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Nanomaterials
Special Issues
Toxicity of Nanoparticles to Humans and the Environment
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Toxicity of Nanoparticles to Humans and the Environment

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Nanoscience and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 October 2024 | Viewed by 2446

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Eugenia Valsami-Jones

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Interests: nanomaterial properties; reactivity; toxicity; solubility; bio-nano interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sophie Marie Briffa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
Interests: nanomaterials; environmental transformations; nanomaterial characterisation; nanomaterial synthesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanoparticles are widely applied in fields such as electronics, medicine, chemicals and food on account of their distinctive physical, chemical, and biological properties. The tiny size of nanoparticles may result in interactions with molecules and cells that are more complex and unpredictable. Therefore, concerns have been raised about their influences and potential risks to both human well-being and the surrounding environment, leading to discussions about nanotoxicology and the safety of nanoparticles.

This Special Issue aims to discuss methods for evaluating nanotoxicity (e.g., in vitro cell models, animal models, and computational models) to understand the distribution, transformation, bio–nano interactions, and metabolism of nanoparticles. Furthermore, this Special Issue also focuses on predicting, detecting, treating, and assessing the risk of using toxic nanoparticles. We are pleased to invite authors to contribute original research articles or review articles regarding (but not limited to) the following aspects:

  • factors affecting the toxicity of nanoparticles;
  • different analytical techniques, experimental and theoretical approaches and methods to evaluate the toxicity mechanisms of nanoparticles;
  • ecotoxicity evaluation;
  • neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, genotoxicity, cytotoxicity etc.;
  • environmental and risk assessment;
  • safer guidance for the design and fabrication of nanoparticles.

Prof. Dr. Eugenia Valsami-Jones
Dr. Sophie Marie Briffa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanotoxicology
  • nanosafety
  • biocompatibility
  • environment/risk assessment
  • engineered nanomaterials

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 8646 KiB  
Article
A Comparison of Common Quantum Dot Alternatives to Cadmium-Based Quantum Dots on the Basis of Liver Cytotoxicity
by Seth Harris and Kyoungtae Kim
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(13), 1086; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14131086 - 25 Jun 2024
Viewed by 734
Abstract
Fluorescent nanoparticles known as quantum dots (QDs) have unique properties that make them useful in biomedicine. Specifically, CdSe/ZnS QDs, while good at fluorescing, show toxicity. Due to this, safer alternatives have been developed. This study uses a tetrazolium dye (XTT) viability assay, reactive [...] Read more.
Fluorescent nanoparticles known as quantum dots (QDs) have unique properties that make them useful in biomedicine. Specifically, CdSe/ZnS QDs, while good at fluorescing, show toxicity. Due to this, safer alternatives have been developed. This study uses a tetrazolium dye (XTT) viability assay, reactive oxygen species (ROS) fluorescent imaging, and apoptosis to investigate the effect of QD alternatives InP/ZnS, CuInS2/ZnS, and nitrogen-doped carbon dots (NCDs) in liver cells. The liver is a possible destination for the accumulation of QDs, making it an appropriate model for testing. A cancerous liver cell line known as HepG2 and an immortalized liver cell line known as THLE-2 were used. At a nanomolar range of 10–150, HepG2 cells demonstrated no reduced cell viability after 24 h. The XTT viability assay demonstrated that CdSe/ZnS and CuInS2/ZnS show reduced cell viability in THLE-2 cells with concentrations between 50 and 150 nM. Furthermore, CdSe/ZnS- and CuInS2/ZnS-treated THLE-2 cells generated ROS as early as 6 h after treatment and elevated apoptosis after 24 h. To further corroborate our results, apoptosis assays revealed an increased percentage of cells in the early stages of apoptosis for CdSe/ZnS-treated (52%) and CuInS2/ZnS-treated (38%) THLE-2. RNA transcriptomics revealed heavy downregulation of cell adhesion pathways such as wnt, cadherin, and integrin in all QDs except NCDs. In conclusion, NCDs show the least toxicity toward these two liver cell lines. While demonstrating less toxicity than CdSe/ZnS, the metallic QDs (InP/ZnS and CuInS2/ZnS) still demonstrate potential concerns in liver cells. This study serves to explore the toxicity of QD alternatives and better understand their cellular interactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicity of Nanoparticles to Humans and the Environment)
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17 pages, 1886 KiB  
Article
Oro-Respiratory Dysbiosis and Its Modulatory Effect on Lung Mucosal Toxicity during Exposure or Co-Exposure to Carbon Nanotubes and Cigarette Smoke
by Brijesh Yadav, Sukanta S. Bhattacharya, Lauren Rosen, Ravinder Nagpal, Hariom Yadav and Jagjit S. Yadav
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(3), 314; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14030314 - 4 Feb 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1318
Abstract
The oro-respiratory microbiome is impacted by inhalable exposures such as smoking and has been associated with respiratory health conditions. However, the effect of emerging toxicants, particularly engineered nanoparticles, alone or in co-exposure with smoking, is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the impact of [...] Read more.
The oro-respiratory microbiome is impacted by inhalable exposures such as smoking and has been associated with respiratory health conditions. However, the effect of emerging toxicants, particularly engineered nanoparticles, alone or in co-exposure with smoking, is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the impact of sub-chronic exposure to carbon nanotube (CNT) particles, cigarette smoke extract (CSE), and their combination. The oral, nasal, and lung microbiomes were characterized using 16S rRNA-based metagenomics. The exposures caused the following shifts in lung microbiota: CNT led to a change from Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes to Firmicutes and Tenericutes; CSE caused a shift from Proteobacteria to Bacteroidetes; and co-exposure (CNT+CSE) had a mixed effect, maintaining higher numbers of Bacteroidetes (due to the CNT effect) and Tenericutes (due to the CSE effect) compared to the control group. Oral microbiome analysis revealed an abundance of the following genera: Acinetobacter (CNT), Staphylococcus, Aggregatibacter, Allobaculum, and Streptococcus (CSE), and Alkalibacterium (CNT+CSE). These proinflammatory microbial shifts correlated with changes in the relative expression of lung mucosal homeostasis/defense proteins, viz., aquaporin 1 (AQP-1), surfactant protein A (SP-A), mucin 5b (MUC5B), and IgA. Microbiota depletion reversed these perturbations, albeit to a varying extent, confirming the modulatory role of oro-respiratory dysbiosis in lung mucosal toxicity. This is the first demonstration of specific oro-respiratory microbiome constituents as potential modifiers of toxicant effects in exposed lungs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxicity of Nanoparticles to Humans and the Environment)
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