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Review
. 2022 Nov 2;12(21):3873.
doi: 10.3390/nano12213873.

Role of Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) Nanocomposites in Advanced Biomedical Applications: A State-of-the-Art Review

Mehrab Pourmadadi  1 , Erfan Rahmani  1 , Amin Shamsabadipour  1 , Shima Mahtabian  2 , Mohammadjavad Ahmadi  1 , Abbas Rahdar  3 , Ana M Díez-Pascual  4
Affiliations
Review

Role of Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) Nanocomposites in Advanced Biomedical Applications: A State-of-the-Art Review

Mehrab Pourmadadi et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). .

Abstract

Nanomaterials have demonstrated a wide range of applications and recently, novel biomedical studies are devoted to improving the functionality and effectivity of traditional and unmodified systems, either drug carriers and common scaffolds for tissue engineering or advanced hydrogels for wound healing purposes. In this regard, metal oxide nanoparticles show great potential as versatile tools in biomedical science. In particular, iron oxide nanoparticles with different shape and sizes hold outstanding physiochemical characteristics, such as high specific area and porous structure that make them idoneous nanomaterials to be used in diverse aspects of medicine and biological systems. Moreover, due to the high thermal stability and mechanical strength of Fe2O3, they have been combined with several polymers and employed for various nano-treatments for specific human diseases. This review is focused on summarizing the applications of Fe2O3-based nanocomposites in the biomedical field, including nanocarriers for drug delivery, tissue engineering, and wound healing. Additionally, their structure, magnetic properties, biocompatibility, and toxicity will be discussed.

Keywords: drug delivery; iron oxide nanoparticles; nanocarrier; nanomaterials; nanotreatment; tissue engineering; wound dressing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Structure of α-Fe2O3 (Hematite).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The reduction procedures of the Ag/Fe2O3 nanocarrier for loading biomolecules [66].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Chemical (a) and biological (b) reduction of iron ions to zero-valent iron nanoparticles (ZVINPs) and their stabilization [104].
Figure 4
Figure 4
Fibroblasts were cultured on the surface of gel-based substrate (a), with 1.2% Al2O3 (b), and with 1.2% Fe2O3 NPs (c). Cell nuclei and the cytoplasm were stained with DAPI and pyrazolone yellow, respectively [122].
Figure 5
Figure 5
ROS scavenger AA conversed the function of endothelial cells happening EndMT. (a) AA conversed tubule production impairment of endothelial cell caused by PSC-Fe2O3. (b) measurement of endothelial meshes (n  =  3). (c) pictures of scratch morphology altering with time. (d) Relative scratch width alteration (n  =  2). Data are mean  ±  SD, one-way ANOVA with LSD-t, ** p  <  0.01 [139].
Figure 6
Figure 6
Various mechanisms of nanoparticles influence on cells [135].
Figure 7
Figure 7
Probable targets for iron oxide nanoparticles-assisted tissue engineering and regenerative tissue engineering for both peripheral and central nervous system [157].
Figure 8
Figure 8
Magnetic-assisted cell alignment for a magnetic-responsive nanocomposite of rGO/collagen hydrogel [168].
Figure 9
Figure 9
Describes the process of fabricating tissue scaffold and its role in tissue regeneration. Reproduced with permission from [171].
Figure 10
Figure 10
CSMA/PECA/GO hybrid scaffold in bone tissue engineering application (cartilage repairing) [210].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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