406
A. Kumar et al.
nanoceramics, and self-assembled materials, have been discussed for various applications in general and more attention has been given to biomedical applications in
particular.
Keywords Nanomaterials · Modification · Functionalization · Biomedical ·
Adsorption · Biomolecules · Catalysis · Chemical catalysis
1 Importance and General Consideration
In the past few decades, much attention has been paid to the preparation, surface
modification, surface functionalization and miniaturization of nanoscale materials
and recently, depending on the maturing of new fabrication and characterization
techniques, materials can be synthesized with a few atoms up to hundreds of atoms
and also their properties could be determined easily. As compared to their bulk counterparts, nanosized materials exhibit new characteristics like optical, electrical, and
magnetic properties because of the enhanced surface to volume ratio and quantum
confinement effects emerging in these size ranges. These new characteristics of
nanoparticles offer them the prospects to be used in a wide range of technical areas
such as magnetic data storage, refrigeration, etc., environmental prospects such as
catalysts, hydrogen storage, etc., and energy prospects such as lithium-ion batteries,
solar cells, etc., biotechnology [1], targeted drug delivery [2, 3], and vehicles for gene
and drug delivery [2, 4, 5] and other biomedical applications. Surface modification
refers to the scientific technique of depositing a specific material like fluorescent
dyes or other chemical ligands that coats in a well-controlled manner on the surface
of a nanomaterial to broaden the scope of the nanomaterials. These nanomaterials
applications are based on their physical and chemical properties. To focus in the fields
of nanoscience and technology, surface modification methods are a rapidly growing
area, along with the design and evolution of nanomaterials. Surface modification is
requisite to stabilize a nanoparticle and prevents agglomeration. The increase in the
surface area of nanoparticle also increases its reactivity and makes it more unstable at
its desired state. To increase the shelf life of the material the surface of nanoparticle
is usually stabilized at its desired size using suitable organic groups. Modification of
the surface of a nanomaterial alters its compatibility in various phases, which is the
vital component in the choice of applications for nanomaterials [6, 7, 8]. However,
sometimes nanomaterials behave incompatibly with other materials and applications
because of their existing surface morphology, ionic properties, and publicity. Therefore, the surface should be designed in such a way that it should be compatible with
the phase of the application without changing its actual properties. The addition of
an extra layer enhances its properties and allows the nanomaterial to remain intact at
the core as desired. The modification for the phase compatibility approach is useful
for bio applications by using the polymer and polymeric chain’s functionalization.
Modification of nanomaterials creates homogeneity that helps avoid compatibility
problems between two phases, consequently improving the availability and utility of
A. Kumar et al.
nanoceramics, and self-assembled materials, have been discussed for various applications in general and more attention has been given to biomedical applications in
particular.
Keywords Nanomaterials · Modification · Functionalization · Biomedical ·
Adsorption · Biomolecules · Catalysis · Chemical catalysis
1 Importance and General Consideration
In the past few decades, much attention has been paid to the preparation, surface
modification, surface functionalization and miniaturization of nanoscale materials
and recently, depending on the maturing of new fabrication and characterization
techniques, materials can be synthesized with a few atoms up to hundreds of atoms
and also their properties could be determined easily. As compared to their bulk counterparts, nanosized materials exhibit new characteristics like optical, electrical, and
magnetic properties because of the enhanced surface to volume ratio and quantum
confinement effects emerging in these size ranges. These new characteristics of
nanoparticles offer them the prospects to be used in a wide range of technical areas
such as magnetic data storage, refrigeration, etc., environmental prospects such as
catalysts, hydrogen storage, etc., and energy prospects such as lithium-ion batteries,
solar cells, etc., biotechnology [1], targeted drug delivery [2, 3], and vehicles for gene
and drug delivery [2, 4, 5] and other biomedical applications. Surface modification
refers to the scientific technique of depositing a specific material like fluorescent
dyes or other chemical ligands that coats in a well-controlled manner on the surface
of a nanomaterial to broaden the scope of the nanomaterials. These nanomaterials
applications are based on their physical and chemical properties. To focus in the fields
of nanoscience and technology, surface modification methods are a rapidly growing
area, along with the design and evolution of nanomaterials. Surface modification is
requisite to stabilize a nanoparticle and prevents agglomeration. The increase in the
surface area of nanoparticle also increases its reactivity and makes it more unstable at
its desired state. To increase the shelf life of the material the surface of nanoparticle
is usually stabilized at its desired size using suitable organic groups. Modification of
the surface of a nanomaterial alters its compatibility in various phases, which is the
vital component in the choice of applications for nanomaterials [6, 7, 8]. However,
sometimes nanomaterials behave incompatibly with other materials and applications
because of their existing surface morphology, ionic properties, and publicity. Therefore, the surface should be designed in such a way that it should be compatible with
the phase of the application without changing its actual properties. The addition of
an extra layer enhances its properties and allows the nanomaterial to remain intact at
the core as desired. The modification for the phase compatibility approach is useful
for bio applications by using the polymer and polymeric chain’s functionalization.
Modification of nanomaterials creates homogeneity that helps avoid compatibility
problems between two phases, consequently improving the availability and utility of