Nanomaterials-Biological Interactions Knowledgebase

The ability to manipulate matter at the atomic scale will enable a broad range of beneficial applications in the electronics, healthcare (e.g. nanomedicine, imaging, and diagnostics), cosmetics, technologies and engineering industries. Pertinent to the development of promising nanotechnologies and to the safety of nanoscale materials in general, is a thorough understanding of nanomaterial-biological interactions.  Information currently being gained in this emerging field is extremely diverse including a multitude of widely varying nanomaterials that are being/or will be tested in a broad array of animal systems and in vitro assays.  Knowledge of nanomaterial-biological interactions will likely only be arrived at upon inclusion and consideration of the entire body of data produced from global efforts in this research area.

To address these needs in the nascent field of nanobiotechnology, researchers at Oregon State University and the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute's SNNI Program are developing a collaborative knowledgebase of Nanomaterial-Biological Interactions (NBI).  The NBI knowledgebase will serve as a repository for annotated data on nanomaterial characterization (e.g. purity, electronic and photonic properties, size, shape, charge, composition, functionalization, agglomeration state, etc.), synthesis methods, and nanomaterial-biological interactions (i.e. beneficial, benign or deleterious) defined at multiple levels of biological organization (e.g. molecular, cellular, or organismal); thus providing the framework to conduct species, route, dose and scenario extrapolations and identify key data required to predict the biological interactions of nanomaterials.

Inclusion of such disparate data requires systematic analysis and computational optimization of the NBI knowledgebase to identify structure and design principles of high-performance, environmentally-benign nanomaterials.  Relevant computational and analytic data mining tools will be developed and incorporated into the NBI to extract useful knowledge from diverse datasets on nanomaterial characterization, synthesis methods and nanomaterial biological interactions. The initial goal in developing such a system was to predict the toxic potential of unsynthesized nanomaterials, provide material design tools to guide material modifications that may minimize hazard, and identify experimental platforms/methods most predictive of nanomaterial-biological interactions.  Given the impressive level of enthusiasm that we have received from industry, academic and government partners/collaborators, the knowledgebase will be expanded to include more extensive characterization and functional endpoints.

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For information on research collaborations, contact Dr. Stacey Harper
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