Assessing inorganic nanoparticle toxicity through omics approaches

Nanoscale, vol. 16, pp. 15928–15945

Abstract

models, resulting in readouts such as median lethal dose, biodistribution profile, and/or histopathological assessment. In recent years, omics methodologies, including transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and lipidomics, are increasingly used to characterize the biological interactions of nanomaterials, providing a better and broader understanding of their impact and mechanisms of toxicity. These approaches have been able to identify important genes and gene products that mediate toxicological effects, as well as endogenous functions and pathways dysregulated by nanoparticles. Omics methods improve our understanding of nanoparticle biology, and unravel mechanistic insights into nanomedicine-based therapies. This review aims to provide a deeper understanding and new perspectives of omics approaches to characterize the toxicity and biological interactions of inorganic nanoparticles, and improve the safety of nanoparticle applications.

Authors 4

1. Yanchen Li Aachen Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen 52074, Germany

2. Chris D. Vulpe

   University of Florida

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

3. Twan Lammers Aachen Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen 52074, Germany

4. Roger M. Pallares corresponding Aachen Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging

   Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Experimental Molecular Imaging, RWTH Aachen University Hospital, Aachen 52074, Germany