Dopamine is a catecholamine that acts as an important neurotransmitter in the nervous system. Since the introduction of the simple preparation method of polydopamine with the oxidative self-polymerization of dopamine, dopamine based nanomaterials have emerged as the novel biomaterials. They have attracted considerable interests in the fields of biosensing, drug delivery, photothermal therapy, antimicrobials, and tissue engineering due to their unique physicochemical properties, such as versatile adhesion property, high chemical reactivity, excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, and strong photothermal conversion capacity. This review summarizes the recent advances on the fabrication, functionalization, and biomedical applications of dopamine based nanomaterials. Firstly, several typical dopamine based nanomaterials are introduced with a discussion of the factors that influence the assembly process. Then detailed elaboration is followed on their applications in biomedical fields, especially in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Finally, the review proposes some research topics for clinical applications of dopamine based nanomaterials.
Contents
1 Introduction
2 Dopamine based nanomaterials
2.1 Nanoparticles
2.2 Microcapsules
2.3 Polydopamine films
2.4 Other materials
3 Biomedical applications
3.1 Biosensing
3.2 Bioimaging
3.3 Drug delivery
3.4 Photothermal therapy
3.5 Theranostics
3.6 Antimicrobials
3.7 Tissue engineering
4 Conclusion and perspective