Handbook of Nanotoxicology, Nanomedicine and Stem Cell Use in Toxicology

Saura C. Sahu, Daniel A. Casciano, Saura C. Sahu, Daniel A. Casciano

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781118439265
• eBook ISBN:
  9781118855867
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Industrial & Technical Chemistry

The Handbook of Nanotoxicology, Nanomedicine and Stem Cell Use in Toxicology provides an insight into the current trends and future directions of research in these rapidly developing scientific fields. Written by leading scientists and experts, the Handbook will be of interest to various scientific disciplines including toxicology, medicine, and pharmacology, as well as food, drug, and other regulatory sciences.

Part One

Nanotoxicology

1
Testing Nanotoxicity: An Update of New and Traditional Methods

Anna G. Cattaneo,¹ Rosalba Gornati,^1,2 Giovanni Bernardini,^1,2 Enrico Sabbioni,³ Luigi Manzo⁴ and Mario Di Gioacchino^5,6

¹Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, DBSV, University of Insubria, Varese, Italy

²The Protein Factory, Milan, Italy

³European Center for the Sustainable Impact of Nanotechnology (ECSIN), Veneto Nanotech, Rovigo, Italy

⁴Maugeri Foundation Medical Institute, IRCCS, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

⁵Centre for Aging Sciences, G D'Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy

⁶Department of Medicine and the Sciences of Aging, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, G D'Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy

1 Introduction

The exploitation of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) in many technological fields is partly rapidly evolving and partly well consolidated. Nanotoxicity, the dark side of the nanotechnology revolution, became a matter of concern since 1990. More than a decade later, three nonconnected and acute occurrences of toxic reactions in humans, possibly related to exposure to NMs, were reported (Kanarek, 2007; Seaton, 2006; Song, Li, and Du, 2009; Toyama et al., 2008). In all these cases, however, the cause–effect relationship was suggested, but not proved. While sporadic, these adverse effects were severe enough to enhance the alert about the safety of NMs. Currently, nanotoxicology had already evolved into an independent discipline and included aspects of preventive and occupational medicine.

Khatri et al. (2013) recently exposed normal volunteers to nanoparticles (NPs) emitted by photocopiers, in conditions mimicking professional exposure, and observed a significant increase of inflammation markers in the upper airways. Sharma et al. (2012) associated inhalation of metallic NPs with whole-body hyperthermia, which causes leakage of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), cerebral edema, and neuronal damage. Whole-body hyperthermia and inhalation of NPs can happen together in professionals who operate in hot, desert areas and are exposed, by inhalation, to ultrafine metallic and silica particles produced by diesel exhaust or gunpowder explosion (Sharma et al., 2012). NPs of metals, lanthanides, and uranium are common by-products of industrial or war activities; devastating consequences can be expected, but not yet demonstrated in human (Petitot et al., 2013). As a result of these findings, nanotoxicology has become a discipline of interest for military medicine as well.

While the terms “nanotoxicology” and “nanotoxicity” firstly appeared in peer-reviewed publication in the years 2004 and 2005 (Service, 2004; Braydich-Stolle et al., 2005), the experimental assessment of the toxicity of new NMs was the subject of papers appeared, although sporadically, as early as in the 1980s. The very first studies concerned the safety of organic polymeric NPs for the release of anticancer drugs (Couvreur et al., 1982; Kante et al., 1982) and that of iron oxide NPs, whose superparamagnetic properties were exploited for magnetic resonance imaging (Josephson et al., 1990). Figure 1 plots the papers published, in the field of nanotoxicology, during the period 1990–2011 and clearly shows the sporadic nature of production before 2003. Original and experimental works, in particular in vitro studies, largely exceeded papers with more general content, such as reviews, opinions, editorials, and others. While still scarce (Figure 2), studies in silico, inclusive of computational studies, earned increasing interest and will be therefore discussed aside. Figure 3 illustrates the distribution of published studies according to the chemical nature of NMs.

Figure 1 (a) The increasing number of toxicity or toxicological studies of nanomaterials, deposited at the NCBI PubMed during the period 1990–2011. Papers with experimental content (♦) and those with a more general content (◊) are separately plotted. These include reviews, editorials, opinions, symposia announcements, and similar. (b) The growth of editorial production since the year 2003. Retracted, corrected, and republished or duplicate publications were absent in the database under the considered period. Only one published erratum was found applying these search terms. Boolean search string: (toxicity) OR (toxicology) AND nanomaterials.

Figure 2 Distribution of published papers describing the toxicity of nanomaterials according to the method of study: in vitro, in vivo (or combined) experimental studies, environmental together with exposure at the workplace, and in silico including computational studies. The miscellaneous category includes reviews, editorials, clinical observations, case reports, and others not falling into the previous groups.

Figure 3 Distribution of published papers describing the toxicity of different types of nanomaterials. Liposomes were not included in the search.

2 The Point of View of the Regulatory Agencies

Nanotoxicology deals with the adverse effects possibly occurring as a consequence of the exploitation of nanotechnology, either for the daily life, or after accidental, professional, unavoidable, or incautious exposure to NPs. These cases eventually fail in the fields of ecotoxicology or forensic medicine (Batley, Kirby, and McLaughlin, 2013; Kuempel, Geraci, and Schulte, 2012; Landsiedel et al., 2012; Ling et al., 2012; Lowry et al., 2012). Therefore, the regulatory agencies for the control of environment and health are directly involved in defining NMs and assessing their safety. Tables 1–4 list the document...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Dedication
• Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Part One: Nanotoxicology
• Part Two: Nanomedicine
• Part Three: Stem Cell Toxicology
• Author Index
• Subject Index
• End User License Agreement