Materials Science in Finland
Current research activities in materials science in Finland are the focus of a recent special issue of Advanced Materials. The issue highlights the areas of research being studied by the various research groups in Finland at the current time through a collection of reviews and select original research, guest edited by Hélder Santos of the University of Helsinki, who heads the university’s Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, the Nanomedicine and Biomedical Engineering Group, and the Preclinical Drug Formulation and Analysis Group at the Faculty of Pharmacy.
The following topics are reviewed in the issue:
- Aspects of nanoscience including silica and silicon materials for nanotherapeutics and multimodality imaging; porous silicon for biomedical applications, DNA nanotechnology, and nanocellulose;
- Thermally carbonized porous silicon and recent applications;
- Micro- and nanomotors for biomedical and environmental applications;
- Light-controlled soft microrobotics;
-
The latest in superhydrophobic blood-repellent surfaces;
-
Nonlinear optics with 2D layered materials;
-
Biomass-derived electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction.
In addition, original research on multifunctional nanohybrid for liver regeneration and acute liver failure theranostics, and on atomic-layer deposition of rhenium disulfide is featured.
Biomedicine and biotechnology are thus particular key strengths of the research going on in Finland. However, while in no way covering all of the research activity currently underway in Finland, this issue highlights the great potential of the wide variety of advanced materials developed there in the different research areas. The topics discussed are emerging, and there is thus still much work to be done to progress the scientific knowledge and advance the understanding thereof.
