Journal
NANOTOXICOLOGY
Volume 8, Issue -, Pages 57-71Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.3109/17435390.2013.855831
Keywords
Antimicrobials; metal ions; oxidative stress; QNARs; uptake
Categories
Funding
- Estonian target funding project [SF0690063s08, ETF8561, ETF9001, ETF9347]
- EU 7th Framework Program [263147, 309314]
- EU Regional Development Foundation
- Environmental Conservation and Environmental Technology R&D Program project TERIKVANT [3.2.0802.11-0043]
- Swiss National Research Program 64 on the Opportunities and Risk of Nanomaterials
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Silver, ZnO and CuO nanoparticles (NPs) are increasingly used as biocides. There is however increasing evidence of their threat to non-target organisms. In such a context, the understanding of the toxicity mechanisms is crucial for both the design of more efficient nano-antimicrobials, i.e. for toxic by design and at the same time for the design of nanomaterials that are biologically and/or environmentally benign throughout their life-cycle (safe by design). This review provides a comprehensive and critical literature overview on Ag, ZnO and CuO NPs' toxicity mechanisms on the basis of various environmentally relevant test species and mammalian cells in vitro. In addition, factors modifying the toxic effect of nanoparticles, e. g. impact of the test media, are discussed. Literature analysis revealed three major phenomena driving the toxicity of these nanoparticles: (i) dissolution of nanoparticles, (ii) organism-dependent cellular uptake of NPs and (iii) induction of oxidative stress and consequent cellular damages. The emerging information on quantitative structure-activity relationship modeling of nanomaterials' toxic effects and the challenges of extrapolation of laboratory results to the environment are also addressed.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available