Abstract
The aim of this study was to analyze the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of titanium oxide (TiO 2) and aluminium oxide (Al 2O 3) nanoparticles (NPs) on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells using neutral red (NR), mitochondrial activity (by MTT assay), sister chromatid exchange (SCE), micronucleus (MN) formation, and cell cycle kinetics techniques. Results showed a dose-related cytotoxic effect evidenced after 24 h by changes in lysosomal and mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity. Interestingly, transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) showed the formation of perinuclear vesicles in CHO-K1 cells after treatment with both NPs during 24 h but no NP was detected in the nuclei. Genotoxic effects were shown by MN frequencies which significantly increased at 0.5 and 1 μg/mL TiO 2 and 0.5–10 μg/mL Al 2O 3. SCE frequencies were higher for cells treated with 1–5 μg/mL TiO 2. The absence of metaphases evidenced cytotoxicity for higher concentrations of TiO 2. No SCE induction was achieved after treatment with 1–25 μg/mL Al 2O 3. In conclusion, findings showed cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of TiO 2 and Al 2O 3 NPs on CHO-K1 cells. Possible causes of controversial reports are discussed further on.
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