Simulated Gastric Digestion and In Vivo Intestinal Uptake of Orally Administered CuO Nanoparticles and TiO(2) E171 in Male and Female Rat Pups

Oral exposure to nanoparticles (NPs) during early life is an understudied area. The goals of this study were to evaluate the effect of pre-weaned rat gastric fluids on 50 nm CuO NPs and TiO(2) E171 in vitro, and to evaluate uptake in vivo. The NP uptake was studied in vivo in male and female Sprague-Dawley rat pups following oral administration of four consecutive daily doses of 10 mg/kg CuO NPs, TiO(2) E171, or vehicle control (water) between postnatal day (PND) 7–10. Rat pups were sacrificed on either PND10 or PND21. Simulated digestion led to dissolution of CuO NPs at the later ages tested (PND14 and PND21, but not PND7). In vivo intestinal uptake of CuO NPs and TiO(2) E171 was observed by hyperspectral imaging of intestinal cross sections. Brightfield microscopy showed that the number of immune cells increased in the intestinal tissue following NP administration. Orally administered NPs led to low intestinal uptake of NPs and an increase in immune cells in the small and large intestine, suggesting that oral exposure to NPs during early life may lead to irritation or a low-grade inflammation. The long-term impact of increased immune cells in the intestinal tract during early life is unknown.