Nanotoxicology: a personal perspective

Nanoparticles arise from a wide variety of natural and man-made sources and have a diverse array of biological, chemical, and physical properties. The toxicity of these particles can be roughly divided into two categories: 1) the enhanced delivery of toxic agents 2) toxicity induced the properties of the particle itself. The use of nanoparticles to provide enhanced delivery of chemotherapeutics is presented followed by a discussion of the size-based effects of electron transfer and physical membrane disruption. (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2009 1 353-359