Research Projects

The non-biodegradability of nanomaterials significantly impacts the clinical translation of biomedical products. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the use of nanomaterials like metal xenes (MXenes) in biomedical applications due to their unique properties. However, their biodegradability by immune cells is unknown. The study aims to investigate the biodegradability of MXenes like Ti3C2Tx, Ta4C3Tx, and Nb4C3 by neutrophils and the effect of surface functionalization with soybean phospholipid (SP) and polyethylene glycol (PEG). The project will also investigate the impact of a major serum protein, HSA, on the biodegradation of MXenes. The biodegradation studies will be conducted using test-tube models with recombinant enzymes isolated from neutrophils and eosinophils, as well as in vitro models with isolated neutrophils from the human blood. The selected MXenes are highly studied for biomedical applications, but their biodegradability by immune cells is not yet explored. The cytotoxicity of degradation byproducts will also be examined. The proposed work will address the urgent questions related to the biodegradability of emerging MXenes and determine the cytotoxicity of their degradation byproducts. It will also reveal the effect of blood serum proteins (corona formation) coating on the degradability of MXenes by neutrophils. Biodegradability in response to peroxidase enzymes could provide reduced long-term in vivo cytotoxicity, making it beneficial to design biodegradable materials based on MXenes for medical and environmental products, especially for cancer photothermal theranostics.