EC Pharmacology and Toxicology

Industrial, commercial, agricultural and medical practices in the new millennium have been reported to employ engineered nanoparticles or nanomaterials at a large scale. They are widely used in plastic ware, cosmetics, clothing, electrical appliances, medicines and food products. They are generally classified as carbon based materials, metal based materials, dendrimers and composites. With the increasing development of nanotechnology, demand for nanosafety and health risk assessment studies has also increased. In recent years, several methods have been developed to study their cytotoxicity and genotoxicity. Nano-genotoxicity testing employs in vitro and in vivo approaches viz. comet assay, micronucleus test, 8 –hydroxy deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) analysis and Ames test. Genotoxic mechanisms of nanoparticles have been mainly attributed to reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress.

Present review discusses recent researches made to record the genotoxicity of carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, silver and gold nanoparticles, titanium dioxide nanoparticles, quantum dots, silica nanoparticles and zinc oxide nanoparticles using in vitro and in vivo models. Perspectives of using alternate models in genotoxicity testing have also been discussed.

Keywords: Genotoxicity; DNA Damage; Nanoparticles; Carbon Nanotubes; Quantum Dots

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