Chemistry Colloquium Series

Nanoscale engineering is one of the most dynamically growing areas in science and industry. As there are no safety regulations yet, concerns about future health problems are mounting. The fundamental question that arises is, whether size alone can be detrimental. In order to investigate this issue, one must study the effects of both inert i.e. noble metal (1) and chemically active (Ti and Zn oxide) nanoparticles (2).
Living tissues are composed of a hierarchy of cell structures, where each layer has a unique cell type and function. Here I will focus on the impact of the nanoparticles on the function of various types of primary culture skin cells. Skin tissue is chosen as a model since it is the first barrier to penetration from contact type of exposure. We found that, even at very low concentrations, where no apoptosis was detected, both types of particles were capable of interfering with normal cell functions such as migration, proliferation, and ECM formation. In the case of inert particles, a critical concentration existed below which recovery was possible if the source of particles was removed.
Particles which are coated will interact differently with the cell membrane. The effects of adsorbed plasma proteins, as well as synthetic coatings will be discussed (2).
1. Adverse effects of citrate/gold nanoparticles on human dermal fibroblasts Pernodet N, Fang XH,
Sun Y, Bakhtina A, Ramakrishnan A, Sokolov J, Ulman A, Rafailovich M. Small 2006 2 (6): 766-773
2. Multicomponent polymer coating to block photocatalytic activity of TiO2 nanoparticles, Wilson
A. Lee,Nadine Pernodet, Bingquan Li, Chien H. Lin, Eli Hatchwell and Miriam H. Rafailovich,
Chemical Communications (2007) Pages: 4815-4817