Bio-doped nanocomposite polymers: Sol-gel bioencapsulates

The period from 1970s to 1980s witnessed notable interdisciplinary breakthroughs in sol-gel science with demonstrations that this technology could be extended to the encapsulation of functional biomolecules such as enzymes and antibodies within ceramic matrixes. Since these landmark studies, some of nature's most sensitive biological materials, including proteins, DNA, RNA, and antigens as well as more complex assemblages such as cell membranes and organelles, and even living microbial, plant, and animal cells, have been entrapped in inorganic and inorganic-organic hybrid sol-gel polymers. Bioencapsulation retains not only the structural integrity of the entrapped biomolecules but also, more importantly, their full biological functioning-from molecular recognition, catalysis, and signal transduction to sustained cell metabolism and reproduction. The ability to marry the physicochemical features of inorganic, hybrid, and composite polymers with the selective binding, catalytic, and biosynthetic functions of biological materials has enabled the fabrication of novel high-performance bioactive nanocomposites for sensor, catalyst, diagnostic, and electronics applications.