Biomedical applications of different nanomaterials: characterization and interaction with the immune system

In the field of nanotechnology, research is nowadays deeply focusing on the translational application of nanomaterials in medicine. Nanotechnology is expanding its legacy by implementing approaches aimed to delivering therapeutics and developing new diagnostic and imaging tools. However, before any effective application, a critical step to be done is represented by the assessment of their impact on the immune system, independently of their specific purpose. Following these aspects, this thesis focus on the immunological impact of some of the main promising nanomaterials for biomedical applications: Carbon based materials such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene, lipid nanocapsules (NCs) and super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), in order to study their potential to be applied in therapy and diagnostic applications taking advantage from their intrinsic properties. The different studies presented explicitly demonstrate that the interactions between nanomaterials and the immune cells depend on many factors correlated to their physicochemical characteristics. A positive impact of nanomaterials on the immune system, able to trigger both immune suppression and immune activation, represent a new concept helpful in the development of new nanoscale platforms in medicine such as immunotherapy tools, vaccine carriers, adjuvants, and drug delivery systems.