Objectives: The use of engineered nanoparticles (NPs) in commercially available products is rapidly increasing. There is, however, a dearth of information regarding the potential toxicity of these NPs to humans and the environment. In addition, because of their unique properties, some NPs have toxicity characteristics that are different from larger forms of the same material. This has prompted scientific journals, independent governmental reviews, and the popular press to call for a rapid and cost-effective method to determine NP toxicity. Current nanotoxicity tests utilize vertebrate systems that are expensive to maintain, have long data generation timescales, and do not address the potential of NPs to differentially affect different organisms. Here we propose a rapid, cost effective approach to determine the toxicity of manufactured NPs in a range of model systems.
Approach: We propose to determine the toxicity of well-characterized NPs that are commercially available or produced at University of Dayton. Using a three-pronged approach we will 1) determine the toxicity of NPs to ecologically- and economically-important bacteria, 2) assess the acute and multi-generational effects of NP exposure using Drosophila melanogaster, and 3) determine the cellular fate of NPs and tease apart the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of NP exposure to mammalian cell lines.
Expected results: The results of this project will fill a much-publicized void in information pertaining to the potentially toxic effects of manufactured NPs. These data will elucidate the cellular fate of NPs upon exposure to living organisms and determine the organismal level response to this exposure in different organisms. The increase in toxicity information generated by this proposal will greatly enhance the assessment of risk associated with products containing engineered NPs, and will improve consumer confidence in a technology that is estimated to surpass the impact of the industrial revolution.
Supplemental keywords: Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, Sinorhizobium meliloti, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, K12, mouse embryonic fibroblasts, MEF, mouse embryonic stem cells, MES,
