Biomolecule conjugated inorganic nanoparticles for biomedical applications: A review

Last decade has witnessed impressive progress in the fields of medicine and bioengineering with the aid of nanomaterials. Nanomaterials are favoured for their improved bio-chemical as well as mechanical properties with tremendous applications in biomedical domains such as disease diagnosis, targeted drug delivery, medical imaging, in vitro diagnostics, designing innovatory cross-functional implants and regenerative tissue engineering. The current situation insists upon crafting nanotools that are capable of catering to biological needs and construct more efficient biomedical strategies. In the recent years, surface functionalization and capping with biomolecules has initiated substantial interest towards research. In this regard, search of suitable biofunctionalized nanoparticles seem to be like finding pearls from ocean. Conjugating biological molecules with inorganic materials has paved the way for unravelling innovative functional materials with dramatically improved properties and a wide range of uses. Inorganic nanoparticles such as metals, metal oxides, as well as quantum dots have been hybridised or conjugated with biomolecules such as proteins, peptides, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids. The present review reports on various biomolecule functionalized inorganic nanomaterials highlighting the biomolecule-inorganic nanoparticle interaction studies, the mechanism of functionalization, antimicrobial efficacy of the functionalised nanoconjugates and its use in various biomedical applications.