Graphene is a single-atom-thick two-dimensional carbon nanosheet with outstanding chemical, electrical, material, optical, and physical properties due to its large surface area, high electron mobility, thermal conductivity, and stability. These extraordinary features of graphene make it a key component for different applications in the biosensing and imaging arena. However, the use of graphene alone is correlated with certain limitations, such as irreversible self-agglomerations, less colloidal stability, poor reliability/repeatability, and non-specificity. The addition of gold nanostructures (AuNS) with graphene produces the graphene–AuNS hybrid nanocomposite which minimizes the limitations as well as providing additional synergistic properties, that is, higher effective surface area, catalytic activity, electrical conductivity, water solubility, and biocompatibility. This review focuses on the fundamental features of graphene, the multidimensional synthesis, and multipurpose applications of graphene–Au nanocomposites. The paper highlights the graphene–gold nanoparticle (AuNP) as the platform substrate for the fabrication of electrochemical and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based biosensors in diverse applications as well as SERS-directed bio-imaging, which is considered as an emerging sector for monitoring stem cell differentiation, and detection and treatment of cancer.

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Bioglass® 45S5 (BG) has an outstanding ability to bond with bones and soft tissues, but its application as a load-bearing scaffold material is restricted due to its inherent brittleness. BG-based composites combine the amazing biological and bioactive characteristics of BG with structural and functional features of other materials. This article reviews the composites of Bioglass in combination with metals, ceramics and polymers for a wide range of potential applications from bone scaffolds to nerve regeneration. Bioglass also possesses angiogenic and antibacterial properties in addition to its very high bioactivity; hence, composite materials developed for these applications are also discussed. BG-based composites with polymer matrices have been developed for a wide variety of soft tissue engineering. This review focuses on the research that suggests the suitability of BG-based composites as a scaffold material for hard and soft tissues engineering. Composite production techniques have a direct influence on the bioactivity and mechanical behavior of scaffolds. A detailed discussion of the bioactivity, in vitro and in vivo biocompatibility and biodegradation is presented as a function of materials and its processing techniques. Finally, an outlook for future research is also proposed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 3197-3223, 2017.

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