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Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Iron Oxides Nanoparticles

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Nanotoxicology

Part of the book series: Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology ((NANOMED))

Abstract

The interest in the development of nanoparticles for diverse applications, mainly biomedical and technological purposes, has been greatly increasing in recent years. Among the nanostructured materials, metallic nanoparticles, in particular, iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles have been the focus of intensive research. Recently, the biomedical applications of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles, such as magnetite (Fe3O4) and maghemite (γ-Fe2O3), have been increasing. Due to their special properties, such as small sizes and superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature, these nanoparticles find important pharmacological applications, such as drug delivery and contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging. Iron oxide nanoparticles, with different sizes and coating surfaces, can be synthesized by well-established physical, chemical, and, more recent, biogenic techniques. Biogenic synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles has emerged as a new and environment-friendly approach to obtain biocompatible nanomaterials. It must be noted that, for biomedical or technological applications of iron oxide nanoparticles, it is of paramount importance to fully characterize the in vitro and in vivo toxicity of these nanoparticles. In recent years, important studies have been characterized the cyto- and genotoxicity, as well as the biological consequences due to in vivo administration of iron oxide nanoparticles. In despite of these advances in toxicological evaluations of these nanoparticles, there are still some important questions to be answered. For biomedical or technological applications, it is mandatory to characterize in details the toxicity of this nanomaterial, as well as its fate upon in vivo administration. In this regard, this chapter summarizes the recent progress in the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles and the in vitro and in vivo characterization of nanoparticle toxicities.

The present chapter highlights the drawbacks and challenges that still need to be overcome regarding the toxicity of iron oxide nanoparticles, in order to propose their safe use.

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Acknowledgements

FAPESP, CNPq, CAPES, INOMAT (MCT/CNPq), and Brazilian Network in Nanotoxicology (MCT-CNPq).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exact and Earth Sciences Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua São Nicolau, 210, 09913-030, Diadema, Sao Paulo, Brazil

    Amedea B. Seabra

  2. Exact and Earth Sciences Department, Universidade Federal de São Paulo—UNIFESP, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil

    Paula S. Haddad

Authors
  1. Amedea B. Seabra
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  2. Paula S. Haddad
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Correspondence to Amedea B. Seabra .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual de Campinas—UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Nelson Durán

  2. Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Silvia S. Guterres

  3. Institute of Chemistry, Universidade Estadual de Campinas—UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

    Oswaldo L. Alves

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Seabra, A.B., Haddad, P.S. (2014). Cytotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Iron Oxides Nanoparticles. In: Durán, N., Guterres, S., Alves, O. (eds) Nanotoxicology. Nanomedicine and Nanotoxicology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-8993-1_12

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