(4ds) Design and Development of Engineered Nanomaterials Through Understanding Nano-Bio Interaction Mechanisms for Biomedical Applications

The engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) could interact with biological entities at the nano-bio interface, and the interaction could induce cascades of signaling pathways leading to the initiation of immune responses. However, the mechanisms by which ENMs could generate immunostimulatory effects at the nano-bio interface remain elusive. NLRP3 inflammasome is drawing significant attentions since it responds to a wide range of ENMs; and it has been considered to play an important role in the induction of immune responses upon ENM-cell interactions. However, how different molecular mechanisms are involved in the ENM-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation and how ENM physicochemical properties differentiate in their ability to activate the inflammasome remain poorly understood. Therefore, this research is mainly focusing on the elucidation of ENMs-NLRP3 inflammasome interaction mechanisms, which will help to link physicochemical properties of ENMs to immune responses at the nano-bio interface, and will provide strategies to engineer nanomaterials with customized immunostimulatory effects for biomedical applications.