Current situation on the availability of nanostructure–biological activity data

Abstract

Recent developments in nanotechnology have not only increased the number of nanoproducts on the market, but also raised concerns about the safety of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) for human health and the environment. As the production and use of ENMs increase, we are approaching the point at which it is impossible to individually assess the toxicity of a vast number of ENMs. Therefore, it is desirable to use time-effective computational methods, such as the quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models, to predict the toxicity of ENMs. However, the accuracy of the nano-(Q)SARs is directly tied to the quality of the data from which the model is estimated. Although the amount of available nanotoxicity data is insufficient for generating robust nano-(Q)SAR models in most cases, there are a handful of studies that provide appropriate experimental data for (Q)SAR-like modelling investigations. The aim of this study is to review the available literature data that are particularly suitable for nano-(Q)SAR modelling. We hope that this paper can serve as a starting point for those who would like to know more about the current availability of experimental data on the health effects of ENMs for future modelling purposes.