Gao Lifeng, Meng Yuguang, Luo Xiaowen, Chen Jiangyuan, Wang Xuxia
Department of Medical Imaging, School of Medicine, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China.
State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, National Center for Magnetic Resonance in Wuhan, Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems, Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.
Toxics. 2024 Oct 5;12(10):724. doi: 10.3390/toxics12100724.
Since zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely applied, the nano community and the general public have paid great attention to the toxicity of ZnO NPs. We detected 20-nm ZnO NPs biotoxicity following nasal exposure utilizing the non-invasive and real-time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique. MR images were scanned in the rat olfactory epithelium (OE) and olfactory bulb (OB) on a 4.7 T scanner following the treatment (as early as 1 day and up to 21 days after), and the histological changes were evaluated. The influence of the size of the ZnO NPs and chemical components was also investigated. Our study revealed that 20-nm ZnO NPs induced obvious structural disruption and inflammation in the OE and OB at the acute stage. The results suggest that the real-time and non-invasive advantages of MRI allow it to observe and assess, directly and dynamically, the potential toxicity of long-term exposure to ZnO NPs in the olfactory system. These findings indicate the size-dependent toxicity of ZnO NPs with respect to the olfactory bulb. Further study is needed to reveal the mechanism behind ZnO NPs' toxicity.
由于氧化锌（ZnO）纳米颗粒（NPs）已被广泛应用，纳米界和公众对ZnO NPs的毒性高度关注。我们利用非侵入性实时磁共振成像（MRI）技术检测了经鼻腔暴露后20纳米ZnO NPs的生物毒性。在治疗后（最早1天至最长21天），在4.7 T扫描仪上对大鼠嗅上皮（OE）和嗅球（OB）进行MR图像扫描，并评估组织学变化。还研究了ZnO NPs尺寸和化学成分的影响。我们的研究表明，20纳米ZnO NPs在急性期会在OE和OB中引起明显的结构破坏和炎症。结果表明，MRI的实时和非侵入性优势使其能够直接、动态地观察和评估长期暴露于ZnO NPs对嗅觉系统的潜在毒性。这些发现表明ZnO NPs对嗅球具有尺寸依赖性毒性。需要进一步研究以揭示ZnO NPs毒性背后的机制。
