Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende (CS), Italy.
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2023;23(9):1050-1057. doi: 10.2174/1389557522666220929152403.
Nanotechnology has greatly impacted our daily life and has certainly yielded many promising benefits. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO-NPs) are among those produced on a large industrial scale that have found many practical applications in industry and daily life. Due to their presence in products such as food, cosmetics, sunscreens, medications, paints or textiles, contact with TiO-NPs in our daily life is inevitable. The small size, together with the corresponding large specific surface area, make nanoparticles able to penetrate through cellular barriers and reach various parts of the body through different routes of exposure, including inhalation, injection, dermal penetration, and gastrointestinal tract absorption. Furthermore, after long-term exposure, the TiO-NPs could accumulate in tissues leading to chronic diseases. This raises serious doubts about their potentially harmful effects on human health. In the past, TiO-NPs have been considered inert, however, many in vitro studies have shown that they were cyto- and genotoxic, leading to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and to the activation of signaling pathways involved in inflammation and cell death. Several in vivo studies have also demonstrated that TiO-NPs, once in the bloodstream, could reach and accumulate in important organs causing toxic effects. Very recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified these nanoparticles as possibly carcinogenic to humans. In this survey, we summarize the latest advances in acknowledging the toxicity and safety of TiO-NPs. Since the literature is often controversial, further studies are still needed to define the risk/benefit ratio of using these nanoparticles. Overall, the data herein reported are critical for assessing human risk after exposure to TiO-NPs.
纳米技术极大地影响了我们的日常生活，并且确实带来了许多有前途的好处。二氧化钛纳米粒子（TiO-NPs）是大规模生产的纳米粒子之一，在工业和日常生活中有许多实际应用。由于它们存在于食品、化妆品、防晒霜、药物、油漆或纺织品等产品中，因此我们在日常生活中不可避免地会接触到 TiO-NPs。由于其尺寸小，再加上相应的大比表面积，使得纳米颗粒能够穿透细胞屏障，并通过不同的暴露途径（包括吸入、注射、皮肤渗透和胃肠道吸收）到达身体的各个部位。此外，长期暴露后，TiO-NPs 可能会在组织中积累，导致慢性疾病。这引发了人们对它们对人类健康可能产生的有害影响的严重质疑。过去，TiO-NPs 被认为是惰性的，然而，许多体外研究表明它们具有细胞毒性和遗传毒性，导致活性氧（ROS）的产生，并激活涉及炎症和细胞死亡的信号通路。几项体内研究也表明，一旦进入血液，TiO-NPs 就可以到达并积聚在重要器官中，引起毒性作用。最近，国际癌症研究机构（IARC）将这些纳米颗粒归类为可能对人类致癌。在本综述中，我们总结了最新进展，以确认 TiO-NPs 的毒性和安全性。由于文献常常存在争议，因此仍需要进一步研究来确定使用这些纳米颗粒的风险/收益比。总的来说，本文报道的数据对于评估人类在暴露于 TiO-NPs 后的风险至关重要。
