Thermodynamics of nanoparticle–cell interaction

The fundamental concepts of classical thermodynamics and nonequilibrium thermodynamics (also known as thermodynamics of irreversible processes) and their application to the understanding of nanoparticle–cells interactions are presented in this chapter. This chapter is structured in two parts. In the first part, the scientific fundamentals of both classical and nonequilibrium thermodynamics are reviewed. Because of the second law of thermodynamics, the local entropy production must be positive for natural processes, and zero for the abstract reversible process. The local entropy production can then be written as a sum of forces and fluxes. In the second part of the chapter, the application of the thermodynamic framework to the study of nanoparticle–cell interactions is illustrated through some examples.