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Recent Biomedical Applications of Functional Materials Based on Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (POSS)
Yun-Kai Chang1, Shi-Jie Hao1, Fu-Gen Wu1
1State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biomaterials and Devices, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, 2 Southeast University Road, Nanjing, 211189, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) is a 3D, cage-like nanoparticle with an inorganic Si-O-Si core and eight tunable corner functional groups. Its well-defined structure grants it distinctive physical, chemical, and biological properties and has been widely used for preparing high-performance materials. Recently, click chemistry has enabled the synthesis of various functional POSS-based materials for diverse biomedical applications. This article reviews the recent applications of POSS-based materials in the biomedical field, including cancer treatment, tissue engineering, antibacterial use, and biomedical imaging. Representative examples are discussed in detail. Among the various POSS-based applications, cancer treatment and tissue engineering are the most important. Finally, this review presents the current limitations of POSS-based materials and provides guidance for future research.
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