Nanoparticles exist for a long time as both inorganic and organic parts of nature. Recently, massive expansion of nanotechnologies is evidenced, together with intentional production of new nanoparticles which have not been in contact with living organisms until now. Besides obvious positive aspects, potential threats related to their exposure should be taken into consideration. Unique physical-...

Nanoparticles are used in an increasing number of biomedical, industrial, and food applications, but their safety profiles in developing organisms, including the human fetus and infant, have not been evaluated. Titanium oxide (TiO(2)) nanoparticles, which are commonly used in cosmetics, sunscreens, paints, and food, have been shown to induce emphysema and lung inflammation in adult mice. We hyp...

The new properties of engineered nanoparticles drive the need for new knowledge on the safety, fate, behavior and biologic effects of these particles on organisms and ecosystems. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles have been used extensively for a wide range of applications, e.g, self-cleaning surface coatings, solar cells, water treatment agents, topical sunscreens. Within this scenario increased e...

Iron oxide nanoparticles with engineered physical and biochemical properties are finding a rapidly increasing number of biomedical applications. However, a wide variety of safety concerns, especially those related to oral exposure, still need to be addressed for iron oxide nanoparticles in order to reach clinical practice. Here, we report on the effects of chronic oral exposure to low doses of ...

The pulsed-laser evaporation synthesis of silica nanofibers and crystalline binary nanoparticles is investigated in detail. By careful adjustment of the synthesis parameters one can tailor the product to form high yield nanofibers or binary nanoparticles. Some control on their diameters is also possible through the synthesis parameters. Oxidation of the nanofibers occurs upon exposure to air af...

The size of photochemically-prepared niobium nanoparticles (NbNP) can be controlled by varying the concentration of the photoinitiator in the reaction mixture. The particles, which may be metallic in nature, are readily oxidized upon air exposure to form stable niobium(v) oxide nanoparticles (NbONP) that act as strong Brønsted acids.

Manufactured nanoparticles have a wide range of application due to their advantageous properties whencompared with their bulk forms. There is a growing concern regarding the safety of nanoparticles. This studyaimed to evaluate the cell membrane lipoperoxidation (LPO) and DNA integrity in red earthworm Lumbricusrubellus when exposed to artificial soil systems containing different concentration o...

BACKGROUND The mechanisms governing the correlation between exposure to ultrafine particles and the increased incidence of cardiovascular disease remain unknown. Ultrafine particles appear to cross the pulmonary epithelial barrier into the bloodstream, raising the possibility of direct contact with the vascular endothelium. OBJECTIVES Because endothelial inflammation is critical for the devel...

Exposure to nanoparticles has presented potential risks to human cardiorespiratory systems. Pulmonary retention and extrapulmonary redistribution of inhaled nanoparticles have been considered to be important contributing factors of cardiorespiratory diseases. In the present work, 22-nm (59)Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles (radioactive isotope (59)Fe-labeled ferric oxide nanoparticles) were intratracheal...