Chapters authored
Evaluation Strategies of Nanomaterials Toxicity
The revolutionary development of nanoscience during the last years has increased the number of studies in the field to evaluate the toxicity and risk levels. The design of different nanomaterials together with biological components has implemented the advances in biomedicine. Specifically, nanoparticles seem to be a promising platform due to their features, including nanoscale dimensions and physical and chemical characteristics than can be modified in function of the final application. Herein, we review the main studies realized with nanoparticles in order to understand and characterize the cellular uptake mechanisms involved in biocompatibility, toxicity, and how they alter the biological processes to avoid disease progression.
Part of the book: Nanomaterials
Microarrays as Platform for Multiplex Assays in Biomarker and Drug Discovery
Despite the tremendous advances in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms and the complexity of the diseases is one of the present challenges for the scientific community; then, novel strategies are required to be designed and developed for effective strategies for early diagnosis and treatment. As many cellular alterations are observed at protein level, high-throughput assays are dramatically needed for biomarker discovery. Herein, we describe advantages and limitations of protein microarrays, as proteomics strategy useful for multiplex and high-throughput protein characterization in clinical samples. Finally, a few examples are discussed; mostly of them related to currently disease biomarkers already identified in proximal fluids by protein arrays are discussed.
Part of the book: Rapid Test
Protein Interactions and Nanomaterials: A Key Role of the Protein Corona in Nanobiocompatibility
The protein corona is still somewhat of a mysterious consequence of the nanoparticles’ application in theranostics. In this review, several critical aspects related to the protein corona are described, in particular which influences more specifically its formation, how to evaluate/characterize it, and what interactions to expect when the nanoparticle and the protein corona are inside the cell. Despite these issues, which have been studied in a general way, it has been verified that there’s still much information missing when it comes to specific nanoparticles. Here, a few proteins are also highlighted as examples, which have been identified as part of the protein corona; in addition, several factors related to the formation of protein corona are discussed due to their important role in the different adsorbed proteins.
Part of the book: Protein-Protein Interaction Assays