Abstract
Nano-based products are widespread in several sectors, including textiles, medical-products, cosmetics, paints and plastics. Nanosafety and safe-by-design are driving nanoparticle (NP) production and applications through NP functionalization (@NPs). Indeed, @NPs frequently present biological effects that differ from the parent material. This paper reviews the impact of quantum dots (QDs), gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), and polystyrene-cored NPs (PSNPs), evidencing the role of NP functionalization in toxicity definition. Key biological models were taken into consideration for NP evaluation: Saccharomyces cerevisiae, fresh- (F) and saltwater (S) microalgae (Raphidocelis subcapitata (F), Scenedesmus obliquus (F) and Chlorella spp. (F), and Phaeodactylum tricornutum (S)), Daphnia magna, and Xenopus laevis. QDs are quite widespread in technological devices, and they are known to induce genotoxicity and oxidative stress that can drastically change according to the coating employed. For example, AuNPs are frequently functionalized with antimicrobial peptides, which is shown to both increase their activity and decrease the relative environmental toxicity. P-NPs are frequently coated with NH2− for cationic and COOH− for anionic surfaces, but when positively charged toxicity effects can be observed. Careful assessment of functionalized and non-functionalized NPs is compulsory to also understand their potential direct and indirect effects when the coating is removed or degraded.
Highlights
The broad applications of nanoparticles (NPs) in industry and common-use products are progressively introducing them into our environment
This review provides an overview of most recent studies about the impact of quantum dots (QDs), gold (AuNPs), and polystyrene-cored (PSNPs) NPs, evidencing the role of NP functionalization in toxicity definition
It is not surprising that the NH2 -PS-NPs are more toxic than COOH-PS-NPs, both in presence or in absence of secreted protein, indicating that it is necessary to modify the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) tests to enhance the concept that removal and uptake into the organism need to be considered as an important part of bioaccumulation and of toxicity
Summary
The broad applications of nanoparticles (NPs) in industry and common-use products are progressively introducing them into our environment. Little is known about the health risks from exposure to these NPs and above all, their large scale diffusion in the environment has led to alarming speculations concerning their potential long-term toxicity related to the fact that these materials contain heavy metals such as Cd, As, Zn, Pb. The main consequences of exposure to MNPs are the occurrence of ROS genotoxicity and apoptosis due to mitochondrial damage and metallic ion production [32]. AuNPs have received great attention because of their unique characteristics that make them suitable for a series of application in the biomedical field such as diagnostics and therapeutics [36], drug delivery and cancer treatment [37] This increased use has led to a diffusion of AuNPs into the environment, which represents a hazard for aquatic ecosystems. Polystyrene sulphonate assembled with polymyxin B was utilized for the delivery of this antimicrobial peptide currently used in the clinic as a last resort antibiotic against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria [60]
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