Biomedical applications of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs)

Abstract Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are an emerging class of 2D materials with fascinating properties suitable for various applications that span from material science, electronics, opto-electronics to even biomedical technology. Structurally, TMDCs comprises of a transition metal atom belonging to group 4–7 (Ti, V, Cr, Tc, Hf, Ta, W, Mn, Zr, Nb, Mo, and Re) covalently modified to chalcogens (S, Se, and Te) in a trigonal prismatic orientation. Easiness of exfoliation and possible surface modifications marks the efficacy of these materials for various applications. Even though they are potent candidate materials in electronics and opto-electronics, the recently upgraded biomedical applications sound fascinating with unlimited access. A relatively high photothermal coefficient makes them suitable for dual model cancer therapy. The massive surface area to volume ratio of TMDC nanosheets suggests the suitability for enhanced drug loading and targeted sustainable drug release. Bone regeneration scaffolds made of TMDC compounds showed enhanced mechanical strength, which holds them as promising materials for tissue engineering scaffold designing and 3D printing. Various imaging guided therapies such as PET, SPECT, MRI, CT, and PA imaging are possible without invasive ionizing radiations using TMDC materials. All these existing vast possibilities always left behind the signs of mandatory toxicity profiling. Therefore, with proper safety evaluation and biocompatibility assessment, TMDCs can be suggested as promising materials for various futuristic biomedical applications.