| Nanoparticles (NP)s and nanomaterials offer tremendous opportunities in industry, daily consumables, medicine, electronics and numerous other areas. The high proportion of surface atoms/molecules can give rise to a greater chemical or biological activity. However, the small size of NPs, comparable with the molecular machinery of cells may alter cellular functions and cause cyto- and genotoxicity. Therefore, the commercial applications of nanotechnology expand more rapidly than the scientific knowledge on NP exposure. Thus, the use of nanomaterials may pose unknown risks to human and environmental health.
The overall goal of our research is to analyze the impact of engineering NPs in cells and to evaluate potential adverse effects that the exposure to NPs may cause. This project would deliver a correlation between the physicochemical properties of engineering nanoparticles and their possible effects of exposure to living organisms. In vitro and in vivo studies have been performed to determine which endpoints are corresponded to risks of exposure to NPs. However, the utility of this knowledge is limited by the lack of NP characterization, the high concentration utilized, and the reductionism that mortality endpoints could provide. A global understanding of the NP interactions with biomolecules, cellular functions impaired, and modification in cell membrane fluidity have not been evaluated by an integrated analytical approach. My research group has been working in environmental proteomics to analyze pollutants effects in biological systems. We were among the pioneer applying proteomics-based methods for environmental assessment, and we are one of the leaders in the field of environmental proteomics [1-7]. This strategy combines interdisciplinary methodologies (analytical and physical chemistry to biochemistry and cell biology) to analyze the impact of nanoparticles in the environment and health. Specific goals:
• WP1: physicochemical characterization of representative classes of NPs.
• WP2: high-throughput screening of potential hazardous effects.
• WP3: global analysis of interaction of NP with biomolecules by proteomics and lipidomics.
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