Introduction to Nanotoxicology

Anna Fučíková

Department of Chemical Physics and Optics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Ke Karlovu 5, 121 16 Praha 2

The nanoparticles are widely used not only in laboratories but also in our households. They are just everywhere we look. We add them to the food, medical products, cosmetics etc. We are actually making so much nanoparticles that they become significant pollutant of our natural environment. This stands in contrast with nature made nanoparticles - their quantity is 9x higher but they are natural part of environment and are not causing significant problems.

In this talk I would like to concentrate on the tools and methods of studying the nanotoxicity of nanomaterials and interaction of nanomaterials with the biological environment. Especially I would like to speak about protein corona formation and its influence on the nanoparticle destiny in the biological environment. I would like to address the key properties of nanoparticles which are influencing their toxicity. For example: size, shape, surface charge, surface groups and composition.