In this book the recent progress accumulated in studies of the interaction of engineered nanoparticles with cells and cellular constituents is presented. The focus is on manufacturing and characterization of nanosized materials, their interactions with biological molecules such as proteins, the mechanisms of transport across biological membranes as well as their effects on biological functions. Fundamental molecular and cellular aspects are in the foreground of the book. A further particularity is the interdisciplinary approach, including fields such as preparatory and analytical chemistry, biophysics and the physics of colloids, advanced microscopy and spectroscopy for in-situ detection of nanoparticles, cellular toxicology and nanomedicine. Nanoscale particles are known to exhibit novel and unprecedented properties that make them different from their corresponding bulk materials. As our ability to control these properties is further advanced, a huge potential to create materials with novel properties and applications emerges. Although the technological and economic benefits of nanomaterials are indisputable, concerns have also been raised that nanoscale structuring of materials might also induce negative health effects. Unfortunately, such negative health effects cannot be deduced from the known toxicity of the corresponding macroscopic material. As a result, there is a major gap in the knowledge necessary for assessing their risk to human health.

This book reviews several aspects of the biological response to nanoscale particles on a molecular and cellular level. Nanoscale materials and nanoscale particles in particular have interesting properties and beneficial applications. While they thus have entered our daily lifes on many different levels (from electronics, over textiles, packaging or surface modifications, to biomedical applications), general rules describing their interaction with biological structures and biological matter are still difficult to derive. The existing literature suggests a variety of interaction schemes between nanoparticles and biological objects, not dispelling the public concerns about possible health effects and harmful properties. A systematic approach to the problem is needed and timely. This book specifically emphasizes bioanalytical problems starting from the characterization of the nanomaterials to the pitfalls and potential artifacts of state-of-the-art cytotoxicity assays that are frequently used to study harmful effects on cells. It also highlights the application of label-free bioanalytical techniques that can potentially complement the present approaches and hence provide new perspectives on this highly discussed cutting-edge field of research and public concern.

As nanomaterials become increasingly present in our daily lives, pertinent questions regarding their safety arise. Nanomaterial risk assessment, as in other areas, directs much of the effort worldwide in defining guidelines that may be translated into national or international directives. Nanomaterials encompass different entities, from nanoparticles to nanostructured materials, with specific effects over cells, tissues, organisms and ecosystems depending on their biophysical characteristics. Such interactions will directly affect the impact of novel nanotechnologies. This book aims to provide the reader with a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art in nanotoxicology, featuring the most important developments and critical issues regarding the use of and exposure to nanoparticles.

In recent years, the fabrication of nanomaterials and exploration of their properties have attracted the attention of various scientific disciplines such as biology, physics, chemistry, and engineering. Although nanoparticulate systems are of significant interest in various scientific and technological areas, there is little known about the safety of these nanoscale objects. It has now been established that the surfaces of nanoparticles are immediately covered by biomolecules (e.g. proteins, ions, and enzymes) upon their entrance into a biological medium. This interaction with the biological medium modulates the surface of the nanoparticles, conferring a “biological identity” to their surfaces (referred to as a “corona”), which determines the subsequent cellular/tissue responses. The new interface between the nanoparticles and the biological medium/proteins, called “bio-nano interface,” has been very rarely studied in detail to date, though the interest in this topic is rapidly growing. In this book, the importance of the physiochemical characteristics of nanoparticles for the properties of the protein corona is discussed in detail, followed by comprehensive descriptions of the methods for assessing the protein-nanoparticle interactions. The advantages and limitations of available corona evaluation methods (e.g. spectroscopy methods, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, and differential centrifugal sedimentation) are examined in detail, followed by a discussion of the possibilities for enhancing the current methods and a call for new techniques. Moreover, the advantages and disadvantages of protein-nanoparticle interaction phenomena are explored and discussed, with a focus on the biological impacts.

An examination of the widespread application of nano materials in biology, medicine, and pharmaceuticals and the accompanying safety concerns, Bio-interactions of Nano Materials addresses the issues related to toxicity and safety of nano materials and nano systems. It covers the interactions in biological systems and presents various tools and methods used to evaluate the nano toxicity and nano safety issues. Written by leading scientists, the book focuses on the bio-interaction of nano materials, covering various techniques and tests which have been developed to evaluate the toxicity of materials at the nano level. The book highlights the challenges of bio-interactions of nano materials and possible solutions to those challenges. It addresses the assessment and characterization of nano systems in bio-environments, toxicity and bio-sensing devices for toxicity assessment, carbon nano tubes and pulmonary toxicity, and nano toxicity of solid lipid nanoparticles. It also discusses nano safety concerns and solutions, including the effects of nano particles on different organs and regulatory implications of nano materials. These particles may be used to encapsulate drugs, recognize biological markers, or visualize body tissues among many other possibilities, all enabling their widespread application in biology, medicine, and pharmaceutics. Indeed, these nano materials may have beneficial effects that have not even been imagined. This book gives you an understanding of the safety issues, how to assess for them, and how to mitigate them to move forward in research and development of new applications for nano materials.

Nanodiamonds: Applications in Biology and Nanoscale Medicine highlights the translation of nanodiamonds toward clinical relevance and medical applications. Integrating a spectrum of internationally-recognized experts currently developing these technologies, this book fits as a cornerstone of this exciting field. These include contributions from clinician scientists working at the interface of medicine and nanotechnologies which discuss the critical and requisite properties of nanomaterials, in a concise and cohesive manner. Nanodiamonds: Applications in Biology and Nanoscale Medicine provides a multidisciplinary overview of nanodiamonds and there uses for scientific, engineering and clinical audiences alike.

Nanoscale Technology in Biological Systems reviews recent accomplishments in the field of nanobiology and introduces the application of nanoscale matrices to human biology. It focuses on the applications of nanotechnology fabrication to biomedical devices and discusses new physical methods for cell isolation and manipulation and intracellular commu