In the period from 16th to 20th of November 2020, an interdisciplinary group of five young researchers from the Technical University of Moldova (TUM) and the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy (SUMPh), participated in an online training in the field of nanobiotechnology. The training was organized by the Joint Research Center in the view of open access to JRC infrastructures for training and capacity building for enlargement and integration countries.
Together with the other seven teams selected for participation in the training, Moldovan scientists were dispersed in three topics where specific subjects were demonstrated and discussed. Iulia Veremiov (SUMPh), participating in the first topic was focused on learning about nanomaterials sizing, using state of the art instrumentations, such as Dynamic light scattering, Disk centrifuge sedimentation, Asymmetric Field Flow Fractionation with different detectors, Analytical Ultra-Centrifugation, Tunable Resistive Pulse Sensing and ICP-MS including single particle detection. The participants in the second topic, dr. Tudor Braniste (TUM) and Vitalie Cobzac (SUMPh), were familiarized with the commonly used in vitro assays for studying nanomaterial-cell interactions and highlighting pitfalls occurring during assay development due to the specific nature of nanomaterial (in vitro dosimetry, interaction of nanomaterial with cell reagents). Dr. Eduard Monaico (TUM) and PhD student Andrei Tiron (TUM) were trained on Raman spectroscopy, ellipsometry, electron microscopy and an introduction to surface chemistry analysis using XPS and/or ToF SIMS.
Although the online activities cut-off lots of communication among peers, the training was helpful for the identification of techniques to further investigate the interaction of three-dimensional nanoarchitectures from semiconductor materials with biomolecules and living cells.
