Abstract
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 TiO2 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, TiO2 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 TiO2 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.
Highlights
Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), including nanoparticles (NPs), are increasingly being incorporated in consumer products or may enter unintentionally during production or processing
transmission electron microscope (TEM) images of pristine CuO NP and TiO2 E171 are shown in Supplementary Figure S2
CuO NP and TiO2 E171 showed increased hydrodynamic diameter and polydispersity index (Pdi) demonstrating aggregation for both NPs (Table 2), which was confirmed by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images (Supplementary Figure S3)
Summary
Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), including nanoparticles (NPs), are increasingly being incorporated in consumer products or may enter unintentionally during production or processing. Food grade titanium dioxide (TiO2 E171) is a food additive used as a white pigment and brightening agent and has been reported in food products at concentrations between 0.0002–5.4 mg Ti/g product [1,2]. CuO NP is used in the agricultural sector [4,5] and is being explored as an antimicrobial agent in food packaging [6,7,8]; it may unintentionally end up in food products. Children represent a vulnerable population because perturbations in cell growth and signaling can disrupt temporally sequenced developmental processes 4.0/).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
