RESUMO
Titania nanoparticles are produced by tons, and included in commercial products, raising concerns about their potential impact on human health. This study relates their cytotoxic and genotoxic impact on a cell line representative of human lung, namely A549 alveolar epithelial cells.
Assuntos
Neoplasias Pulmonares/fisiopatologia , Nanopartículas Metálicas/toxicidade , Testes de Mutagenicidade/métodos , Testes de Toxicidade Aguda/métodos , Linhagem Celular Tumoral , Sobrevivência Celular/efeitos dos fármacos , Citotoxinas/toxicidade , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Humanos , Mutagênicos/toxicidade , Titânio/toxicidadeRESUMO
If released in the environment, nanomaterials might be inhaled by populations and cause damage to the deepest regions of the respiratory tract, i.e., the alveolar compartment. To model this situation, we studied the response of A549 human pneumocytes after exposure to aluminium oxide or titanium oxide nanoparticles, and to multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The influence of size, crystalline structure and chemical composition was investigated. After a detailed identification of nanomaterial physico-chemical characteristics, cells were exposed in vitro and viability and intracellular accumulation were assessed. In our conditions, carbon nanotubes were more toxic than metal oxide nanoparticles. Our results confirmed that both nanotubes and nanoparticles are able to rapidly enter into cells, and distribute in the cytoplasm and intracellular vesicles. Among nanoparticles, we demonstrate significant difference in biological response as a function of size, crystalline phase and chemical composition. Their toxicity was globally lower than nanotubes toxicity. Among nanotubes, the length did not influence cytotoxicity, neither the presence of metal catalyst impurities.
