Nanoparticle and biomaterial characterisation techniques

The physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and biomaterials exert influences over their interactions with cells and consequently play an important role when introduced into any given system. Characterisation of these said materials is a detailed and, above all, a cross-disciplinary relationship of physical, chemical, mechanical, surface, in vitro and in vivo multi-integrated research topics. The biocompatibility of a functional structure with desired properties is affected by the biomaterials' structural characteristics and building block pathways. Moreover, the sensitivity, depth of field, resolution and dimension of a given material also make structural analysis of a nano-biomaterial particularly challenging to characterise. In this paper, we discuss the use of biomaterial characterisation techniques (fluorescent and optical) to characterise structural aspects of biomaterials, with the aim of improving both the understanding and relationship between a biomaterial's structure and its functionality.