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Toxic effects of metal oxide nanoparticles and their underlying mechanisms

金属氧化物纳米颗粒生物毒性效应及毒性机理研究进展

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Abstract

Nanomaterials have attracted considerable interest owing to their unique physicochemical properties. The wide application of nanomaterials has raised many concerns about their potential risks to human health and the environment. Metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs), one of the main members of nanomaterials, have been applied in various fields, such as food, medicine, cosmetics, and sensors. This review highlights the bio-toxic effects of widely applied MONPs and their underlying mechanisms. Two main underlying toxicity mechanisms, reactive oxygen species (ROS)- and non-ROS-mediated toxicities, of MONPs have been widely accepted. ROS activates oxidative stress, which leads to lipid peroxidation and cell membrane damage. In addition, ROS can trigger the apoptotic pathway by activating caspase-9 and -3. Non-ROS-mediated toxicity mechanism includes the effect of released ions, excessive accumulation of NPs on the cell surface, and combination of NPs with specific death receptors. Furthermore, the combined toxicity evaluation of some MONPs is also discussed. Toxicity may dramatically change when nanomaterials are used in a combined system because the characteristics of NPs that play a key role in their toxicity such as size, surface properties, and chemical nature in the complex system are different from the pristine NPs.

摘要

纳米材料由于其独特的性质已经被广泛应用于很多领域, 但随着纳米材料的大规模制备和广泛应用, 它对环境以及人类的潜在危害越来越引起人们的重视. 金属氧化物纳米颗粒(MONPs)作为一类纳米材料大量地用于食品、医药、化妆品、传感器等领域. 因此, MONPs的生物毒性研究至关重要. 本文主要对目前应用最为广泛的几种MONPs (纳米二氧化钛、氧化锌、氧化铁等)生物毒性的研究及其毒性机理做了总结. MONPs导致毒性的机制有两个方面: ROS介导的毒性和非ROS介导的毒性. ROS激活氧化应激, 导致脂质过氧化, 引起细胞膜损伤, 此外, ROS可以激活caspase-9和caspase-3, 触发凋亡通路. 非ROS介导的毒性机制, 包括MONPs释放的离子引起的毒性, 纳米粒子在细胞表面的粘附以及与特定的死亡受体的相互作用. 此外, 由于当纳米材料处于一个复杂的体系中时, 它自身的性质, 包括尺寸、粒径、表面化学性质等都会发生变化, 我们对一些MONPs的复合毒性也做了讨论.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21371115, 11025526, 40830744, 41073073, and 21101104), the National Basic Research Program of China (2011CB933402), the Innovation Program of ShanghaiMunicipal Education Commission (14YZ025), and the Program for Innovative Research Team in University (IRT13078).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nano-chemistry and Nano-biology, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China

    Yanli Wang  (王艳丽), Lin Ding  (丁琳), Chenjie Yao  (姚晨婕), Chenchen Li  (李晨晨), Xiaojun Xing  (邢晓军), Yanan Huang  (黄雅男), Tianjiao Gu  (顾天骄) & Minghong Wu  (吴明红)

  2. Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    Yanli Wang  (王艳丽)

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  1. Yanli Wang  (王艳丽)
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  2. Lin Ding  (丁琳)
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  3. Chenjie Yao  (姚晨婕)
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  4. Chenchen Li  (李晨晨)
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  5. Xiaojun Xing  (邢晓军)
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  6. Yanan Huang  (黄雅男)
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  7. Tianjiao Gu  (顾天骄)
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  8. Minghong Wu  (吴明红)
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Correspondence to Minghong Wu  (吴明红).

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Yanli Wang is now working at the Institute of Nanochemistry and Nanobiology of Shanghai University as an associate professor since 2012. She obtained her PhD degree in environmental engineering from Shanghai University in 2010. Her research interests include bio-effects and safety evaluation of nanomaterials and their application in bio-imaging and cancer therapy.

Minghong Wu obtained her PhD degree from Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1999. She is the National outstanding youth and Yangtze River scholar of China. Based on her scientific contribution, she was selected as the Russian Academy of foreign academicians of Russian Academy of Engineering in 2008 and Russian Academy of Science in 2015. Her research interests mainly focus on bio-effects and safety evaluation of nanomaterials and environmental pollution analysis and control.

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Wang, Y., Ding, L., Yao, C. et al. Toxic effects of metal oxide nanoparticles and their underlying mechanisms. Sci. China Mater. 60, 93–108 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-016-5157-0

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