Shrinking the biologic world - Nanobiotechnologies for toxicology

Abstract

Although toxicologic effects need to be considered at the organismal level, the adverse events originate from interactions and alterations at the molecular level. Cellular structures and functions can be disrupted by modifications of the nanometer structure of critical molecules; therefore, devices used to assess biologic and toxicologic processes at the nanoscale will allow important new research pursuits. In order to properly assess alterations at these dimensions, nanofabricated tools are needed to detect, separate, analyze, and manipulate cells or biologic molecules of interest. The emergence of laser tweezers, surface plasmon resonance (SPR), laser capture microdissection (LCM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and multi-photon microscopes have allowed for these assessments. Micro- and nanobiotechnologies will further advance biologic, clinical, and toxicologic endeavors with the aid of miniaturized, more sensitive devices. Miniaturized table-top laboratory equipment incorporating additional innovative technologies can lead to new advances, including micro total analysis systems (μTAS) or "lab-on-a-chip" and "sentinel sensor" devices. This review will highlight several devices, which have been made possible by techniques originating in the microelectronics industry. These devices can be used for toxicologic assessment of cellular structures and functions, such as cellular adhesion, signal transduction, motility, deformability, metabolism, and secretion.