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12th NanoBME Series Seminar
Nanomaterials in biomedical sciences – Applications and potential health effects
| Date | Thursday 1 May 2008 15:00-16:30 |
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| Place | 21COE/REDEEM Lecture Hall, Biomedical Engineering 21COE/REDEEM Building (Aobayama Campus) |
| Outline |
(Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore) 「Nanomaterials in biomedical sciences – Applications and potential health effects」 Nanomaterials, in particularly nanoparticles, have been widely studied for biomedical applications due to their unique properties. They have been used in drug delivery, bioimaging as well as medical diagnostics. Our group has been focusing in developing new approach of generating nanoparticle-DNA conjugates bearing specific number(s) short DNA linker molecules that can be used as nanoprobes for gene detection. Gold nanoparticles bearing specific numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) of single-stranded DNA less than 20 bases were obtained using the combined methods of gel electrophoresis and DNA digestion. As the number of DNA strands on the nanoparticles is defined, the hybridization between these nanoparticle conjugates and target DNA can be quantitatively investigated. The conjugates form dimers at the presence of complementary target DNA. The amount of dimer formation is directly proportional to the concentration of linkers, indicating the possibility for sample quantification. The conjugates can also detect single nucleotide discrimination. In the 2nd half of the talk, I would like to address some of the potential health effects in applying nanoparticles for in vivo applications. We have conducted cell membrane model, in vitro and animal studies to demonstrate that exposing gold nanoparticles, a relatively inert nanomaterial, to biological systems may potentially cause adverse effects to organs and induce oxidative stress to cells. In a model phospholipid monolayer study, we also demonstrated that surface properties of the nanoparticles can be the key for the interactions with cells. The results shown here will be useful for researchers that are developing nanomaterial-based biomedical applications. |
| Contact | COE secretariat Tel：022-795-7005 E-mail: secretary@nanoBME.org |
