NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY N&N 2007 ABSTRACT BOOK Carbon nanotubes toxicology and effects on metabolism and immunological modification in vitro and in vivo

The conference http://www.lnf.infn.it/conference/nn2007/ gathered at Villa Mondragone in Monte Porzio Catone, Italy, with leading experts in research and innovative technologies in biology, medicine, aerospace, optoelectronics, materials and instrumentation, coming both from academic research and industrial areas, as well as national security and military defense experts in attendence. Nanoscience&Nanotechnology October 15-16, 2007, Villa Mondragone, Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy The vision of nanotechnology as an enabling technology, with high potential impact on virtually all fields of mankind activity (industry, biomedicine, environment, economy, politics, etc.), yielding high expectations for a solution to the main needs of society, although having to address open issues with respect to its sustainability and compatibility, will be the focus in October 15-16, 2007 of the International Conference "Nanoscience&Nanotechnology (n&n2007)" at Villa Mondragone, Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy. Leading experts, coming from both the academic research and the industrial areas, including scientists of different background (physicists, chemists, biologists, engineers and physicians), researchers and executives from industries, as well as national security and military defence experts, will gather to discuss the most recent research developments and innovative technologies in the fields of biology, medicine, aerospace, optoelectronics, instrumentation & services. The Conference, chaired by Dr. S. Bellucci and Profs. A. Bergamaschi and E. Bergamaschi,with the sponsorship of INFN (Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics), the University of Rome Tor Vergata and the Catholic University of Rome, is intended as an opportunity for concrete planning of future devices, based on innovative (nano) materials, involving both industrial entities and public research institutes, as well as for presentation by sponsoring firms of their instrumentation and success stories, based on current use by significant customers. At the beginning of each session, tutorial lectures are foreseen, addressing general and basic questions about nanotechnology, such as what they are, how does one go about them, what purposes can they serve. In tutorial sessions the nature of nanotechnology, the instruments of current use in its characterizations and the possible applicative uses will be described at an introductory level. Authors wishing to submit their work for presentation at the conference can send an abstract as a pdf file (max. 2 pages) to bellucci@lnf.infn.it by 17th September 2007, specifying whether it is meant for oral or poster presentation. The poster session will take place on Tuesday 16th October afternoon. Authors will be notified of the acceptance of their submission by 20th September 2007. We plan, as done in the previous editions of the conference in 2005 and 2006, to submit selected papers, based on conference talks and related discussions, for publication on a dedicated issue of Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter. Additional detailed information can be found in the web site: http://www.lnf.infn.it/conference/nn2007/, or e-mailing the secretariat: colasanti@lnf.infn.it There is a 200 Euro fee (100 Euro reduced fee for PhD students), to be paid on the premises in cash only. The fee includes coffee and lunch breaks, and a social dinner on Monday 15th. Hotel reservation is the responsibility of the participants. A special rate of 85 Euro for a single room bed and breakfast accommodation, including shuttle bus daily transportation to and from the lecture hall, may be obtained at the Hotel Antica Colonia http://www.hotelanticacolonia.it/english by the participants mentioning the INFN Conference “n&n2007”, when making the reservation. Additional information can be found in the web site http://www.lnf.infn.it/conference/nn2007 To reach the school site please follow the link: http://www.villamondragone.com/ See also http://www.villamondragone.it

The aim of this research is focused on the biological effects of multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on three different human cell types, laboratory animals in vivo, and immunological effects. Large numbers of researchers are directly involved in the handling of nanostructured materials such as MWCNTs and nanoparticles. It is important to assess the potential health risks related to their daily exposure to carbon nanotubes. The administration of sterilized nanosamples has been performed on laboratory animals, in both acute and chronic administration, and the pathological effects on the parenchymal tissues have been investigated. We studied the serum immunological modifications after intraperitoneal administration of the MWCNTs. We did not observe any antigenic reaction; the screening of ANA, anti-ENA, anti-cardiolipin, C-ANCA and P-ANCA was negative. No quantitative modification of immunoglobulins was observed, hence no modification of humoral immunity was documented. We also studied the effects of MWCNTs on the proliferation of three different cell types. MCF-7 showed a significant inhibition of proliferation for all conditions studied, whereas hSMCs demonstrated a reduction of cell growth only for the highest MWCNTs concentrations after 72 h. Also, no growth modification was observed in the Caco-2 cell line. We observed that a low quantity of MWCNTs does not provoke any inflammatory reaction. However, for future medical applications, it is important to realize prosthesis based on MWCNTs, through studying the corresponding implantation effects. Moreover, it has to be emphasized that this investigation does not address, at the moment, the carcinogenicity of MWCNTs, which requires a detailed follow-up investigation on the specific topic. In view of the subsequent and more extensive use of MWCNTs, especially in applications where carbon nanotubes are injected into the human body for drug delivery, as a contrast agent carrying entities for MRI, or as the basic material of a new prosthesis generation, more extended tests and experiments are necessary.