Investigation of interactions of nanoparticles with components of the human vascular microenvironment : platelets, plasma and endothelial cells

Abstract

Nanotechnology is defined as ‘the understanding and control of matter at dimensions less than 100 nanometers’, and exploits the novel physical, chemical and biological properties of materials. Nanomedicine, application of nanotechnology in medicine, has the potential for early detection, improved diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of diseases. Nanotechnology-enabled constructs based on for example, silica (Lee et al., 2010), magnetite (Wu et al., 2008b), and quantum dots (QDs) (Biswas et al., 2011) are rapidly emerging as potential candidates for diagnostic and drug delivery applications, or both (called theranostics). The systemic delivery of nanoparticle based pharmacological, therapeutic, biosensor, imaging and diagnostic agents implies the interactions of nanoparticles (NPs) with the components of the vascular microenvironment (Winter et al., 2003, Buxton et al., 2003, Martin and Kohli, 2003). Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to study the interactions of engineered nanoparticles with human plasma, platelets and endothelial cells.