The Risk Evaluation of Tungsten Oxide Nanoparticles in Cultured Rat Liver Cells for Its Safe Applications in Nanotechnology

Abstract

Tungsten (VI) oxide (WO 3 ) nanoparticles (NPs) are used for many industrial purposes in everyday life. However, their effects on human health have not been sufficiently evaluated. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the toxicity potentials of various concentrations (0 to 1000 ppm) of WO 3 NPs (<100 nm particle size) in cultured primary rat hepatocytes. The results of cell viability assay showed that the higher concentrations of dispersed WO 3 NPs (300, 500 and 1000 ppm) caused significant (p<0.05) decreases of cell viability. Also, dose dependent negative alterations were observed in oxidative status and antioxidant capacity levels after the application of WO 3 in cultured rat primary hepatocytes. The results of genotoxicity tests revealed that these NPs did not cause significant increases of micronucleated hepatocytes (MNHEPs) but increased 8-oxo-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) levels as compared to the control culture.

In Vitro Analysis of the Effects of ITER-Like Tungsten Nanoparticles: Cytotoxicity and Epigenotoxicity in BEAS-2B Cells

“…In contrast, plasma and laser ITER-like W-NPs showed significant cytotoxicity on BEAS-2B cultures, they resulted genotoxic by significantly enhancing the MN frequency and by inducing DNA strand breaks. In agreement with previous studies [25,26], we equally observed oxidative stress that might have triggered DNA damage. Nevertheless, the differences between our results and those of Turkez and coauthors [25,26] might be due to the fact that only a fraction of our ITER-like W-NPs was oxidized.…”

“…Since the presence of WO 2 and WO 3 we detected during powders characterization is not negligible [24], oxidation should also be considered when analyzing plasma and laser ITER-like W-NPs toxicity. Ex vivo bone cells and hepatocytes of 8 weeks old male Sprague-Dawley rats were used to investigate the cytotoxicity, the genotoxicity, and the mutagenic potential of WO 3 NPs [25,26]. Upon 30 days of intraperitoneal injections of WO 3 NPs at the dose of 25–50–100 mg/kg b.w., bone cells were collected from tibia.…”

“…[25]. Turkez and coauthors further investigated the effects of WO 3 NPs in rat hepatocytes [26]. After performing an ex vivo culture of hepatocytes, cells were exposed for 72 h to WO 3 NPs concentrations ranging from 5 to 1000 ppm.…”

“…The cytotoxic potential was detected by observing a decrease in cell viability, assayed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) test, and an increase in the levels of extracellular lactate dehydrogenase at fairly high concentrations (≥300 ppm). Surprisingly, no MN formation was observed at any of the tested WO 3 NPs concentrations, while oxidative stress and secondary oxidative DNA damage were reported [26]. From the publications of Turkez and coauthors [25,26] it seems that WO 3 NPs are feebly cytotoxic and could induce chromosome losses.…”

“…Surprisingly, no MN formation was observed at any of the tested WO 3 NPs concentrations, while oxidative stress and secondary oxidative DNA damage were reported [26]. From the publications of Turkez and coauthors [25,26] it seems that WO 3 NPs are feebly cytotoxic and could induce chromosome losses. They also generate significant oxidative stress that can cause indirect DNA damage via the formation of adducts, as observed via 8-oxo-2-deoxyguanosine quantification or impair mitotic spindle.…”