Biodoped ceramics: Synthesis, properties, and applications

This feature article focuses on biodoped ceramics. These are inorganic materials in which biological materials are incorporated, thus adding new functionality to them. A brief overview of the prominent synthesis techniques for biodoped ceramics, with emphasis on modified sol-gel processes for metal oxide matrices, is given first. Theoretical treatments of the encapsulation of biologicals within a porous ceramic matrix are reviewed. Experimental studies of the stability and dynamics of protein entrapment in silica and other ceramic matrices are also discussed. Finally, key applications of biodoped ceramics in biochemical species detection, bio-catalysis, and drug delivery are presented.