Abstract

Existing studies have shown the systemic damage of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) or zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs), but there is little or no existing knowledge on the potential adverse toxic effects of the mixture of the two. In order to investigate the in vivo toxic effect of the mixture of TiO₂ NPs and ZnO NPs, the acute toxicities of TiO₂ NPs, ZnO NPs by themselves, and their mixture (1:1) were determined. The systemic toxicities of the individual NPs and mixture were evaluated in mice using hematological indices, hepatic, renal, and lipid profile parameters, and histopathology as endpoints. NPs were intraperitoneally administered at doses of 9.38, 18.75, 37.50, 75.00, and 150.00 mg/kg bw each. Individual NPs and their mixture were administered daily for 5 and 10 d, respectively. The LD₅₀ of ZnO NPs was 299.9 mg/kg while TiO₂ NPs by themselves or TiO₂ NPs + ZnO NPs were indeterminate due to the absence of mortality of the male mice treated. TiO₂ NPs, ZnO NPs by themselves and TiO₂ NPs + ZnO NPs induced significant alterations in the hematological and biochemical parameters, with higher toxicity at 10 d. Histopathological lesions were observed in the liver, kidneys, spleen, heart, and brain of mice treated with the individual NPs and their mixture. TiO₂ NPs + ZnO NPs were able to induce a higher systemic toxicity than TiO₂ NPs or ZnO NPs individually. Our data suggest that more comprehensive risk assessments should be carried out on the mixture of NPs before utilization in consumer products.

摘要

现有研究表明二氧化钛 (TiO ₂ ) 或氧化锌 (ZnO) 纳米粒子 (NPs) 会造成系统性损害，但关于两者混合物的潜在不利毒性作用的现有知识很少或根本没有。为了研究TiO ₂ NPs 和 ZnO NPs混合物的体内毒性作用，TiO _{2的急性毒性}测定了 NPs、ZnO NPs 本身及其混合物 (1:1)。使用血液学指标、肝、肾和脂质分布参数以及组织病理学作为终点，在小鼠中评估了单个 NPs 和混合物的全身毒性。NPs 分别以 9.38、18.75、37.50、75.00 和 150.00 mg/kg bw 的剂量进行腹膜内给药。单独的 NPs 及其混合物分别每天给药 5 天和 10 天。ZnO NPs的LD ₅₀为299.9 mg/kg，而TiO ₂ NPs 本身或TiO ₂ NPs + ZnO NPs 由于处理的雄性小鼠没有死亡率而不确定。TiO ₂ NPs、ZnO NPs 本身和 TiO ₂NPs + ZnO NPs 引起血液学和生化参数的显着变化，在 10 d 时具有更高的毒性。在用单个 NP 及其混合物处理的小鼠的肝脏、肾脏、脾脏、心脏和大脑中观察到组织病理学损伤。_{与单独的 TiO 2} NPs 或 ZnO NPs相比， TiO ₂ NPs + ZnO NPs 能够诱导更高的全身毒性。我们的数据表明，在用于消费品之前，应对 NP 混合物进行更全面的风险评估。