Iron Oxide (Magnetite)-Based Nanobiomaterial with Medical Applications-Environmental Hazard Assessment Using...

Nanobiomaterials (NBMs) have tremendous potential applications including in cancer diagnosis and treatment. However, the health and environmental effects of NBMs must be thoroughly assessed to ensure safety. Fe₃O₄ (magnetite) nanoparticles coated with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) were one of the focus NBMs within the EU project BIORIMA. Fe₃O₄ PEG-PLGA has been proposed to be used as a contrast agent in magnetic resonance imaging for the identification of solid tumors and has revealed low cytotoxicity in several cell lines. However, the effects of Fe₃O₄ PEG-PLGA have not been assessed in terrestrial environments, the eventual final sink of most materials. In the present study, the effects of Fe₃O₄ PEG-PLGA and its precursor, (un-coated) Fe₃O₄ NMs, were assessed in soil model invertebrates Enchytraeus crypticus (Oligochaeta) and Folsomia candida (Collembola). The endpoints were survival, reproduction, and size, based on the standard OECD test (28 days) and its extension (56 days). The results showed no toxicity for any of the endpoints evaluated, indicating that the NBM Fe₃O₄ PEG-PLGA poses no unacceptable risk to the terrestrial environment.