Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
and the market and subsequent successful commercialization of the products.
Moreover, this necessitates close collaboration between multiple disciplines such
as engineering, medicine, and computer science. Therefore, multidisciplinary
research groups and technology transfer offices are playing a crucial role in the
development of novel medical technologies through a higher comprehension of the
nanostructure, physicochemical properties, and biocompatibility and their influence
on the performance of these devices.
1.4 The Nanoparticle Interface
Although the use of nanoparticles can significantly improve the way illnesses are
diagnosed and treated, it is primordial to shed light on the correlations between
nanoparticles' unique properties and the biological response they will evoke. In
effect, the present paradigm in environmental epidemiology holds that exposure to
materials in the nano-size range could cause significant public health problems,
such as pulmonary and cardiovascular disease [
73
]. These observations put forward
the need to assess the potential risk of newly engineered nanoparticles in terms of
various physicochemical properties to properly assign their mechanisms or causes
for toxicity both outside and within the biological environment. To study the safe
use of nanomaterials at the nano-bio-interface, it is essential to examine the
dynamic physicochemical interactions, kinetics, and thermodynamic exchanges
between the surfaces of the nanomaterial and the biological components with
which it interacts. Examples of such components are proteins, membranes,
phospholipids, endocytic vesicles, organelles, DNA, and biological fluids.
Complete characterization includes several measurements, such as size and size
distribution, chemistry of the material, surface area, state of dispersion, surface
chemistry, and others [
74
,
75
]. Most importantly, the material's chemical composi-
tion, surface functionalization, shape and curvature, porosity and surface crystal-
linity, heterogeneity, roughness, and hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity will greatly
influence the nanoparticle surface properties. These characteristics will shape the
interaction of the nanomaterial with its surrounding medium through (1) ions,
proteins, organic materials, and detergents adsorption; (2) double-layer formation
[
73
];
(3) dissolution; or
(4)
reducing free
surface
energy by surface
restructuring [
76
].
1.4.1
Interaction of Nanoparticles with Environmental
Biomolecules
Characterizing the interface between the nanoparticle and its liquid environment is
fundamental to the understanding of the nano-bio-interface. However, interaction
mechanisms between nanoparticles and living systems are not yet fully understood.
