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Nano-Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2018) | Viewed by 37210

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Hugh J. Byrne

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Guest Editor

FOCAS Research Institute, Technological University Dublin, Dublin 8, Ireland
Interests: applications of spectroscopy and the study of molecular and nano-materials; recent activities have extended to biospectroscopy for diagnostics and biochemical analysis and nano-bio interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Sourav Pr. Mukherjee

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Guest Editor

Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM), Molecular Toxicology Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 171 77, Sweden
Interests: immunotoxicology; nano–bio interactions; nanomedicine

Dr. Pratap C. Naha

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Guest Editor

Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce St, 1 Silverstein, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Interests: nanomedicine; nanotoxicology; molecular imaging

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The 21st century has truly become the age of nanotechnology. Nanomaterials, design strategies, and processing have already impacted significantly in areas of materials science and electronics, with many commercial applications are already available on the consumer market. However, the ability to manipulate material functions and interactions on a scale of tens of nanometers, that of biological subcellular organelles, may yet prove to impact most significantly on human health and the environment. Design of nanometer-scale contrast, drug and nutrient delivery agents, as well as nanostructured materials for improved biocompatible interfaces, have opened up a whole new realm of nanomedicine. Equally, however, the ever increasing, to date largely unregulated, proliferation of nanoscale materials into the consumer environment has raised concerns over the potential detrimental impacts of uncontrolled exposure on human health and the environment. This Special Issue aims to gather the state of play understanding of the fundamentals of Nano–Bio interactions, how they potentially impact human health and the environment, and how research has progressed our understanding of how they can be exploited for the betterment of healthcare.

Prof. Dr. Hugh J. Byrne,
Dr. Sourav P. Mukherjee
Dr. Pratap C. Naha
Guest Editors

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Keywords

Structure activity relationship (SAR) governing Nano-Bio Interactions
Nanomedicine
Medical Diagnostics
Theranostics
Regenerative Medicine
Nanotechnology in Food
Nanotoxicology
Nano-Immunotoxicology
Eco-Nanotoxciology
Fate and biodegradation of nanomaterials
Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism and Excretion (ADME) of medical nanoparticles
Occupational hazards induced by nanomaterials
Legislative issues

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

3 pages, 234 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Nano–Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology

by Hugh J. Byrne, Sourav P. Mukherjee and Pratap C. Naha

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(6), 1222; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15061222 - 10 Jun 2018

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3589

Abstract

The 21st century has truly become the age of nanotechnology. Nanomaterials, design strategies, and processing have already made a significant impact in areas of materials science and electronics, with many commercial applications already being available on the consumer market[...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

16 pages, 2625 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating the Role of Gold Nanoparticle Shape and Size in Their Toxicities to Fungi

by Kangze Liu, Zhonglei He, Hugh J. Byrne, James F. Curtin and Furong Tian

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(5), 998; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050998 - 16 May 2018

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 5241

Abstract

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are increasingly being used in a wide range of applications, and such they are being released in greater quantities into the environment. Consequently, the environmental effects of GNPs, especially toxicities to living organisms, have drawn great attention. However, their toxicological characteristics still remain unclear. Fungi, as the decomposers of the ecosystem, interact directly with the environment and critically control the overall health of the biosphere. Thus, their sensitivity to GNP toxicity is particularly important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of GNP shape and size in their toxicities to fungi, which could help reveal the ecotoxicity of GNPs. Aspergillus niger, Mucor hiemalis, and Penicillium chrysogenum were chosen for toxicity assessment, and spherical and star/flower-shaped GNPs ranging in size from 0.7 nm to large aggregates of 400 nm were synthesised. After exposure to GNPs and their corresponding reaction agents and incubation for 48 h, the survival rates of each kind of fungus were calculated and compared. The results indicated that fungal species was the major determinant of the variation of survival rates, whereby A. niger was the most sensitive and M. himalis was the least sensitive to GNP exposure. Additionally, larger and non-spherical GNPs had relatively stronger toxicities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology)

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16 pages, 14741 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Algae Age and Population on the Response to TiO₂ Nanoparticles

by David M. Metzler, Ayca Erdem and Chin Pao Huang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(4), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040585 - 25 Mar 2018

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4980

Abstract

This work shows the influence of algae age (at the time of the exposure) and the initial algae population on the response of green algae Raphidocelis subcapitata to titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂ NPs). The different algae age was obtained by changes in flow rate of continually stirred tank reactors prior to NP exposure. Increased algae age led to a decreased growth, variations in chlorophyll content, and an increased lipid peroxidation. Increased initial algae population (0.3−4.2 × 10⁶ cells/mL) at a constant NP concentration (100 mg/L) caused a decline in the growth of algae. With increased initial algae population, the lipid peroxidation and chlorophyll both initially decreased and then increased. Lipid peroxidation had 4× the amount of the control at high and low initial population but, at mid-ranged initial population, had approximately half the control value. Chlorophyll a results also showed a similar trend. These results indicate that the physiological state of the algae is important for the toxicological effect of TiO₂ NPs. The condition of algae and exposure regime must be considered in detail when assessing the toxicological response of NPs to algae. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology)

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19 pages, 10079 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Towards the Identification of an In Vitro Tool for Assessing the Biological Behavior of Aerosol Supplied Nanomaterials

by Luisana Di Cristo, Ciaran Manus Maguire, Karen Mc Quillan, Mattia Aleardi, Yuri Volkov, Dania Movia and Adriele Prina-Mello

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(4), 563; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15040563 - 21 Mar 2018

