Meet the editors

Simona Clichici has her PhD in Medicine and is a Professor of Physiology at "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Romania. In 2007, she became the coordinator of the in vivo Research Laboratory at the Physiology Department. She has practical experience and many published papers concerning in vivo experimental design of different pathological conditions (e.g. liver fibrosis, diabetes mellitus), oxidative stress and cytotoxicity assess-

ment, study of the nanomaterials' effects on living organisms (cytotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis), protective effects of different natural compounds, photodynamic therapy, and carcinogenesis. She was the coordinator of two national grants, one of them regarding the toxicity of carbon nanotubes and the author/co-author of more than 100 papers, all of them concerning experimental studies on laboratory animals.

Adriana Filip has been a Professor at the Physiology Department at "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy Cluj-Napoca, Romania.since 2017 and has her PhD in medicine since 2004. She is a coordinator of the *in vitro* Lab since 2009 and a founding member and treasurer of ASOM – Association of Oxidative Stress in Medicine and BIOCOM - Biocompatibility Study Center for Natural and Synthetic Products. She is the director of two national projects

and responsible partner of one project; author/co-author of 71 ISI articles (43 as the main author and 28 as the co-author), IF cumulative as main author = 115.53; Hirsch index = 14; http://www.researcherid.com/rid/C-2906-2011. Her areas of scientific interest include: the photochemopreventive effect of natural compounds in skin tumors, the anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative effect of gold and silver nanoparticles and signaling pathways involved, cytotoxicity of synthetic compounds and natural extracts on fibroblasts and stem cells from the dental follicle, and photodynamic therapy in experimental tumors.

Dr. Gustavo Morari do Nascimento is a professor at the Federal University of ABC. He has experience in many fields related to the characterization of nanomaterials by using spectroscopic techniques associated with microscopic resolution. He obtained a doctoral degree from the University of São Paulo in 2004 with a thesis on spectroscopic characterization of nanocomposites formed by conducting polymers and clays. Subsequently, in 2007/2008, he gained a

post-doctoral degree at Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the resonance Raman study of double-walled carbon nanotubes doped with halogens under the guidance of the legendary Mildred S. Dresselhaus. Back in Brazil, he spent three years (2009–2011) at the Federal University of Minas Gerais working with the synthesis of nanostructured carbon modified with molecular magnets. Nowadays, his research focus is on molecular characterization of modified carbon nanostructured materials and polymer nanocomposites using different spectroscopic techniques. Resonance Raman and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy coupled to microscopy techniques added to X-ray absorption techniques at the National Synchrotron Light Laboratory were the main techniques employed in the investigation.

Contents

**Section 1**

**Section 2**

Approach

**Section 3**

**Section 4**

Prologue: Nanofibers

Carbon Nanomaterials

*by Gustavo M. Do Nascimento*

*by Matheus M. Roberto and Cintya A. Christofoletti*

**Preface III**

Prologue **1**

**Chapter 1 3**

Assessment of Nanomaterial's Toxicity **13**

**Chapter 2 15** How to Assess Nanomaterial Toxicity? An Environmental and Human Health

**Chapter 3 31**

Environmental and Health Impact of Nanomaterials **53**

**Chapter 4 55**

**Chapter 5 73**

Modulation of the Nanomaterial's Toxicity **97**

**Chapter 6 99**

*by Guilherme Lenz e Silva, Camila Viana, Danieli Domingues and Fernanda Vieira*

Risk Assessment and Health, Safety, and Environmental Management of

Oxidative Stress Produced by Urban Atmospheric Nanoparticles

The Interaction of Tungsten Dust with Human Skin Cells

*by Daniela-Rodica Mitrea, Alina-Mihaela Toader and Oana-Alina Hoteiuc*

*by Lavinia Gabriela Carpen, Tomy Acsente, Maria Adriana Acasandrei,* 

*Elena Matei, Claudia Gabriela Chilom, Diana Iulia Savu and Gheorghe Dinescu*

Biofunctionalized Polymer Nanomaterials: Implications on Shapes and Sizes

*M.V. Ramírez-Marez, M. Herrera-Martínez and Jorge Alberto Sánchez-Burgos*

*by F.F. Razura-Carmona, G.A. Prado-Guzmán, A. Perez-Larios,* 

## Contents



Preface

In the last decade, nanomaterials have become a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there has been an increase in the production of nanomaterials, since they have proven their limitless potential not only for technological applications, but also for medical ones. On the other hand, the increasing use of these nanomaterials has raised concerns regarding their safety for environmental and human health, due to their potential toxicity. Their faith in the human body, along with their interactions with different tissues, became of vital importance. The toxic effects of nanomaterials depend on their type, synthesis, surface geometry, diameter, length, and

This book discusses the main and new aspects related to nanomaterials' toxicity divided into four main areas: Assessment of nanomaterials' toxicity; Environmental

and health impact of nanomaterials; Modulation of nanomaterials' toxicity;

The overall idea of the book is to provide the reader with an evidence–based, comprehensive, and up-to-date overview of the current state of the art of nanomaterials' toxicity, including their synthesis and characterization, environmental impact, tests to assess their toxicity *in vitro* and *in vivo*, ways to modulate their impact on living organisms, and their beneficial use in biomedical applications.

At the beginning of the book, Professor Gustavo Nascimento presents an overview of a challenging up-to-date subject, nanofibers. In the Prologue, the main existing results regarding the synthesis, characterization through Raman spectroscopy, and

In Chapter 2 the authors discuss the most recommended and frequently used methods, including both *in vivo* and *in vitro* tests, which are the most suitable ones for the assessment of nanomaterials' toxicity. Also, toxicity of the environment is taken into account, along with toxicity related to human health. Finally, the need

Chapter 3 focuses on carbon nanomaterials and presents new tools and methodologies to assess the exposure and risk evaluation of hazards used in health, safety, and environmental management of these kinds of structures. Possible relations between safety aspects and biokinetics interaction of living organisms according to the exposure route, along with the major protocols, standards, and guidelines on the

The environmental impact of urban atmospheric nanoparticles is presented in Chapter 4, with a focus on the oxidative stress produced by this type of nanomaterial. The authors discuss different mechanisms involved in the interaction between these nanomaterials and living organisms, including cellular internalization, activation of signaling pathways, decrease of cellular antioxidants, activation of the proinflammatory cascade, lipid peroxidation, and activation of the cellular signal-

ing pathway leading to apoptosis, with impacts on human health.

Characterization and applications of nanomaterials.

applications of polyaniline nanofibers are reviewed.

for the standardization of these methods is discussed.

safe handling of nanomaterials, are also presented.

functionalization.
