|
|
| Texas NanoEnergy Collaborative |
Application for Space Exploration
Principal Investigators
Project Period: 12 months
Executive Summary
Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) are nanomaterials (material having a dimension of less than 100nm) which have been developed and are now commercially available. They and their structural composite, quantum wire, are potential materials of choice for applications in construction, energy and communications. Due to their enhanced strength, electrical conductance and other performance characteristics, they also meet the needs of the current United States Space Program (lighter weight construction materials, light-weight and more efficient energy sources, and lighter weight and more efficient sensors). A number of references have looked at the toxicity of SWNT and have varied conclusions as to their safety. We are proposing to evaluate the safety of different pristine and functionalized preparations of SWNT. The approach will be to use toxicogenomics, or high-throughput screening using gene expression microarrays. The experiments will incorporate an experimental design tailored to a systems biology methodology. The resulting data will be evaluated using a tiered approach and will provide a preliminary foundation for a more comprehensive time course and dose evaluation. The conclusions should lead to whether these forms of SWNT show any adverse effects by comparing their gene expression profiles with not only each other, but also known particulate toxins and known cellular pathways involved in toxicity.
Overall Objective and Goals
The overall objective is to evaluate four forms of SWNT using gene expression profiling of primary human cells. The first goal is to manufacture these forms and analyze their composition and purity as fully as possible. The second goal is to treat primary human keratinocytes with these forms using a very controlled experimental design. Samples will be isolated and run with precision on gene expression microarrays. The third goal is to analyze the data using a tiered approach thereby setting the foundation for a systems biology methodology. A preliminary conclusion as to the safety of these different SWNT preparations will be made.
|
|
| Page Updated/Reviewed: 02/27/2008 8:52 AM |
|
|
