BRASINOEU

Many engineered Nanomaterials (ENM) are based on molecules which are toxic per se. Some are non-degradable, and if humans are exposed to them, they can potentially accumulate in organs with unknown effects.  Others, because of their surface properties or quantum effects, can have a catalytic activity that may interfere with biological processes and lead to oxidative stress harmful to cells and organs. In some cases, the nano-form may facilitate the uptake of molecules or ions at the cellular or body level in ways that would not otherwise be possible, and lead to toxic consequences.
Knowledge on the immune response, genotoxicity, and mechanism of uptake at cellular and organ levels is fundamental for the foundation of safety assessment of these materials. It is equally important to be able to correlate toxicity and biological fate with the physicochemical properties of ENM. Establishing correlations between size, charge, chemical composition of ENM, and their toxicities are vital for the application of the safe-by-design approach to the development of ENM and devices utilizing them to avoid risks to human health and the environment.
The scope of this project is to address issues related to the safety of ENM and nanotechnologies, and to assure the implementation of safety in ENM design and the development of applications incorporating ENM.  The goals are reached through joint activities of an international team with a proven expertise in material science and toxicology and capable of facing the complex issues of toxicity of ENM. Through the exchange of Early and Experienced Researchers from Europe and Brazil and China we can reach a global approach, also highly important when aiming at achieving international standards on safety of ENM. The complementarity of the groups involved in the project will help to develop new professional and scientific horizontal connections through the global exchange of researchers, who will be trained in complementary disciplines and learn a variety of techniques necessary to address the complex issues of the interaction of ENM with biological matter and tools for the design of ENM and devices incorporating them.
The project will focus on the synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles, as well as on magnetic NPs. A key aspect of the project will be to tune the surface chemistry of the NPs to find ways to increase biocompatibility and to control NP translocation, uptake and toxicity at cellular and body level.