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Physical Insights from New Nanomaterials in Biology
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to be good sensors, something important needs to be selectively detected with linear responses far beyond the relevant concentration range. Ideally, this sensor would then have significant advantages over existing state-of-the-art sensing schemes that are currently employed. Too often, a nanomaterial is made, characterized, and branded as a sensor instead of being specifically designed to solve an unresolved sensing challenge. When the latter type of sensor is created, there is significant physical insight that has led to the successful sensor development, and The Journal of Physical Chemistry may be an appropriate place for such articles, even in extremely mature, often analytical-minded fields. These applications of nanomaterials combine both strong physical insight and impactful sensing in complex systems, especially when benchmarked against existing technologies. Nanoparticle-based contrast agents can be useful in their own right, once targeted to an appropriate protein or pathology. Imaging, contrast improvement, novel optical properties, and multimodal detection, among many other properties, often lead to very interesting studies. Many of these new materials’ properties enable method development that can drive future scientific and medical innovations. However, the interactions in cell culture can be very different than those in live animals. Whether studies report new optical properties and modified spectroscopies for improved visualization or quantitative analysis of the biophysical mechanisms by which the nanomaterials work, physical or biophysical insights must still drive the article for it to be well-suited to The Journal of Physical Chemistry. Because of our focus on physical insight, the focus of important potential applications such as nanomaterials for drug delivery may be the determining factor for suitability. Drug delivery vehicles in cell culture or animals without any quantitative physical chemistry, slight variation of nanoparticle size/shape/composition without physical justification, or photocatalysts for more efficient photobleaching of dyes in water are just a few examples of studies in which the underlying, driving physical insights suggest that another journal may be a better fit. The Journal of Physical Chemistry is fortunate that so many researchers continue to place their confidence in us as a premier venue to publish their work. Regardless of research area, what sets physical chemistry apart is quantitative insight and detailed understanding of unexpectedly interesting new properties. It is the discovery and understanding of new behaviors that surprise and intrigue, coupled with quantitative measurement or modeling that builds the foundation for future innovations. While not always achieved in any single manuscript, this should be the metric for articles in The Journal of Physical Chemistry. This ambitious goal then sets the standard for judging the suitability of any particular manuscript detailed and important physical insights in emerging and advancing fields. Although the lines can be difficult to discern, the physical insights by which nanoscience improves our
here are myriad important interactions to probe in studying biological systems, many of which can be facilitated by the use of nanomaterials. This interesting intersection of nanoscience, biology, and medicine continues to grow. As with all fields, however, as they mature, innovative fundamental studies become more challenging to identify, and applications or potential applications begin to take center stage. This somewhat natural progression is being played out in nanobio studies of all types. Distinct from both atoms and bulk materials of identical composition, nanoparticles take on their own unique properties. The combination of surface effects, discrete energy levels resulting from low density of states, and quantum confinement or magic number stabilities has led to very interesting optical, electronic, and chemical properties. When new types of materials are synthesized, their novel properties often dominate the impact, generating important physical insights by measuring fundamental behaviors. Important materials such as metal nanoparticles, semiconductor quantum dots, or conjugated polymers can show exciting size dependences with new photophysical or chemical insights that themselves are intrinsically interesting, but only through more detailed understandings of these properties may future applications be realized. As but one of many examples, characterizing fluorescence from metals and understanding the size dependent fluorescence, energy levels, and mechanisms of metal nanoparticle emission has produced unexpected and interesting results that may eventually be useful as contrast agents in biology. Once developed and characterized, variations on a theme can produce useful extensions, but eventually the field matures such that modest variations of the same theme yield somewhat predictable properties. Optimization of once novel properties is then often aimed toward an important application that will uniquely benefit from the materials’ properties, but both potential utility and benchmarks for success must be clearly defined. In other words, just because an application can be performed with these materials does not, by itself, justify that the studies be published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry. Ideally, new physical insights are gained through the studies, and the materials enable improvements because of these insights. There must always be at least incremental progress toward such a goal. Yet another material with one component changed and nanomaterials characterized does not necessarily justify publication in a physical chemistry journal. This dynamic is played out in many areascontrast agents, sensors, photocatalysts, phosphors, drug delivery systems, .... When the unique nanomaterial properties no longer drive the impact but application of existing or slightly modified/ improved materials is explored, the application must be impactful, or a clear path to such applications should be made clear by the studies. The designed materials must be demonstrated on more than just a test system, while showing results comparable to or better than existing technologies. As an example, all too often, nanomaterials that exhibit environmental sensitivity are rebranded as “sensors”. However, © 2017 American Chemical Society
Published: December 7, 2017 10733
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b11153 J. Phys. Chem. B 2017, 121, 10733−10734
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The Journal of Physical Chemistry B understanding of our world or improves the ultimate application must be clear. Ultimately, we, as consumers of The Journal of Physical Chemistry’s content, are truly excited by important advances on new systems and new advances on important systems. The quantitative studies and understandings put forth by JPC authors continue to inspire and contribute to an outstanding physical chemistry community.
Robert M. Dickson,* Senior Editor
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School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. ORCID
Robert M. Dickson: 0000-0003-0042-6194 Notes
The author declares no competing financial interest.
10734
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b11153 J. Phys. Chem. B 2017, 121, 10733−10734
