One size fits all: Navigating the Landscape of Universal Nanogel Coating Strategies from Bench towards Bedside Translation

The past decade has witnessed remarkable breakthroughs in the domain of nanobiomaterials, which is an innovative crossover between nanotechnology and biomaterials, and has since revolutionized the field of biomedical engineering. One such innovation represents the nanogel (nGel) particles that are soft, polymeric, smart biomaterials and encompass the characteristics of both bulk hydrogel and colloids. Additionally, tunable mechanical properties, porosity, deformability, low mass density, large surface area to volume ratio, excellent colloidal stability, hydrophilicity, enhanced encapsulation efficiency, responsive nature, degree of swelling, biocompatibility, and biodegradability are great assets of these particles. These unique properties of the nanoparticles synergistically play an instrumental role in antifouling and antibacterial functions, drug delivery, immunomodulation, imaging modalities, intracellular tracking and delivery, tissue engineering, and biosensors.
The thesis aimed to develop a universal nGel coating strategy, justifying the title ‘One Size Fits All’, with an emphasis on (i) assessing different coating approaches on different classes of implant materials irrespective of their physicochemical properties, (ii) the impact of commercial disinfection/sterilization techniques on their clinical applicability (iii) nano-bio interactions concerning the stability, biocompatibility, and their antifouling performance.
In essence, the nGels were studied from various perspectives, including nGel chemistry, coating deposition techniques on implant materials, physicochemical characterization of the particles both in suspension and the coating, and biological and microbiological performance of the coatings with the intention of clinical translation. The ultimate goal is to bridge the gap between fundamental research, known as ‘bench research’, and their translation to the clinics, also referred to as ‘bedside’, to advance healthcare innovations and improve patient outcomes.