Synthesis, characterization and toxicological evaluation of carbon-based nanostructures

4 July - Seminar at 11:45 am on Synthesis, characterization and toxicological evaluation of carbon-based nanostructures by Rafael Gregorio (PhD student in the Institute of Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden, Germany) at the University of Catania, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aula F. 

Currently we are unable to draw neither a specific nor a general conclusion regarding the impact of size, shape and surface chemistry-dependent interactions of nano-structured materials with biological systems. The morphological features of nanoparticles alone are thought to trigger different biological responses without any dependence of the material they are made of or type of surface functionalization that they have.

The focus of this talk is to present basic synthesis methods of graphene-based nanoparticles, e.g. metallic nanoparticles coated with graphene and nanographene oxide, with narrow size distributions and evaluate their cytotoxicity and uptake in different eukaryotic cells. The results presented suggest that slight differences in the morphology of nanoparticles, such as size, can be induce different cell behavior. This highlights the great importance of the synthesis and thorough characterization of nanoparticles in the design of effective nanoparticle platforms for biological applications.