Titanium dioxide nanoparticles oral exposure to pregnant rats and its distribution

Abstract

Background Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles are among the most manufactured nanomaterials in the industry, and are used in food products, toothpastes, cosmetics and paints. Pregnant women as well as their conceptuses may be exposed to TiO 2 nanoparticles; however, the potential effects of these nanoparticles during pregnancy are controversial, and their internal distribution has not been investigated. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the potential effects of oral exposure to TiO 2 nanoparticles and their distribution during pregnancy. TiO 2 nanoparticles were orally administered to pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats (12 females per group) from gestation days (GDs) 6 to 19 at dosage levels of 0, 100, 300 and 1000 mg/kg/day, and then cesarean sections were conducted on GD 20. Results In the maternal and embryo-fetal examinations, there were no marked toxicities in terms of general clinical signs, body weight, food consumption, organ weights, macroscopic findings, cesarean section parameters and fetal morphological examinations. In the distribution analysis, titanium contents were increased in the maternal liver, maternal brain and placenta after exposure to high doses of TiO 2 nanoparticles. Conclusion Oral exposure to TiO 2 during pregnancy increased the titanium concentrations in the maternal liver, maternal brain and placenta, but these levels did not induce marked toxicities in maternal animals or affect embryo-fetal development. These results could be used to evaluate the human risk assessment of TiO 2 nanoparticle oral exposure during pregnancy, and additional comprehensive toxicity studies are deemed necessary considering the possibility of complex exposure scenarios and the various sizes of TiO 2 nanoparticles.

Uptake of Cerium Dioxide Nanoparticles and Impact on Viability, Differentiation and Functions of Primary Trophoblast Cells from Human Placenta

“…However, the in vivo biokinetic study (rat model) showed a half-life of 22 days for metallic NPs (ferric oxide) in the blood stream [ 57 ]. Therefore NPs could accumulate in the blood and higher levels could be reached over time in the placenta [ 58 ]. We also used higher concentrations in this study that allowed us to make a complete cytotoxicity evaluation to determine the IC50 of CeO 2 NPs, which was not reached at 24 h of exposure and was 320 μg/mL (50.4 μg/cm 2 ) at 48 h. These high concentrations also allow further comparison of toxicity between placental and other barriers (especially pulmonary or intestinal) and may correspond to a worst-case scenario knowing that CeO 2 NPs are now being proposed as potential medicine (with actually-tested concentrations reaching up to 250 µg/mL) [ 59 ].…”

Possible effects of titanium dioxide particles on human liver, intestinal tissue, spleen and kidney after oral exposure

“…In animal studies Ti levels in organs and tissues have been measured in a number of different types of animal studies (Jani, McCarthy, and Florence 1994, Wang et al 2007, Onishchenko et al 2012, Cho et al 2013, Wang et al 2013, Geraets et al 2014, Janer et al 2014, Kim and Park 2014, Tassinari et al 2014, Gu et al 2015, MacNicoll et al 2015, Mohamed 2015, Donner et al 2016, Ammendolia et al 2017, Farrell and Magnuson 2017, Kreyling et al 2017, Martins et al 2017, Hu et al 2018, Hu et al 2020, Lee et al 2019, Talamini et al 2019. Some are kinetic studies, others are general toxicity studies or studies aimed at specific effects, measuring Ti levels for different reasons (see Supplementary Information 2).…”

Safety assessment of cerium oxide nanoparticles: combined repeated-dose toxicity with reproductive/developmental toxicity screening and biodistribution in rats

“…Pregnant and lactating dams were housed individually in a poly-sulfone cage (260W × 420L × 180H mm 3 ) with sterilized Aspen animal bedding (Bio Lab, Republic of Korea) during the study period. The animal room was controlled environmental conditions as described previously, [15] with a temperature range of 22 ± 3 °C, a relative humidity range of 50 ± 20%, a 12 hours light-dark cycle and a ventilation range of 10-20 air changes per hour. The water was irradiated by UV light and filtered prior to provide ad libitum.…”