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4981

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NP)-based inhalation systems for drug delivery can be administered in liquid form, by nebulization or using pressurized metered dose inhalers, and in solid form by means of dry powder inhalers. However, NP delivery to the lungs has many challenges including the formulation instability due to particle-particle interactions and subsequent aggregation, causing poor deposition in the small distal airways and subsequent alveolar macrophages activity, which could lead to inflammation. This work aims at providing an in vitro experimental design for investigating the correlation between the physico-chemical properties of NP, and their biological behavior, when they are used as NP-based inhalation treatments, comparing two different exposure systems. By means of an aerosol drug delivery nebulizer, human lung cells cultured at air–liquid interface (ALI) were exposed to two titanium dioxide NP (NM-100 and NM-101), obtained from the JRC repository. In parallel, ALI cultures were exposed to NP suspension by direct inoculation, i.e., by adding the NP suspensions on the apical side of the cell cultures with a pipette. The formulation stability of NP, measured as hydrodynamic size distributions, the cell viability, cell monolayer integrity, cell morphology and pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion were investigated. Our results demonstrated that the formulation stability of NM-100 and NM-101 was strongly dependent on the aggregation phenomena that occur in the conditions adopted for the biological experiments. Interestingly, comparable biological data between the two exposure methods used were observed, suggesting that the conventional exposure coupled to ALI culturing conditions offers a relevant in vitro tool for assessing the correlation between the physico-chemical properties of NP and their biological behavior, when NP are used as drug delivery systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology)

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12 pages, 2173 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Biotoxicity of TiO₂ Nanoparticles on Raphidocelis subcapitata Microalgae Exemplified by Membrane Deformation

by Merve Ozkaleli and Ayca Erdem

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(3), 416; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030416 - 27 Feb 2018

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 5425

Abstract

TiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs), which are mainly used in consumer products (mostly cosmetics), have been found to cause ecotoxic effects in the aquatic environment. The green algae Raphidocelis subcapitata, as a representative of primary producers of the freshwater ecosystem, has been frequently used to study the effects of metal oxide NPs. An ecotoxicity study was conducted herein to investigate the effects of TiO₂ NPs on survival and membrane deformation of algal cells. Five different concentrations of nano-TiO₂ particles (1, 10, 50, 100 and 500 mg/L) were prepared in synthetic surface water samples with five different water quality characteristics (pH 6.4–8.4, hardness 10–320 mg CaCO₃/L, ionic strength 0.2–8 mM, and alkalinity 10–245 mg CaCO₃/L). Results showed a significant increase in the hydrodynamic diameter of NPs with respect to both NP concentrations and ionic content of the test system. A soft synthetic freshwater system at pH 7.3 ± 0.2 appeared to provide the most effective water type, with more than 95% algal mortality observed at 50, 100 and 500 mg/L NP concentrations. At high exposure concentrations, increased malondialdehyde formations were observed. Moreover, due to membrane deformation, TEM images correlated the uptake of the NPs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology)

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13 pages, 3860 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Time-Dependent Toxic and Genotoxic Effects of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles after Long-Term and Repetitive Exposure to Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

by Pascal Ickrath, Martin Wagner, Agmal Scherzad, Thomas Gehrke, Marc Burghartz, Rudolf Hagen, Katrin Radeloff, Norbert Kleinsasser and Stephan Hackenberg

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(12), 1590; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121590 - 18 Dec 2017

Cited by 45 | Viewed by 6162

Abstract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NP) are widely spread in consumer products. Data about the toxicological characteristics of ZnO-NP is still under controversial discussion. The human skin is the most important organ concerning ZnO-NP exposure. Intact skin was demonstrated to be a sufficient barrier against NPs; however, defect skin may allow NP contact to proliferating cells. Within these cells, stem cells are the most important toxicological target for NPs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of ZnO-NP at low-dose concentrations after long-term and repetitive exposure to human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC). Cytotoxic effects of ZnO-NP were measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Furthermore, genotoxicity was evaluated by the comet assay. For long-term observation over 6 weeks, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was applied. The results of the study indicated cytotoxic effects of ZnO-NP beginning at high concentrations of 50 μg/mL and genotoxic effects in hMSC exposed to 1 and 10 μg/mL ZnO-NP. Repetitive exposure enhanced cyto- but not genotoxicity. Intracellular NP accumulation was observed up to 6 weeks. The results suggest cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of ZnO-NP. Even low doses of ZnO-NP may induce toxic effects as a result of repetitive exposure and long-term cellular accumulation. This data should be considered before using ZnO-NP on damaged skin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology)

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Review

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18 pages, 2260 KiB

Open AccessReview

Toxicology of Engineered Nanoparticles: Focus on Poly(amidoamine) Dendrimers

by Pratap C. Naha, Sourav P. Mukherjee and Hugh J. Byrne

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15(2), 338; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15020338 - 14 Feb 2018

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 5766

Abstract

Engineered nanomaterials are increasingly being developed for paints, sunscreens, cosmetics, industrial lubricants, tyres, semiconductor devices, and also for biomedical applications such as in diagnostics, therapeutics, and contrast agents. As a result, nanomaterials are being manufactured, transported, and used in larger and larger quantities, and potential impacts on environmental and human health have been raised. Poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers are specifically suitable for biomedical applications. They are well-defined nanoscale molecules which contain a 2-carbon ethylenediamine core and primary amine groups at the surface. The systematically variable structural architecture and the large internal free volume make these dendrimers an attractive option for drug delivery and other biomedical applications. Due to the wide range of applications, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) have included them in their list of nanoparticles which require toxicological assessment. Thus, the toxicological impact of these PAMAM dendrimers on human health and the environment is a matter of concern. In this review, the potential toxicological impact of PAMAM dendrimers on human health and environment is assessed, highlighting work to date exploring the toxicological effects of PAMAM dendrimers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nano-Bio Interactions: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology)

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