Cytotoxic, genotoxic and the hemolytic effect of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on human erythrocyte and lymphocyte cells in vitro

With the increasing clinical use of titanium dioxide ( (2)) nanoparticles, a better understanding of their safety in the blood stream is required. (2) nanoparticles (similar to 100 nm) using a battery of cytotoxic, genotoxic, hemolytic and morphological parameters. (2) nanoparticles in human lymphocyte cells were studied with respect to membrane damage, mitochondrial function, metabolic activity and lysosomal membrane stability. Genotoxicity in lymphocyte cells was quantitated using a comet assay. (2) nanoparticles were also evaluated for their hemolytic properties, osmotic fragility and interaction with hemoglobin. Human erythrocyte cells were studied for morphological alterations using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results suggest that the particles could induce a significant reduction in mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity in human lymphocyte cells. Membrane integrity remained unaffected by nanoparticle treatment. DNA damage and apoptosis were induced by (2) nanoparticles in a dose-dependent manner. A study on human erythrocyte cells revealed a hemolytic property of (2) nanoparticles characterized by spherocytosis and echinocytosis. Spectral analysis revealed a hemoglobin (2) nanoparticle interaction. Our in vitro study results suggest that commercially available blood contacting nanoparticles ( (2) nanoparticle) should be carefully evaluated for their toxic potential. Copyright (c) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.