An in vitro study on the induction of micronuclei and other nuclear anomalies in peripheral blood lymphocyte culture by metal oxide nanoparticles

Increase in the production and release of engineered nanoparticles are known to induce genetic alterations that directly and indirectly affect the human health. The present study was aimed to evaluate the genotoxic potential of two metal oxide nanoparticles, silicon dioxide (SiO2-NPs) and titanium dioxide (TiO2-NPs), in human peripheral lymphocyte in vitro. Human peripheral blood cells were cultured with two different concentrations (0.5 μg/mL and 1μg/mL) of SiO2 and TiO2 and the genotoxicity was measured using CBMN (Cytokinesis Block Micronucleus) assay. Binucleated cells with micronuclei (Mni), nucleoplasmic bridges (NPBs) and nuclear buds (Nbuds) were scored along with multiand mono-nucleated cells. The results showed moderate to highly significant frequency of genotoxicity when compared with untreated negative control. The total nuclear anomalies by using cytokinesis block proliferation index were found to be increased at 10-15 folds in the treated samples than that of the control. The present study shows that the metal oxide nanoparticles induce the formation of micronuclei and other nuclear anomalies in peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro.