Nanotoxicity assessment: A challenging application for cutting edge electroanalytical tools.

Area of Science:

• Nanotoxicology
• Electrochemistry
• Environmental Science

Background:

• The increasing use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in commercial products necessitates thorough evaluation of their toxicological impact on ecosystems and human health.
• Nanotoxicology is a rapidly growing interdisciplinary field focused on assessing ENM hazards.
• Current characterization methods for ENM toxicology include physicochemical and biochemical techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review bioelectrochemical approaches for assessing engineered nanomaterial (ENM) toxicity.
• To provide an overview of advanced electroanalytical devices applicable to nanotoxicity assessment.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on bioelectrochemical and electroanalytical methods for nanotoxicity assessment.
• Discussion of the application of these methods at single cell, cell population, and whole-organism levels.
• Consideration of both in vitro and in vivo measurement capabilities.

Main Results:

• Bioelectrochemical and electroanalytical methods can expand the available nanotoxicity assessment technologies.
• These electroanalytical techniques can accelerate the testing and screening of ENM toxicological effects.
• The reviewed methods are applicable to diverse biological scales and experimental settings.

Conclusions:

• Electroanalytical and bioelectrochemical methods present a valuable addition to the nanotoxicity assessment toolkit.
• These approaches have the potential to significantly improve the speed and scope of ENM safety evaluations.
• Further development and application of these cutting-edge devices are encouraged for comprehensive nanotoxicity profiling.