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Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles

Although humans have been exposed to airborne nanosized particles (NSPs; < 100 nm) throughout their evolutionary stages, such exposure has increased dramatically over the last century due to anthropogenic sources. The rapidly developing field of nanotechnology is likely to become yet another sour...

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Autores principales: Oberdörster, Günter, Oberdörster, Eva, Oberdörster, Jan
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: National Institue of Environmental Health Sciences 2005
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257642/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16002369
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7339
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author Oberdörster, Günter
Oberdörster, Eva
Oberdörster, Jan
author_facet Oberdörster, Günter
Oberdörster, Eva
Oberdörster, Jan
author_sort Oberdörster, Günter
collection PubMed
description Although humans have been exposed to airborne nanosized particles (NSPs; < 100 nm) throughout their evolutionary stages, such exposure has increased dramatically over the last century due to anthropogenic sources. The rapidly developing field of nanotechnology is likely to become yet another source through inhalation, ingestion, skin uptake, and injection of engineered nanomaterials. Information about safety and potential hazards is urgently needed. Results of older bio-kinetic studies with NSPs and newer epidemiologic and toxicologic studies with airborne ultrafine particles can be viewed as the basis for the expanding field of nanotoxicology, which can be defined as safety evaluation of engineered nanostructures and nanodevices. Collectively, some emerging concepts of nanotoxicology can be identified from the results of these studies. When inhaled, specific sizes of NSPs are efficiently deposited by diffusional mechanisms in all regions of the respiratory tract. The small size facilitates uptake into cells and transcytosis across epithelial and endothelial cells into the blood and lymph circulation to reach potentially sensitive target sites such as bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, and heart. Access to the central nervous system and ganglia via translocation along axons and dendrites of neurons has also been observed. NSPs penetrating the skin distribute via uptake into lymphatic channels. Endocytosis and biokinetics are largely dependent on NSP surface chemistry (coating) and in vivo surface modifications. The greater surface area per mass compared with larger-sized particles of the same chemistry renders NSPs more active biologically. This activity includes a potential for inflammatory and pro-oxidant, but also antioxidant, activity, which can explain early findings showing mixed results in terms of toxicity of NSPs to environmentally relevant species. Evidence of mitochondrial distribution and oxidative stress response after NSP endocytosis points to a need for basic research on their interactions with subcellular structures. Additional considerations for assessing safety of engineered NSPs include careful selections of appropriate and relevant doses/concentrations, the likelihood of increased effects in a compromised organism, and also the benefits of possible desirable effects. An interdisciplinary team approach (e.g., toxicology, materials science, medicine, molecular biology, and bioinformatics, to name a few) is mandatory for nanotoxicology research to arrive at an appropriate risk assessment.
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spelling pubmed-12576422005-11-08 Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles Oberdörster, Günter Oberdörster, Eva Oberdörster, Jan Environ Health Perspect Reviews Although humans have been exposed to airborne nanosized particles (NSPs; < 100 nm) throughout their evolutionary stages, such exposure has increased dramatically over the last century due to anthropogenic sources. The rapidly developing field of nanotechnology is likely to become yet another source through inhalation, ingestion, skin uptake, and injection of engineered nanomaterials. Information about safety and potential hazards is urgently needed. Results of older bio-kinetic studies with NSPs and newer epidemiologic and toxicologic studies with airborne ultrafine particles can be viewed as the basis for the expanding field of nanotoxicology, which can be defined as safety evaluation of engineered nanostructures and nanodevices. Collectively, some emerging concepts of nanotoxicology can be identified from the results of these studies. When inhaled, specific sizes of NSPs are efficiently deposited by diffusional mechanisms in all regions of the respiratory tract. The small size facilitates uptake into cells and transcytosis across epithelial and endothelial cells into the blood and lymph circulation to reach potentially sensitive target sites such as bone marrow, lymph nodes, spleen, and heart. Access to the central nervous system and ganglia via translocation along axons and dendrites of neurons has also been observed. NSPs penetrating the skin distribute via uptake into lymphatic channels. Endocytosis and biokinetics are largely dependent on NSP surface chemistry (coating) and in vivo surface modifications. The greater surface area per mass compared with larger-sized particles of the same chemistry renders NSPs more active biologically. This activity includes a potential for inflammatory and pro-oxidant, but also antioxidant, activity, which can explain early findings showing mixed results in terms of toxicity of NSPs to environmentally relevant species. Evidence of mitochondrial distribution and oxidative stress response after NSP endocytosis points to a need for basic research on their interactions with subcellular structures. Additional considerations for assessing safety of engineered NSPs include careful selections of appropriate and relevant doses/concentrations, the likelihood of increased effects in a compromised organism, and also the benefits of possible desirable effects. An interdisciplinary team approach (e.g., toxicology, materials science, medicine, molecular biology, and bioinformatics, to name a few) is mandatory for nanotoxicology research to arrive at an appropriate risk assessment. National Institue of Environmental Health Sciences 2005-07 2005-03-22 /pmc/articles/PMC1257642/ /pubmed/16002369 http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7339 Text en http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ Publication of EHP lies in the public domain and is therefore without copyright. All text from EHP may be reprinted freely. Use of materials published in EHP should be acknowledged (for example, ?Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives?); pertinent reference information should be provided for the article from which the material was reproduced. Articles from EHP, especially the News section, may contain photographs or illustrations copyrighted by other commercial organizations or individuals that may not be used without obtaining prior approval from the holder of the copyright.
spellingShingle Reviews
Oberdörster, Günter
Oberdörster, Eva
Oberdörster, Jan
Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles
title Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles
title_full Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles
title_fullStr Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles
title_full_unstemmed Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles
title_short Nanotoxicology: An Emerging Discipline Evolving from Studies of Ultrafine Particles
title_sort nanotoxicology: an emerging discipline evolving from studies of ultrafine particles
topic Reviews
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1257642/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16002369
http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.7339
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