Cytotoxicity of Metallic Oxide Nanoparticles in Human Neural and Non-Neural Cells

摘要

The use of nanomaterials in industrial applications (e.g., drug delivery, additives to drugs and cosmetics) has escalated in the last decade, leading to the possibility of their becoming environmental pollutants. However, these cytotoxic and other health effects of exposure to nanoparticles have not been systematically investigated. We have developed a series of cell models to facilitate a systematic investigation of cytotoxicity of metallic oxide nanoparticles. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that metallic oxide nanoparticles exert differential cytotoxic effects on human neural and non-neural cell types. We exposed human neural (SK-N-SH) and non-neural (HepG2 and BJ) cell lines to zinc oxide and magnesium oxide nanoparticles (0.1-100 μg/mL) for 48 hours and then determined their survival. The results of our on-going studies indicate that, in general, human neural cells are more susceptible to the cytotoxicity of metallic oxide nanoparticles studied compared with human non-neural cells. Moreover, the metallic oxide nanoparticles so far investigated also exert dissimilar effects depending on the cell type under study. Our results provide some support for our hypothesis and may have implications in nanotoxicity and health risks involved with exposure to metal oxide nanoparticles.