselective interactions with biological molecules (e.g., amino acids, peptides, DNA sequences, and proteins), and possess various responsive properties (e.g., redox, enzyme, light, and magnetic effects), playing crucial roles in the regulation of biological processes. Finally, we share our perspectives on the enduring challenges and future opportunities of this important and rapidly advancing field. It is envisioned that the precise design and controlled synthesis of chiral inorganic nanomaterials will facilitate the development of materials with advanced functional properties to meet the requirements of diverse emerging technologies.