In the last few years, the progress made in the field of nanotechnology has allowed researchers to develop and synthesize nanosized materials with unique physicochemical characteristics, suitable for various biomedical applications. Amongst these nanomaterials, metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) have gained increasing interest due to their excellent properties, which to a great extent differ from their bulk counterpart. However, despite such positive advantages, a substantial body of literature reports on their cytotoxic effects, which are directly correlated to the nanoparticles’ physicochemical properties, therefore, better control over the synthetic parameters will not only lead to favorable surface characteristics but may also increase biocompatibility and consequently lower cytotoxicity. Taking into consideration the enormous biomedical potential of MONPs, the present review will discuss the most recent developments in this field referring mainly to synthesis methods, physical and chemical characterization and biological effects, including the pro-regenerative and antitumor potentials as well as antibacterial activity. Moreover, the last section of the review will tackle the pressing issue of the toxic effects of MONPs on various tissues/organs and cell lines.

Green biobased polymeric membranes are rapidly emerging as materials of choice for a number of biomedical applications. In this work, we report our preliminary studies on the covalent immobilization of sericinon to green cellulose membranes for potential biomedical applications such as in the osseointegration field. Initially, the surface of the cellulose acetate membrane was immobilized with the amino-propyl-triethoxysilane (APTS) functional group, while the protein was immobilized through glutaraldehyde that was used as a linker between amino-propyl-triethoxysilane and sericin. The functionalized membranes were thoroughly characterized by different characterization techniques such as infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA/DTG). All these techniques confirmed the successful functionalization and uniform immobilization of the protein onto the membrane surface. Subsequently, the performance of the membranes was characterized both in terms of flows and retention of bovine serum albumin and hemoglobin in the case of immobilized protein membranes. The retention was found to bemore than 90% after 90 min of process. Since, in these membranes cases, the speed of degradation is essential in the physiological pH conditions, it was also studied over a period of three months, and the degradation mechanism is also explained. Furthermore, the membrane functionalized with sericin has proven to hold great promise for application in bone regeneration.