© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim H134 wileyonlinelibrary.com EDITORIAL www.advmat.de www.MaterialsViews.com Adv. Mater. 2011, 23, H134–H135 In this, the second issue of Advanced Healthcare Materials, we are also pleased to include two Progress Reports that focus on different aspects of the mate- rials science behind clinical diagnosis. Firstly, Elena Rozhkova from the Argonne National Laboratory in the U.S.A. reports on advances in the rational design of functional nanoscale materials that are photoreactive and magnetic and can be used for the diagnosis, imaging, and therapy of brain cancer. Whilst the engi- neered nanoplatforms that they describe are specific to brain cancers, the prin- ciples are applicable to the design of nanoscale materials for diagnosis and treatment of other life-threatening dis- eases. Secondly, a Swiss collaboration, headed by Emmanuel Delamarche, between the IBM Research institute in Zurich and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne describes recent progress towards efficient point-of-care microfluidic-based diagnostic devices, also featured on the back cover of the section. The authors outline the require- ments for an ideal point-of-care immu- nodiagnostic device that combines cutting-edge research from microtechno- logists, materials scientists, chemists, life We are delighted to present the second Advanced Healthcare Materials special section in Advanced Materials. The first section appeared in Issue 12 in March and was met with overwhelming praise by members of the community. We thank everyone who wrote to us directly, but also thank our authors, ref- erees, and readers whose support helped launch a highly successful inaugural spe- cial section. We also thank the Chairman of our Editorial Advisory Board, Younan Xia, and all the members for their support and advice in establishing Advanced Healthcare Materials. It was with sad- ness that we learnt that one of our Board members, Professor Tae Gwan Park, passed away on April 10. Professor Park was on the faculty of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejon (South Korea) and was a respected member of the scientific com- munity. He had authored more than 220 papers in peer-reviewed journals, sev- eral book chapters, and over 30 patents. His activities with our journals, whether as a Board member, author, or referee, were always executed to the highest of standards. We have lost a tremendous researcher, and our thoughts go to his family, friends, colleagues, and students. The front cover of this special section by the group of Dan Anderson, a member of our Editorial Advisory Board, is an attrac- tive introduction for the top-quality papers in this edition of Advanced Healthcare materials. The cover represents a study into biological responses to implanted bio- materials and medical devices. The work leads to the quantification of changes in the morphology and behavior of monocyte and macrophage cells at polymer-coated surfaces in vivo. The study increases the understanding of foreign-body responses, which is critical for controlling inflamma- tory reactions to devices and implants. DOI: 10.1002/adma.201101947 From Diagnosis to Treatment and Beyond The development of a new hydrophobic polysaccharide capsule is featured on the inside cover of the section. The work by Catherine Picart, Rachel Auzély-Velty, and co-workers allows the selective encap- sulation of water-insoluble molecules, which is required for novel nanomedical systems for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs. Drug loading and capsule stability can be modulated by altering the chem- istry of the modified polysaccharides. Vol. 23 • No. 24 • June 24 • 2011 www.advhealthmat.de Vol. 23 • No. 24 • June 24 • 2011 www.advhealthmat.de Vol. 23 • No. 24 • June 24 • 2011 www.advhealthmat.de