Using confocal microscopy for monitoring the subcellular impact of nanomaterials

Matos, Paulo

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/6878

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Matos, Paulo

Abstract(s)

The physicochemical properties of nanomaterials, such as their small size and high surface area ratio, make them ideal for many applications in industry and biomedicine. However, those same properties increase their ability to interact with cells and tissues, allowing their permeation through several biological barriers. While these abilities have been exploited in the development of novel drug-delivery systems, the widespread use of nanomaterials makes the evaluation of the potential cytotoxicity of their raw materials an important public health issue. In vivo studies are the usual gold standard when assessing compound toxicity, however, in vitro studies have also provided a lot of information regarding the toxicity and MoA of many compounds, and have proved crucial to clarify how the intrinsic and extrinsic properties of certain nanomaterials contribute to their interaction with cells an tissues. In this talk we will describe how confocal microscopy can be used in in vitro cell cultures to evaluate the subcellular impact of nanomaterials. We will point out the advantages and limitations of using confocal fluorescent microscopy in investigating how cells interact and react to the presence of different types of nanomaterial and how these can affect basic cellular functions.