Methods to Evaluate Uptake of Engineered Nanomaterials by the Alimentary Tract

Abstract

This article is one of a series of 4 that report on a task of the NanoRelease Food Additive project of the International Life Science Institute Center for Risk Science Innovation and Application to identify, evaluate, and develop methods that are needed to confidently detect, characterize, and quantify intentionally produced engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) released from food along the alimentary tract. This particular article focuses on the problem of detecting and characterizing ENMs in the various compartments of the alimentary tract after they have been ingested from dietary sources. An in depth analysis of the literature related to oral toxicity of ENMs is presented, paying particular attention to analytical methodology and sample preparation. The review includes a discussion of model systems that can be used to study oral uptake of ENMs in the absence of human toxicological data or other live-animal studies. The strengths and weaknesses of various analytical and sample preparation techniques are discussed. The article concludes with a summary of findings and a discussion of potential knowledge gaps and targets for method development in this area.

Engineered Nanoparticles as Potential Food Contaminants and Their Toxicity to Caco‐2 Cells

“…There are 3 possible routes for ENPs to enter the human body: dermal exposure, inhalation, and the oral route of exposure (Crosera and others ; Sung and others ; Alger and others ). Although many studies have been reported on the dermal exposure and inhalation of ENPs, little is known about the exposure of ENPs via ingestion and whether the gastric fluid in the stomach can affect the toxicity of ENPs.…”

Utility of models of the gastrointestinal tract for assessment of the digestion and absorption of engineered nanomaterials released from food matrices

“…The NanoRelease Food Additive project, coordinated by the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Research Foundation Center for Risk Science Innovation and Application, is reviewing and developing methods to measure the release and uptake of intentionally engineered NMs from food matrices in the GI tract (Alger et al, 2014;Noonan et al, 2014;Singh et al, 2014;Szakal et al, 2014a,b). Food is naturally chemically complex and consists of biological polymers with dimensions in the nanometer size range.…”

Measurement Methods to Detect, Characterize, and Quantify Engineered Nanomaterials in Foods

“…The focus area of this article is analytical methods to identify, detect, and characterize ENMs in foods, including sample preparation techniques. The second and 4th articles in this series, respectively, describe methods to detect ENMs released into foods from food contact materials (Noonan and others ) and describe methods to characterize, detect, and study the behavior of ENMs introduced into the alimentary tract through dietary uptake (Alger and others ). While this particular article is capable of standing alone, due to the fact that some experimental methods may have utility in multiple areas relevant to the project's overall scope, some methods discussed within this article may have additional descriptive detail offered in other articles in this series.…”