Karlsson Hanna L, Gustafsson Johanna, Cronholm Pontus, Möller Lennart
Unit for Analytical Toxicology, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Novum, Karolinska Insitutet, SE-141 57 Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden.
Toxicol Lett. 2009 Jul 24;188(2):112-8. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2009.03.014. Epub 2009 Mar 26.
Toxicological studies have shown increased toxicity of nanoparticles (<100 nm) compared to micrometer particles of the same composition, which has raised concern about the impact on human health from nanoparticles. However, if this is true for a wide range of particles with different chemical composition is not clear. The aim of this study was to compare the toxicity of nano- and micrometer particles of some metal oxides (Fe(2)O(3), Fe(3)O(4), TiO(2) and CuO). The ability of the particles to cause cell death, mitochondrial damage, DNA damage and oxidative DNA lesions were evaluated after exposure of the human cell line A549. This study showed that nanoparticles of CuO were much more toxic compared to CuO micrometer particles. One key mechanism may be the ability of CuO to damage the mitochondria. In contrast, the micrometer particles of TiO(2) caused more DNA damage compared to the nanoparticles, which is likely explained by the crystal structures. The iron oxides showed low toxicity and no clear difference between the different particle sizes. In conclusion, nanoparticles are not always more toxic than micrometer particles, but the high toxicity of CuO nanoparticles shows that the nanolevel gives rise to specific concern.
毒理学研究表明，与相同成分的微米级颗粒相比，纳米颗粒（<100 nm）的毒性有所增加，这引发了人们对纳米颗粒对人类健康影响的担忧。然而，对于广泛的不同化学成分的颗粒而言，情况是否如此尚不清楚。本研究的目的是比较某些金属氧化物（Fe(2)O(3)、Fe(3)O(4)、TiO(2)和CuO）的纳米颗粒和微米级颗粒的毒性。在人细胞系A549暴露后，评估了颗粒导致细胞死亡、线粒体损伤、DNA损伤和氧化性DNA损伤的能力。该研究表明，与CuO微米级颗粒相比，CuO纳米颗粒的毒性要大得多。一个关键机制可能是CuO破坏线粒体的能力。相比之下，TiO(2)微米级颗粒比纳米颗粒造成更多的DNA损伤，这可能由晶体结构来解释。铁氧化物显示出低毒性，且不同粒径之间没有明显差异。总之，纳米颗粒并不总是比微米级颗粒毒性更大，但CuO纳米颗粒的高毒性表明纳米级会引发特定的关注。
