ABSTRACT
Owing to the programmable architecture and functions of the bionano-materials, they have been considered the spine of nanoscience in this era showing potent applicability in various fields, including biotechnology, chemistry, material science, and specifically catalysis and surface chemistry. Introducing a variety of functional groups, for example, polymers, lipids, oligonucleotides (RNA/DNA), and peptides or proteins (viruses and enzymes), to the growing nanostructures impart modification in their architecture and improvement in their catalytic activity, thereby enabling them to mimic the biological activity with several advantages including accelerated reaction rate, enhanced catalytic activity, reusability, reduced reaction time, low energy consumption, minimum substrate concentration, and lack of secondary pollution. Moreover, they show excellent physical–chemical, biodegradable, and biocompatible properties, multi-active binding sites, high reactivity, tunable solubility, long-term stability, and shape accuracy, which is essential for the target-specific mechanism. For example, enzymes mimicking enzymatic activity have been potentially employed in immunoassays, biomedical, antimicrobial therapy, and biosensors. This chapter will deal with the types and recent advances in bionanomaterials, the main challenges of redesigning synthetic strategies for enhanced catalytic activity, limitations, and emerging trends in catalysis and surface process. Moreover, the applications of catalysis and surface processes undergone by bionano-materials would also be explained, along with the toxicity perspectives of bionanomaterials. Hence, it would present keen insight into the novel functionalities of bionanomaterials enduring catalysis.
