Methods for studying toxicity of silica-based nanomaterials to living cells

A number of silica-based nanomaterials have been developed in recent years. An important application of these nanomaterials is in the field of biological and biomedical applications. However, a major concern about the safety of the nanomaterials in vitro has been proposed. To address this problem, several approaches have been developed for a systematic investigation of the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of silica-based nanoparticles. These methods are mainly based on the traditional toxicity study approaches but with some modifications. In this chapter, four important methods for studying of toxicity of silica-based nanomaterials are summarized. These methods can detect cell proliferation, cell viability, DNA damage, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The protocols of each method are introduced in detail.