Nanotechnology, nanotoxicology, and neuroscience

Abstract

Nanotechnology, which deals with features as small as a 1 billionth of a meter, began to enter into mainstream physical sciences and engineering some 20 years ago. Recent applications of nanoscience include the use of nanoscale materials in electronics, catalysis, and biomedical research. Among these applications, strong interest has been shown to biological processes such as blood coagulation control and multimodal bioimaging, which has brought about a new and exciting research field called nanobiotechnology. Biotechnology, which itself also dates back ∼30 years, involves the manipulation of macroscopic biological systems such as cells and mice in order to understand why and how molecular level mechanisms affect specific biological functions, e.g., the role of APP (amyloid precursor protein) in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This review aims (1) to introduce key concepts and materials from nanotechnology to a non-physical sciences community; (2) to introduce several stateof-the-art examples of current nanotechnology that were either constructed for use in biological systems or that can, in time, be utilized for biomedical research; (3) to provide recent excerpts in nanotoxicology and multifunctional nanoparticle systems (MFNPSs); and (4) to propose areas in neuroscience that may benefit from research at the interface of neurobiologically important systems and nanostructured materials.

In vivo uptake and acute immune response to orally administered chitosan and PEG coated PLGA nanoparticles

“…The size of the particles, (low negative) zeta potential and their physicochemical properties all facilitated the observed intracellular uptake. There are a large number of in vitro studies on nanoparticulate cytotoxicity with various types of engineered nanoparticles (Suh et al, 2009). Some reports indicate the possibility of ultrafine particles acting as adjuvants to enhance inflammatory responses and improve release of pro-inflammatory mediators by macrophages.…”

Nanoparticle Technology as a Double-Edged Sword: Cytotoxic, Genotoxic and Epigenetic Effects on Living Cells

“…Large particles can induce permanent damage to cell membrane via binding with cellular membrane proteins, whilst small particles can pass through membrane and harm organelles [34] and then, bigger ones can occur in the cytoplasm (mainly in vacuoles) and smaller ones in mitochondria. The interaction between QDs and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells are based on adsorption between amine groups within cell membrane and carboxyl group of QDs, and in some permeabilized cells, QDs distribution was observed only in the cytoplasm and in some other QDs were found even inside the nucleus and in the nucleolus.…”

Review on Micro- and Nanolithography Techniques and their Applications

“…With these nano-scale devices, higher sensitivity and faster response of analytical system are two main advantages. Carbon nanotubes, nanowires, and nanochannels are employed for these tasks [103][104].…”