No evidence of the genotoxic potential of gold, silver, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles in the SOS chromotest

Abstract

ABSTACT: Gold nanoparticles (Au NPs), silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) are widely used in cosmetic products such as preservatives, colorants and sunscreens. This study investigated the genotoxicity of Au NPs, Ag NPs, ZnO NPs and TiO 2 NPs using the SOS chromotest with Escherichia coli PQ37. The maximum exposure concentrations for each nanoparticle were 3.23 mg l -1 for Au NPs, 32.3 mg l -1 for Ag NPs and 100 mg l -1 for ZnO NPs and TiO 2 NPs. Additionally, in order to compare the genotoxicity of nanoparticles and corresponding dissolved ions, the ions were assessed in the same way as nanoparticles. The genotoxicity of the titanium ion was not assessed because of the extremely low solubility of TiO 2 NPs. Au NPs, Ag NPs, ZnO NPs, TiO 2 NPs and ions of Au, Ag and Zn, in a range of tested concentrations, exerted no effects in the SOS chromotest, evidenced by maximum IF (IFmax) values of below 1.5 for all chemicals. Owing to the results, nanosized Au NPs, Ag NPs, ZnO NPs, TiO 2 NPs and ions of Au, Ag and Zn are classified as non-genotoxic on the basis of the SOS chromotest used in this study. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the genotoxicity of Au NPs, Ag NPs, ZnO NPs and TiO 2 NPs using the SOS chromotest.

Assessing bioavailability and genotoxicity of heavy metals and metallic nanoparticles simultaneously using dual-sensing Escherichia coli whole-cell bioreporters

“…This result agreed with previous reports on the genotoxicity of NPs (Trouiller et al 2009;Yang et al 2009;Nam et al 2013). Although these studies employed different genotoxicity assays, genotoxicity was not observed for metallic NPs such as ZnO, Au, and Ag NPs in chromotests (Nam et al 2013) but was observed for carbon nanotubes (Yang et al 2009). It was reported that TiO 2 NPs showed adverse effects via a secondary genotoxic mechanism associated (A) (B) Fig.…”

“…The tested heavy metal(loid)s (CdCl 2 , K 2 Cr 2 O 7 , HgCl 2 , NiCl 2 , AsCl 3 , PbCl 2 , AgCl, and ZnCl 2 ) and metallic NPs, ZnO NPs (particle size \ 50 nm), TiO 2 NPs (particle size 21 nm), and Au NPs (particle size 20 nm), were purchased from SigmaAldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). The properties of these NPs were characterized and reported previously (Nam et al 2013). Mitomycin C (MMC) was used as a reference for genotoxin and purchased from Abcam (Cambridge, MA, USA).…”

Genotoxic and Histopathological Evaluation of Zinc Oxide Nanorods in Vivo in Swiss Albino Mice

“…In supporting SOS chromotest by Nam S-H et al 2013 [26] reports ZnO NPs as non-genotoxic along with some metal and metal oxide nanoparticles tested there in. It is well known that nanoparticles in general can enter the cellular environment owing to their nano size, and may cause tissue damage.…”

Monitoring of genotoxicity in marine zooplankton induced by toxic metals in Ennore estuary, Southeast coast of India

“…Despite the highest concentration of Zn in all four components (water, particulate, sediment and zooplankton), statistical analysis revealed Zn does not pose greater genotoxic threat to the tested zooplankton species in comparison to other toxic metals (Pb, Ni, Cu, Cr and Co). Several earlier laboratory investigations also showed little to no genotoxic effect of Zn on biological organisms (Steinkellner et al, 1998;MarcatoRomain et al, 2009;Nam et al, 2012). However, further laboratory investigation with these species may explain the genotoxic potential of Zn.…”