Gelatin Matrix as Functional Biomaterial for Immobilization of Nanoparticles of Metal-Containing Compounds

The data concerning the synthesis and physicochemical characteristics of specific functional biomaterials—biopolymer-immobilized matrix systems based on gelatin as an array and chemical compounds, which include atoms of various metal elements—are systematized and discussed. The features of this biopolymer which determine the specific properties of the immobilized matrix systems formed by it and their reactivity, are noted. Data on gelatin-immobilized systems in which immobilized substances are elemental metals and coordination compounds formed as a result of redox processes, nucleophilic/electrophilic substitution reactions, and self-assembly (template synthesis), are presented. The possibilities of the practical use of metal-containing gelatin-immobilized systems are promising for the future; in particular, their potential in medicine and pharmacology as a vehicle for “targeted” drug delivery to various internal organs/tissues of the body, and, also, as potential biosensors is noted.