Nanoparticle-cell interactions: Importance for human health

The goal of the Payne Lab at Duke University is to understand how cells and proteins interact with nanoscale materials. This talk will focus on our studies aimed at understanding the cellular response to titanium dioxide nanoparticles. We have recently determined that titanium dioxide nanoparticles, widely used in consumer products, lead to a unique oxidative stress and epigenetic response in human cells. A combination of cellular assays, single particle tracking fluorescence microscopy, and electron microscopy is used to understand how the cellular interaction with these nanoparticles generates this response.