Exploring Interplay of Engineered Materials with the Living by Label-Free Analytical Imaging

The well-controlled synthesis of nanoscale materials is arguably one of the most important achievements of material science in the past decades. Nanoscale materials find growing applications also in biomedicine. Fascinating therapeutic performances have been achieved by employing metal, metal oxide, and metal organic framework nanoparticles as drug delivery vehicles, radio-enhancers, and antimicrobial agents. Although recent studies have recognized the limited stability of nanomaterials in biological environments, analytical techniques have not yet been harnessed to their full potential to assess the biological fate engineered nanomaterials in complex biological environments. Despite fascinating achievements, the current limited understanding of the molecular interplay between engineered materials and the surrounding tissue remains a major obstacle in the rational development of medical materials, which is reflected in their modest clinical approval rate.<br/>In this presentation, I will present a multiscale multimodal analytical imaging approach for the label-free assessment of nanomaterial fate and alterations to tissue. I will, in a first example, demonstrate that cerium oxide-based nanozymes preferentially accumulate in tissue macrophages after topical application to the subcutis and partially biotransform into catalytically inactive cerium phosphate over time. In a second example, I will present a methodological approach for the analysis of iron-based nanoparticles after systemic administration and reveal accumulation of iron paticles in splenic macrophage subpopulations co-accumulating endogenous iron. Finally, I will showcase the application of multimodal analytical imaging in the assessment of the stability and fate of a diverse set of metal organic framework nanoparticles. Taken together, this presentation discusses how modern analytical methodologies can be harnessed for the label-free tracking of nanomaterials in complex biological environments with single particle sensitvity. Comprehensive assessment of material alterations and changes in the local tissue surrounding at unprecedented sensitivity decisively contributes to a rational and safer nanomaterial design and development for health applications.