[In vitro safety evaluation of nanomaterials--cellular response to metal oxide nanoparticles]

Although nanomaterials are already being used for various applications in the industry, the safety of nanomaterials has not yet been sufficiently elucidated. An in vitro cellular toxicological study using well-characterized nanomaterials is conducted for the evaluation of the biological effects of nanomaterials. In this study, the effects of copper oxide nanoparticles on the global gene expression of human lung epithelial A549 cells were analyzed, and the molecular responses of A549 cells to the toxicity of the copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were inferred. Furthermore, the cytotoxic effects of silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles coexisting with some metal salts in Chinese hamster lung fibroblast V79 cells were also examined, and SiO2 nanoparticles increased the cytotoxicity of some of the coexisting metal salts as a result. Finally, the importance of in vitro studies in the safety evaluation of nanomaterials was discussed.