Recent Advances in Nanowire-Biosystem Interfaces: From Chemical Conversion, Energy Production to Electrophysiology

The nano-bio interface generated by integrating semiconductor nanomaterials with living cells could serve as a platform for facilitating energy and signal transfer between non-living materials and living systems for applications in energy and the life sciences. This review presents recent advances in one-dimensional nanomaterial-biosystem interfaces and applications from chemical conversion and energy production to electrophysiology. First, we introduce representative types of nanowire-biosystem interfaces and their design principles. Second, we present nanomaterial-bacteria hybrids for solar-to-chemical CO₂ reduction. Third, we introduce nano-bio hybrid electrodes for energy production, especially for biofuel cells. Fourth, we present semiconductor nanowire-embedded nanoelectronics interfaced with living cells and tissue for electrophysiological signal recordings. Last, we provide a brief summary of the progress on energy and signal transfer at the nano-bio interface, as well as our perspectives on the challenges and future directions in this interesting field. Interfacing nanoscale semiconductor and biological systems is an emerging interdisciplinary field of science and technology bridging chemistry, biology, physics, and many areas of energy, environment, and medicine. For example, combining the strengths of high solar-to-energy efficiency semiconductor materials and living organisms capable of metabolic fuel production would be promising for artificial photosynthetic CO₂ reduction. Merging nanowire-embedded nanoelectronics with living cells and tissue would open up the field of nano-bioelectronics to map the signals and activity in the brain with high spatiotemporal resolution. In this review, we summarize recent advances in nanowire-biosystem interfaces and applications from chemical conversion and energy production to electrophysiology and future prospects in the areas of nano-bioenergy and nano-bioelectronics. This review focuses on merging one-dimensional (1D) nanomaterial building blocks with biological systems to generate nanowire-biosystem interfaces as a platform for energy and signal transfer between non-living materials and living systems. Applications in three major fields are discussed: (1) artificial photosynthetic chemical conversion, (2) biofuel-to-electricity-induced energy production, and (3) high-resolution electrophysiological recordings.