Review of the effects of manufactured nanoparticles on mammalian target organs

Abstract

Nanotechnology had matured significantly during the last two decades as it has transitioned from bench top science to applied technology. Even though the issue of safety of nanotechnology has been raised nearly one decade ago, the rapid progress in development and use of nanomaterials has not yet been matched by toxicological investigations. Many recent studies have simply outlined the toxic effects of nanoparticles (NPs), but few have systematically addressed their potentially adverse biological effects on target organs. Some animal models have shown that NPs could be accumulated in various organs. These accumulations can access the vasculature and target other organs, resulting in a potential health risks. After the brief description of current knowledge on the wide applications of several common NPs, their applications and the toxicokinetics, this review focused on effects of NPs on organ functions and mammal health after acute or chronic exposure, and potential mechanisms of action. Due to their physical properties, the liver, kidneys and lung are the main target organs of NPs. Most of NPs show slight toxicity when exposed to animals, while certain toxic effects like oxidative stress generation, inflammation and DNA damage are commonly observed. The severity of NPs toxicity is dependent upon several factors, including exposure dose and administration, NPs chemistry, size, shape, agglomeration state, and electromagnetic properties, which could provide useful information necessary to control the toxicity of NPs. Finally, the safety evaluation of nanotoxicity was addressed.

Hepato(Geno)Toxicity Assessment of Nanoparticles in a HepG2 Liver Spheroid Model

“…In the case of metal or metal oxide NPs, toxicity can be caused by dissolution of ions, direct action of the NPs or interaction between NPs and the cellular environment [1,47,[55][56][57]. Both ZnO-and Ag-NPs are generally found to induce toxicity in 2D cultures, as well as liver damage in vivo [17,18,55,56]. For metal NPs, there is always a question of whether toxicity is due to direct effect of the NPs or to dissolved ions.…”

“…Transport of NPs across biological barriers has been observed by elemental analysis in both rodents and humans [7][8][9][10][11]. As an example, gold NPs have been reported to reach the systemic circulation in humans, after inhalation, and translocate to other organs [8,9].Several in vivo studies show that NPs accumulate in the liver, which is an important target organ for NPs and other xenobiotics due to its metabolic activity [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Induction of hepatotoxicity is one of the most common reasons for a medicine to be rejected or removed from the market [19,20].…”

“…Several in vivo studies show that NPs accumulate in the liver, which is an important target organ for NPs and other xenobiotics due to its metabolic activity [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Induction of hepatotoxicity is one of the most common reasons for a medicine to be rejected or removed from the market [19,20].…”

In vitro toxicity assessment of nanocrystals in tissue‐type cells and macrophage cells

“…Nanotoxicity has attracted more and more attention, following the dramatic expansion of nanotechnology in biomedical fields. The most prominent nanotoxicities include liver and kidney injury, lymphatic system and lung inflammation, and even fatality (Wu & Tang, ). Based on a large amount of in vitro and in vivo toxicity data from many types of biomaterials and inorganic materials (Cheah et al, ), it is believed that size is one of the origins of nanotoxicity (Hu, Sun, Kang, & Zhou, ; Li, Li, Yang, & Mei, ).…”

“…Nanotoxicity has attracted more and more attention, following the dramatic expansion of nanotechnology in biomedical fields. The most prominent nanotoxicities include liver and kidney injury, lymphatic system and lung inflammation, and even fatality (Wu & Tang, 2017).…”