Toxic Potential of Food-Relevant Nanoparticles in the Intestinal Epithelium

摘要

The food industry is becoming increasingly interested in the use of nanoparticles in food. This study investigated the toxic potential of the food-relevant nanoparticles silica (SiO_2), titanium dioxide (TiO_2), and zinc oxide (ZnO) on intestinal epithelial C2BBel cells. Despite nanoparticle internalization by cells, as visualized by TEM, toxicity was not observed after 24-hour exposure of cells to nanoparticles. SiO_2 and TiO_2 nanoparticles were incubated with digestive solutions to mimic gastric and intestinal digestion to which nanoparticles would be exposed in vivo (ZnO dissolved and could not be recovered). Exposure of cells to the "digested" nanoparticles also did not cause toxicity. To more accurately simulate consumer exposure to nanoparticles in foods, cells were treated with nanoparticles repeatedly and evaluated for toxicity for up to 40 nanoparticle exposures. Only ZnO caused slight toxicity. Proliferation of cell populations exposed long-term to nanoparticles was unaffected.