Methods for Assessing Basic Particle Properties and Cytotoxicity of Engineered Nanoparticles

Toxics

Olga-Ioanna Kalantzi¹ 

[1] Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, Mytilene 81100, Greece

关键词: nanotechnology;    engineered nanoparticles;    cytotoxicity;    human exposure;   

DOI  :  10.3390/toxics2010079

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The increasing penetration of materials and products containing engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) to the market is posing many concerns regarding their environmental impacts. To assess these impacts, there is an urgent need of techniques for determining the health-related properties of ENPs and standards for assessing their toxicity. Although a wide number of systems for characterizing nanoparticles in different media (i.e., gases and liquids) is already commercially available, the development of protocols for determining the cytotoxicity of ENPs is still at an infant stage, drawing upon existing knowledge from general toxicology. In this regard, differences in the preparation of ENP-containing solutions for cytotoxicity testing, as well as in the steps involved in the tests can result in significant deviations and inconsistencies between studies. In an attempt to highlight the urgent need for assessing the environmental impacts of nanotechnology, this article provides a brief overview of the existing methods for determining health-related properties of ENPs and their cytotoxicity.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.