Toxicity and Cytotoxicity Effects of Selected Nanoparticles: A Review

Abstract

The appreciable development in nanotechnology has drawn the attention of several researchers cutting across different fields. However, some nanoparticles have been identified to possess harmful effects on humans and the environment. Hence, putting these cause and effect patterns into context is highly required for future research and discussions about nanotechnology. This study reviewed existing literature on the toxicity and cytotoxicity effects of some nanoparticles to compare reaction patterns. Many kinds of research used different cell cultures, including cancer cell lines, human endothelial cells, hepatic cells, which were tested both in vitro and in vivo to check the mechanism of the possible toxicity effects. Adverse effects of nanoparticles identified involved damaged DNA leading to mutations and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The prominent identified common toxicity responses in nanoparticle-cell interaction were lysosomes formation interference, necrosis and apoptosis, nanoparticles and protein interaction, and agglomerate formation in other body parts. Some reports showed that the causes of these responses might be due to the physicochemical properties of the interrogated particles, such as particle size, shape, surface functionalisation, surface charge. Furthermore, nanoparticles’ toxicity effects are both concentration-dependent and time-dependent, highly pronounced in chemical or physical-based synthetic routes. Cytotoxic effects of nanoparticles were mainly linked to their synthetic method, nature of the reducing agent, and culture media.

Machine Learning Reinforced Genetic Algorithm for Massive Targeted Discovery of Selectively Cytotoxic Inorganic Nanoparticles

“…This is because higher levels of positively charged NPs result in stronger electrostatic interactions with negatively charged cell membranes, promoting increased endocytic uptake and accumulation within cellular components, ultimately leading to heightened cellular toxicity. [15,37,38] In general, an increase in hydrodynamic diameter reduces toxicity, as larger size of NPs reduce the uptake of NPs. On the other hand, smaller NPs have greater potential for uptake and higher surface area to volume ratio contributing to higher toxicity.…”

Evaluation of Advanced Nanomaterials for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

“…Another effect of nanoparticles is their toxicity and cytotoxicity in healthy cells [ 78 ]. Unavoidably, nanoparticles are potentially toxic to the human body.…”

“…Hence, the research on this topic continues to rise. Several studies have revealed that the toxicity of nanoparticles is related to size, shape, and concentration [ 78 , 80 , 81 ]. However, surface coating has been one of the most popular surface modification strategies to reduce the possible toxicity of nanoparticles, which is reversible using non-covalent modification [ 67 ].…”

Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity induced by metal-based nanoparticles in humans and animals

“…In a rat macrophage cell line, it was discovered that rod-shaped Fe2O3 NPs produced significantly stronger cytotoxic reactions than sphere-shaped Fe2O3 NPs. These responses included higher levels of necrosis, ROS production, inflammatory response, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage (Odaudu et al 2022). Eventually, it was shown that rod-shaped CeO2 NPs were more hazardous to macrophage cells than octahedron or cubic particles.…”