Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy.
Small. 2013 May 27;9(9-10):1557-72. doi: 10.1002/smll.201201463. Epub 2012 Oct 23.
Engineered nanomaterials may exert adverse effects on human health which, in turn, may be linked to their propensity to cross biological barriers in the body. Here, available evidence is discussed, based on in vivo studies for interactions of commercially relevant nanoparticles with critical internal barriers. The internal barriers in focus in this review are the blood-brain barrier, protecting the brain, the blood-testis barrier, protecting the male germ line, and the placenta, protecting the developing fetus. The route of exposure (pulmonary, gastro-intestinal, intravenous, intraperitoneal, dermal), and, hence, the portal of entry of nanoparticles into the body, is of critical importance. Different physico-chemical properties, not only size, may determine the ability of nanoparticles to breach biological barriers; the situation is further compounded by the formation of a so-called corona of biomolecules on the surfaces of nanoparticles, the composition of which may vary depending on the route of exposure and the translocation of nanoparticles from one biological compartment to another. The relevance of nanoparticle interactions with internal biological barriers for their impact on the organs protected by these barriers is also discussed.
工程纳米材料可能对人体健康产生不良影响，而这又可能与其在体内穿越生物屏障的倾向有关。本文根据体内研究，讨论了具有商业相关性的纳米颗粒与关键内部屏障相互作用的现有证据。本文重点关注的内部屏障有血脑屏障、血睾屏障和胎盘，它们分别保护大脑、男性生殖细胞和发育中的胎儿。暴露途径（肺部、胃肠道、静脉内、腹腔内、皮肤），即纳米颗粒进入体内的门户，至关重要。不同的物理化学性质，不仅是大小，可能决定纳米颗粒穿透生物屏障的能力；而在纳米颗粒表面形成所谓的生物分子“冠”进一步使情况复杂化，其组成可能因暴露途径和纳米颗粒从一个生物隔室转移到另一个生物隔室而有所不同。纳米颗粒与内部生物屏障相互作用对受这些屏障保护的器官的影响也进行了讨论。
