My name is Michele and I’m from Joinville, Brazil. I did my Bachelor’s in chemistry and my master’s degree in Applied chemistry in the University of State of Santa Catarina. My research interests are focused on the development of new formulations for nanoparticles using this approach as a vehicle to deliver genetic material or drugs to treat different diseases and the preclinical validation using in vitro assays and molecular biology techniques.
In our body we have many defense mechanisms that are normally activated due to a foreign body, which could be a virus, bacteria or even a wood barb. To avoid the immune system and adverse immune reactions it is necessary to understand the interactions between the nanoparticle and the immune system. Our body is able to capture and throw away anything different that is considered dangerous.
The aim of my project is developing some strategies to map, study, modulate and exploit nanoparticle -immune interactions to avoid the immune response, using and testing different or developing new coatings to improve the nanosystems to deliver drugs or genetic material precisely to a target site. That means to use different types of nanoparticles as silica, gold or lipoic and coat these nanoparticles with different coatings.
The still poorly understood chemical factors controlling such a behaviour may arise from nonspecific interactions with proteins and cell membranes, or from specific recognition of defined chemical patterns by proteins. A comprehensive literature evaluation suggests that the composition of the nanoparticle core also influences biological effects, in spite of polymer/coat shielding. Detailed understanding and rational control of these mechanisms will have a great impact on nanoscience and its medical applications.
Michele Do Nascimento Tomaz - Early Stage Researcher
Department of Chemical Sciences - Università degli Studi di Padova (Italy)
