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Nanomaterials for Health
Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:44:11
Abstract
This course provides fundamentals concerning how nanomaterials can be beneficial for health, focusing on food, water, air, as well as diagnosis and therapy of diseases.
Objective
Students are able to - identify and remember the aspects of nanomaterials that have a (potential) impact on health; - systematically evaluate the contributions and potential impact of nanomaterials to a defined problem or application; - get inspired and be able to develop ideas regarding nanomaterials for well-defined health challenges.
Content
Nanoscience and associated technologies drive development of useful new materials and enable a plethora of exciting discoveries and applications for our daily lives. 70 % of the inventions made during the last decades were directly or indirectly material related. A significant part thereof was made in the areas of health- or medical technologies anticipating the unmet needs of our society. The successful implementation of innovative nanomaterials designs for health relies on inter- & transdisciplinary efforts between different research fields. The lecture will focus on nanomaterials, their use in different areas of health, starting with food, food additive and food packaging, water and air disinfection, and applications in diagnosis and therapy. Further, it will provide foundational knowledge to create novel material designs for unmet clinical needs. 1. Introduction: definition and special properties of nanomaterials and nanomaterials safety (available as an online tutorial with a Q&A session in the lecture) 2. Nanomaterials synthesis (top down and bottom up) 3. Nanomaterials characterization (physical, chemical, and biological characterization) 4. Nanomaterials in food, food additives and packaging 5. Nanomaterials in water purification 6. Nanomaterials in surface and air purification 7. Nanomaterials in diagnostics and (bio)monitoring 8. Nanomaterials in therapeutics 9. Paper discussion of innovative proof of concept examples form the literature (guided Journal club) and further discussion of own ideas along the determined unmet health needs 10. End of semester performance assessment done as a presentation of a recent paper exploring the use of nanomaterial for health (lecturer provide a preselection of appropriate papers)
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- MSC
- Frequency
- Yearly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise | Nanomaterials for Health |
|
2 h weekly |