Abstract
Nanoparticles (NPs) are tiny materials used in a wide range of industrial and medical applications. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a type of nanoparticle that is widely used in paints, pigments, and cosmetics; however, little is known about the impact of TiO2 on human health and the environment. Therefore, considerable research has focused on characterizing the potential toxicity of nanoparticles such as TiO2 and on understanding the mechanism of TiO2 NP-induced nanotoxicity through the evaluation of biomarkers. Uncoated TiO2 NPs tend to aggregate in aqueous media, and these aggregates decrease cell viability and induce expression of stress-related genes, such as those encoding interleukin-6 (IL-6) and heat shock protein 70B’ (HSP70B’), indicating that TiO2 NPs induce inflammatory and heat shock responses. In order to reduce their toxicity, we conjugated TiO2 NPs with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to eliminate aggregation. Our findings indicate that modifying TiO2 NPs with PEG reduces their cytotoxicity and reduces the induction of stress-related genes. Our results also suggest that TiO2 NP-induced effects on cytotoxicity and gene expression vary depending upon the cell type and surface modification.
Highlights
IntroductionCharacterized by a very high surface area-to-volume ratio [2]
Nanoparticles (NPs) are tiny materials [1]characterized by a very high surface area-to-volume ratio [2]
We focused on the effects of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-TiO2 NPs, which we predicted would be less toxic and induce less expression of genes associated with stress and toxicity
Summary
Characterized by a very high surface area-to-volume ratio [2]. Due to the unique properties afforded by their size, NPs possess a wide range of applications in the industrial, electrical, agricultural, pharmaceutical, and medical fields. Despite the wide application of nanomaterials, little is known about their impact on human health and the environment. Considerable effort has been expended on identifying the potential toxicity of NPs to cells and organisms. It has been suggested that the small size and corresponding high specific surface area are the major determinants of NP toxicity [3]. It has been proposed that the surface area of NPs greatly increases their ability to produce potentially toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) [4]
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