The aim of this study was to determine the potential toxic effects of iron(II,III)oxide nanoparticles (IONPs). In in vivo experiments, the toxic effects of IONPs were monitored in adult male Wistar rats by morphological methods after a single intratracheal instillation. For the control group 1 ml of physiological saline per animal was given, and the treatment group received the same volume of a suspension containing 1 and 5 mg kg⁻¹ body weight IONPs. Lungs and internal organs underwent histopathological examination after 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 days. The mutagenic effect of these nanoparticles was evaluated by the bacterial reverse mutation assay on Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535 and TA1537 strains, and on Escherichia coli WP2uvrA strain, in the presence and absence of the mammalian metabolic activation system S9. The in vitro cytotoxic effect of IONPs was also examined in Vero cells after short-term (4 h) and long-term (24 h) exposure. There were no pathological changes in examined internal organs, except a very weak pulmonary fibrosis developing by the end of the first month in the treated rats. While in vitro MTT assay showed a moderate cytotoxic effect, IONPs proved to be devoid of mutagenic effect in the bacterial systems tested. The results may be a useful extension of our knowledge on the safety of magnetite nanoparticles in view of their possible medical applications, such as in hyperthermia and magnetic resonance imaging.

The toxicity of manganese-containing airborne particles is an important occupational and environmental problem. In this work, adult male Wistar rats were treated with a nanosuspension of MnO(2) of approximately 23 nm nominal particle diameter, instilled into the trachea for 3, 6, and 9 wk in doses of 2.63 and 5.26 mg Mn/kg. The animals' body weight was checked weekly. At the end of treatment, the rats' spontaneous motility was tested in an open field box. Then, spontaneous and stimulus-evoked cortical activity and action potential of the tail nerve were recorded in urethane anesthesia. The rats were finally dissected, organs weights were measured, and the presence of excess Mn in lung and brain samples was determined using scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. While control rats had normal weight gain, the body weights of the treated rats ceased to grow from wk 6 on. The relative weight of the lungs increased in the treated rats, and that of the liver decreased, in a dose- and time-dependent manner; Mn was detected in their lung and brain samples. In the open field activity, the percentage of ambulation and rearing decreased while local activity and immobility increased. The latency of the evoked potentials was lengthened, and the conduction velocity of the tail nerve decreased. These results indicate that the Mn content of instilled nanoparticles had access from the airways to the brain, and the resulting damage could be investigated in animals using neuro-functional and general toxicological endpoints.

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