Grupo DICOMOSA, Centro de Investigaciones Científicas Avanzadas (CICA), Departamento de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain.
Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de A Coruña (INIBIC), AE CICA-INIBIC, A Coruña, Spain.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2022;1357:303-350. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-88071-2_13.
Iron oxide nanoparticles (ION), with unique magnetic properties, have attracted huge scientific attention for a wide variety of uses, mostly in the biomedical field, due to their high biocompatibility, ability to cross biological membranes, appropriate surface architecture and easy conjugation with targeting ligands. Their current applications include diagnostic imaging, cell labelling, site-directed drug delivery and anticancer hyperthermia therapy. The ION surface may be modified by coating with different materials, aiming to stabilize the nanoparticles in different environments, to allow biomolecule binding favouring surface attachments with several molecules, and to prolong the recognition time by the immune system. Although the potential benefits of ION are considerable, and more and more ION are being manufactured to meet the demands of the rapidly proliferating field of nanomedicine, there is an urgent need to define their toxicological profile in order to avoid any potential health risks associated with their exposure and to reach optimal benefits of their use. The purpose of this chapter is to de-scribe the current knowledge on the ION toxicological features, addressing their structure and physicochemical characteristics, main exposure pathways and toxicokinetic aspects, interaction with cells, and their toxic effects, with special attention to those at the cellular and molecular level.
氧化铁纳米粒子（ION）具有独特的磁性，由于其高生物相容性、能够穿过生物膜、适当的表面结构以及易于与靶向配体结合，因此在生物医学领域的各种应用中引起了极大的科学关注。它们目前的应用包括诊断成像、细胞标记、靶向药物输送和抗癌热疗。ION 表面可以通过不同材料的涂层进行修饰，目的是在不同环境中稳定纳米粒子，允许生物分子结合，有利于与多个分子进行表面附着，并延长免疫系统的识别时间。尽管 ION 的潜在益处相当大，并且为了满足纳米医学领域的快速发展的需求，越来越多的 ION 正在被制造出来，但迫切需要定义它们的毒理学特征，以避免与接触相关的任何潜在健康风险，并实现其使用的最佳益处。本章的目的是描述 ION 毒理学特征的现有知识，涉及它们的结构和物理化学特性、主要暴露途径和毒代动力学方面、与细胞的相互作用以及它们的毒性作用，特别关注细胞和分子水平的作用。
