Results

A critical study has been conducted about the toxicological techniques currently used centered on nanoparticle-based therapeutics, either approved for human use or are under clinical trial, with a view on the selection of nanostructured therapeutic materials for developing toxicity and biocompatibility studies about the interaction of nanoparticles with human body.

The scientific and technical discussions between the project partners in Phase I has led to the selection of materials to be addressed in order to assess the biological risks and benefits and disadvantages of new therapeutic approaches. The system selected for toxicological risk assessment and cellular changes is that of silver nanoparticles, that is therapeutic nanomaterial largely used in nanomedicine, with strong antibacterial activity, used in current therapeutic antimicrobial dressings.

The Romanian partner, Institute of Physical Chemistry "Ilie Murgulescu", has carried out the synthesis and physico-chemical treatment of nanostructured materials selected to be used at the Department of Pathology from the Catholic University of Daegu, South Korea, to determine in vitro and in vivo morphological and pathology effects on cells, tissue cellular changes after treatment with nanomaterials, immunohistochemical and molecular changes after treatment with nanomaterials, and identify genetic changes at the cellular level, after treatment with nanomaterials and development of new methodologies for assessing the biological risks related to physico-chemical properties of the nanostructured materials.

In the second phase of the project, the Romanian partner, Institute of Physical Chemistry "Ilie Murgulescu", dealt with the preparation of silver nanoparticles with different morphologies 'nanoplates' and ‘nanoprisms', geometry and size being controlled by the chemical synthesis method.

The physico-chemical characterization of silver nanoparticles included determining the morphological, chemical, crystallinity, uniformity, stability in biological fluids, by the use of techniques: conventional and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM, HRTEM); transmission electron microscopy with high-angle annular dark field detector (STEM-HAADF)), electron diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis , X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering (DLS).

The results show a high degree of innovation, developing new technology for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles with controllable size and morphology, as demonstrated by the characterization with complex techniques of the morphology and spectral properties of the nanoparticles.

The scientific impact of the project results mainly from the formation of a research team comprised of Romanian and Korean scientists with complex and multidisciplinary expertise in nanoparticle preparation, physico-chemical, toxicological clinical assessment to provide a critical report on the techniques necessary to assess therapeutic toxicity of nanostructured materials.

This high level international scientific group with multidisciplinary expertise can address complex development of the project results obtaining new research projects with greater scientific scope and impact, not limited to exchange visits between the researcher partners involved.