Nanotoxicology: The Need for a Human Touch?

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 16; no. 36; pp. e2001516 - n/a
• Main Authors: Miller, Mark R., Poland, Craig A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2020
• Subjects: Aluminum; Biological effects; controlled exposure; Exposure; Human subjects; Humans; In vivo methods and tests; inhalation; Inhalation Exposure - analysis; Inhalation Exposure - standards; Metal Nanoparticles - toxicity; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Nanostructures - toxicity; Nanotechnology; nanotoxicology; Organs; Respiration; Risk assessment; Toxicology - methods; Toxicology - standards; inhalation; nanomaterials; nanoparticles; controlled exposure; nanotoxicology
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202001516

With the ever‐expanding number of manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs) under development there is a vital need for nanotoxicology studies that test the potential for MNMs to cause harm to health. An extensive body of work in cell cultures and animal models is vital to understanding the physicochemical characteristics of MNMs and the biological mechanisms that underlie any detrimental actions to cells and organs. In human subjects, exposure monitoring is combined with measurement of selected health parameters in small panel studies, especially in occupational settings. However, the availability of further in vivo human data would greatly assist the risk assessment of MNMs. Here, the potential for controlled inhalation exposures of MNMs in human subjects is discussed. Controlled exposures to carbon, gold, aluminum, and zinc nanoparticles in humans have already set a precedence to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach. These studies have provided considerable insight into the potential (or not) of nanoparticles to induce inflammation, alter lung function, affect the vasculature, reach the systemic circulation, and accumulate in other organs. The need for further controlled exposures of MNMs in human volunteers ‐ to establish no‐effect limits, biological mechanisms, and provide vital data for the risk assessment of MNMs ‐ is advocated. Controlled inhalation of environmental and manufactured nanoparticles in human subjects is discussed. Such studies have provided considerable insight into the cardiorespiratory effects of several classes of nanoparticles. Controlled exposure studies in volunteers are a highly complementary tool for in vitro or in vivo studies and provide vital information with immediate human‐relevance for risk assessment in nanosafety.