Safety Studies of Metal Oxide Nanoparticles Used in Food Industry

Abstract

The development of nanotechnology has led us to an exponential usage and the fabrication of nanoparticles (NP) useful to improving the characteristics of different products. A global increase of 5000 % has been reported in patents related to nanotechnology; from 224 new patents granted in 1991 to 12,776 new patents in (Dang et al. 2010. In 2009 only, the USA invested US$ 1.7 million in nanotechnology R&D (GAO 2010), and in 2015, it is expected a global investment of US$ 1 billion in nanotechnology products (Roco 2005).The developed NP has been grouped into four types: (1) materials based on carbon and fullerenes, such as shungita, i.e., the most stable carbon form; (2) materials that contain a metallic base such as titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) and zinc oxide (ZnO); (3) dendrimers or polymers, such as polyamidoamine dendrimers and polypropyleneimine dendrimers; and (4) the composites of metals, such as platinum with silica cover and layers of Al 2 O 3 -TiO 2 . Such materials have mainly been used by eight industrial areas: automotive, aerospace, electronic and computing, energy and environment, food and agriculture, construction, medicine and pharmacy, and personal care (GAO 2010).

Mitochondrial dysfunction and loss of glutamate uptake in primary astrocytes exposed to titanium dioxide nanoparticles

“…[11][12][13][14] Numerous studies have revealed that astrocytes release neuroactive substances, called gliotransmitters, including glutamate, GABA, ATP/adenosine, or D-serine. [15][16][17][18][19] These gliotransmitters activate receptors in neurons, exerting diverse and complex cellular effects that result in the regulation of the neuronal excitability, synaptic transmission and plasticity, and neural network function. The increasing interest in identification of astrocytes' roles in regulating brain function has led to great excitement regarding their potential impact on prospective therapeutics for neurological conditions.…”

Morphological and Physicochemical Characterization of Agglomerates of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles in Cell Culture Media

“…It is noteworthy that nevertheless shape, size, and charge of primary TiO 2 NP are, in general, reported but no evaluation of size-morphometry of agglomerates has been found in relation to biological effects evaluated, and a lack of data in this regard is important. A quantitative study of morphometry, associated with corresponding sizes is, in general, missing although it has been recognized as important towards biological effects by different authors [54,[68][69][70]. It is also important to highlight that titration curves such as those evaluated in our work are, in general, scarce in the literature in spite of the fact that changes in pH are frequently associated with oxidative stress processes.…”

Study of mitochondrial swelling, membrane fluidity and ROS production induced by nano-TiO2 and prevented by Fe incorporation

“…Only limited reports are available, which reveal that TiO 2 induces mitochondrial apoptosis in cells and damages the functional mitochondria. [14][15][16] The role of mitochondria in animal cell death has been studied for a number of years. The opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mtPTP) has caused an increase in permeability to solutes and molecules, which leads to cell death.…”