ZnO, TiO(2), SiO(2,) and Al(2)O(3) nanoparticles-induced toxic effects on human fetal lung fibroblasts / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This study aims to investigate and compare the toxic effects of four types of metal oxide (ZnO, TiO(2), SiO(2,) and Al(2)O(3)) nanoparticles with similar primary size (∼20 nm) on human fetal lung fibroblasts (HFL1) in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The HFL1 cells were exposed to the nanoparticles, and toxic effects were analyzed by using MTT assay, cellular morphology observation and Hoechst 33 258 staining.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The results show that the four types of metal oxide nanoparticles lead to cellular mitochondrial dysfunction, morphological modifications and apoptosis at the concentration range of 0.25-1.50 mg/mL and the toxic effects are obviously displayed in dose-dependent manner. ZnO is the most toxic nanomaterials followed by TiO(2), SiO(2), and Al(2)O(3) nanoparticles in a descending order.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The results highlight the differential cytotoxicity associated with exposure to ZnO, TiO(2), SiO(2), and Al(2)O(3) nanoparticles, and suggest an extreme attention to safety utilization of these nanomaterials.</p>