Entity: Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV)
Confidenciality: No
Education area(s): Nanociència, Materials i Processos - Tecnologia Química de Frontera
Title in different languages: Green nanotechnology for the application of tellurium nanowires in biomedicine
Abstract: The traditional physico-chemical approaches for the synthesis of compounds and drugs that are used for healthcare concerns are facile and straightforward. Nevertheless, there is a cost associated with these approaches that needs to be overcome, such as the production of toxic by- products and the non-biocompatibility of the products. Therefore, new methods are needed, and green chemistry offers a suitable and novel answer, achieving a safe and environmentally-friendly design, manufacture and use of chemical products. There are also significant concerns, one of which is antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is known as the ability of bacteria to form a resistance towards antibiotics, and it can easily occur due to mutations when they are exposed to antibiotics. This results in a cessation of efficiency and efficacy of treatments, increasing the possibility to get a bacterial infection without having an available cure. Moreover, cancer – known as an incontrollable growth of mutated cells ending with the creation of spreadable tumors – affects more than 2 million people per year. In both cases, nanotechnology can be the answer, mainly because of their high surface area-tovolume ratio, which enables an extraordinarily high reactivity, together with the possibility of functionalization to penetrate cells. Therefore, there is a high necessity to develop new antimicrobial, anticancer and biocompatible agents without the use of traditional chemistry, for which green chemistry may provide the solution. In the present thesis, different types of nanostructures – focusing on tellurium nanowires – were synthesized, characterized and tested against bacteria and cancerous cells, and results were shown in two articles and a supporting information report. In this manner, this study suggests that green chemistry approaches for producing tellurium nanostructures and metallic nanoparticles, may not only reduce adverse environmental effects resulting from traditional synthetic chemistry methods, but also may be more effective in numerous healthcare applications such as antimicrobial or anticancer agents.
Subject: Enginyeria química
Academic year: 2018-2019
Language: Anglès
Work's public defense date: 2018-07-31
Subject areas: Chemical engineering
Student: Vernet Crua, Ada
Work's codirector: Rosell Riu, Jordi
Department: Enginyeria Química
Creation date in repository: 2019-06-25
TFM credits: 24
Keywords: Green nanotechnology, tellurium nanowires
Title in original language: Green nanotechnology for the application of tellurium nanowires in biomedicine
Project director: Webster, Thomas J.
Repositori URV