Nano, micro, and macro materials for bio-functional scaffolds have garnered more attention in the past few years owing to their ability to mimic the natural environment of the body tissue that needs a repair or replacement accordingly. Although micro structured materials were used in tissue engineering in different forms, the emergence of nanomaterials has enabled the development of nanostructured biomedical scaffolds. The nanostructured scaffolds show enhanced biological functions and properties than micro structured scaffolds. For example, nanostructured scaffolds have a higher surface area, thus allowing better cell adhesion than other conventional materials used in tissue engineering. In addition, the nanomaterials have a significant advantage of mimicking and resembling the natural Extra Cellular Matrix (ECM), which provides better protein absorption, thus stimulating improved tissue engineering. This review presents the different nano, micro, and macro biomaterials employed in developing nanostructured scaffolds and their fabrication techniques. In addition, different types of nanostructured scaffolds used in tissue engineering are elucidated.

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In December of 2019, a novel coronavirus was first identified in Wuhan, China, and has since spread around the world, leaving a largely unsolved biomedical problem in its wake. Upon entry into host cells, the main protease is essential for the replication of viral RNA, which is what allows the virus to replicate inside humans. Inhibition of the main protease has been investigated as a potential strategy for inhibition of the viral replication cycle. Here, we designed a combinatorial library of small molecules and performed high-throughput virtual screening to identify a series of hit compounds that may serve as potential inhibitors of the main protease. In our design of covalent inhibitors of the coronavirus protease, we modeled a library of 361 peptidomimetic Michael acceptor small molecules, which are designed to engage the nucleophilic cysteine residue in the active site of the protease in an irreversible 1,4-conjugate addition. We then employed a variety of computational tools to determine the binding affinity of our designed compounds when bound to the protease active site, where we determined that cationic side chains are potentially beneficial for inhibition of SARS-CoV-2.