Aqueous silicates in biological sol-gel applications: new perspectives for old precursors

Identification of silica sol-gel chemistry with silicon alkoxide hydrolysis and condensation processes is common in modern materials science. However, aqueous silicates exhibit several features indicating that they may be more suitable precursors for specific fields of research and applications related to biology and medicine. In this Account, we illustrate the potentialities of such aqueous precursors for biomimetic studies, bio-hybrid material design, and bioencapsulation routes. We emphasize that the natural relevance, the biocompatibility, and the low ecological impact of silicate chemistry may balance its lack of diversity, flexibility, and processability.