( ne the biological response of living ce...)New nano-canary in the nanotoxicology coalmine: The body itself

ne the biological response of living cells to nanoparticles, and expect this technology will enable us to identify chemical changes associated with the biological response," said Weber. FTIR spectroscopy measures a broad spectrum of chemical bonds and will provide information that is complementary to genomic and proteomic approaches.

FTIR spectra are captured in minutes in live cell studies, offering a tool to rapidly detect whether nanoparticles are biologically active. This information can be used to prioritize nanoparticles for further study to ascertain the nature of the biological activity in terms of toxicity.

A broader approach underway at PNNL for discovering what environmental nanomaterials can do once they enter the body ?and how they enter and where they go ?is part of a large collaborative effort funded by NIH, DOE and private industry. This research is aimed at developing predictive respiratory system models for laboratory animals and humans. A key component of this multi-institution collaborative effort is a $10 million, 5-year Bioengineering Research Partnership, BRP, funded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute that is designed to devise 3-D imaging and computational models that provide unsurpassed detail of respiratory systems in humans and other mammals.

Advancements in medical imaging, data analysis and computation have increased "the speed and accuracy of developing detailed models of the complete respiratory system," reported Richard Corley, PNNL staff scientist and director of the multi-institutional BRP. "New imaging techniques also show promise for validating particle deposition models. Atlases of airway geometries and functional characteristics are also being constructed to facilitate analyses of variability, reduce uncertainties in animal to human extrapolations and contribute to a more quantitative representation of environment-disease interactions."

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Source:DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory


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