Many foods contain appreciable levels of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) (diameter < 100 nm) that may be either intentionally or unintentionally added. These ENMs vary considerably in their compositions, dimensions, morphologies, physicochemical properties, and biological responses. From a toxicological point of view, it is often convenient to classify ingested ENMs (iENMs) as being either inorganic (such as TiO2, SiO2, Fe2O3, or Ag) or organic (such as lipid, protein, or carbohydrate), since the former tend to be indigestible and the latter are generally digestible. At present there is a relatively poor understanding of how different types of iENMs behave within the human gastrointestinal tract (GIT), and how the food matrix and biopolymers transform their physico-chemical properties and influence their gastrointestinal fate. This lack of knowledge confounds an understanding of their potential harmful effects on human health. The purpose of this article is to review our current understanding of the GIT fate of iENMs, and to highlight gaps where further research is urgently needed in assessing potential risks and toxicological implications of iENMs. In particular, a strong emphasis is given to the development of standardized screening methods that can be used to rapidly and accurately assess the toxicological properties of iENMs.

中文翻译：

---

食物基质和胃肠道在评估摄入工程纳米材料 (iENM) 的生物特性中的作用：科学现状和知识差距


许多食品都含有大量的工程纳米材料 (ENM)（直径 < 100 nm），这些材料可能是有意或无意添加的。这些 ENM 在组成、尺寸、形态、理化性质和生物反应方面差异很大。从毒理学的角度来看，通常可以方便地将摄入的 ENM (iENM) 分类为无机（例如 TiO2、SiO2、Fe2O3 或 Ag）或有机（例如脂质、蛋白质或碳水化合物），因为前者往往难以消化，而后者通常是可消化的。目前，对于不同类型的 iENM 在人类胃肠道 (GIT) 中的行为方式，以及食物基质和生物聚合物如何改变其理化性质并影响其胃肠道命运，人们的了解相对较少。由于缺乏知识，人们无法理解它们对人类健康的潜在有害影响。本文的目的是回顾我们目前对 iENM 的 GIT 命运的理解，并强调在评估 iENM 的潜在风险和毒理学影响方面迫切需要进一步研究的差距。特别强调的是标准化筛选方法的开发，可用于快速、准确地评估 iENM 的毒理学特性。