Techniques for Investigating Molecular Toxicology of Nanomaterials

Abstract

Nanotechnology has been a rapidly developing field in the past few decades, resulting in the more and more exposure of nanomaterials to human. The increased applications of nanomaterials for industrial, commercial and life purposes, such as fillers, catalysts, semiconductors, paints, cosmetic additives and drug carriers, have caused both obvious and potential impacts on human health and environment. Nanotoxicology is used to study the safety of nanomaterials and has grown at the historic moment. Molecular toxicology is a new subdiscipline to study the interactions and impacts of materials at the molecular level. To better understand the relationship between the molecular toxicology and nanomaterials, this review summarizes the typical techniques and methods in molecular toxicology which are applied when investigating the toxicology of nanomaterials and include six categories: namely; genetic mutation detection, gene expression analysis, DNA damage detection, chromosomal aberration analysis, proteomics, and metabolomics. Each category involves several experimental techniques and methods.

Three‐layered electrospun PVA/PCL/PVA nanofibrous mats containing tetracycline hydrochloride and phenytoin sodium: A case study on sustained control release, antibacterial, and cell culture properties

“…Although biodegradable and biocompatible polymeric nanofibers produced by electrospinning as an efficient tool [1][2][3][4] are widely used for biomedical applications such as bone tissue engineering 5 and wound dressing materials, 6,7 but the controlled release of drugs from them has remained the main problem so far. The electrospun polymeric nanofibers because of their unique properties such as high specific surface area and easy to produce have received a considerable attention as drug delivery systems (DDS) and a large number of reviews have been published on this subject.…”

Nanomaterials and Oxidative Stress

“…When ROS and antioxidant concentration is monitored in live cells using microscopic imaging with fluorogenic sensors [15], it allows the observation of OS evolution in real time and avoids artifacts due to sample extraction. Application of gene expression analysis to identify underlying OS mechanisms caused by exposure to NPs is expanding following advances in high-content analytical technologies [28,29]. Techniques such as gene chips and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction allow the recognition of early molecular markers of the redox imbalance by following the expression of genes, responsible for the antioxidant proteins [20].…”

Polymer blending or fiber blending: A comparative study using chitosan and poly(ε‐caprolactone) electrospun fibers

“…Preparation of solutions blending both types of polymer, which is the case of poly(ε-caprolactone)/chitosan (PCL/CS) blends, is usually achieved through the use of aggressive and toxic solvents, like hexafluoro-2-propanol, trifluoroacetic acid, and trifluoroethanol. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] An alternative and less toxic solvent, acetic acid (AA), has also been used to prepare a few blends, like CS with collagen and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), 12 CS with PCL and PEO 13,14 and CS with PCL. 15,16 Among the diverse techniques available for the production of scaffolds for tissue engineering, 17 electrospinning is the favorite when it comes to reproducing the fibrillary architecture of the extracellular matrix.…”

“…Combining CS with another polymer, such as PCL, semicrystalline polyester that presents slow biodegradability and good mechanical properties may significantly improve the overall material performance. 35 There are reports in the literature of the production and evaluation of PCL/CS blends using AA [13][14][15][16] as well as a few other solvents. [36][37][38][39][40][41][42] Scaffolds have also been produced through the layer by layer deposition of PCL and CS fibers 43 and through the simultaneous deposition of PCL and CS onto the same rotating collector.…”