Chairs: Silvana FIORITO, Sapienza University of Rome
& Rosalba GORNATI, University of Insubria
In collaboration with: University of Milano Bicocca - Research Center POLARIS, University of Insubria, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Tiesselab, Gilson

SYNOPSIS

The importance of nanotechnology in biology and medicine is due to the small size and large surface area, relative to their volume, of the nanomaterials. These properties make nano-tools to easily interact with biomolecules both on the cell surface and inside the cell. By gaining access to various areas of the body, nanoparticles have potential application in various medical fields including diagnostics and therapeutics. Advances have been made that proved nanotechnology being beneficial for diagnosis and targeted treatment of cancer and/or infectious diseases and for early detection of many diseases. Moreover, nano-devices are being developed which can help in intracellular drug delivery and gene/protein delivery, as well as neuro-implantable devices to treat neurological traumatic and degenerative lesions. Work is currently being conducted to safely move these new nano-sized tools into clinical practice (this will be the topic of Nanosafety and Nanobiotechnology II – Symposium TT.III.B). The proposed session will focus on the studies of the biological mode-of-action of new advanced nanomaterials such as naturally occurring nanoconstructs for cancer management, nanobiosensors, magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with enzymes for biotechnological applications.