title: Physical assessment of toxicology at nanoscale: nano dose-metrics and toxicity factor.
abstract: In this work, we propose a systematic and reproducible evaluation of nanoparticles (NPs) toxicology in living systems, based on a physical assessment and quantification of the toxic effects of NPs by the experimental determination of the key parameter affecting the toxicity outcome (i.e., the number of NPs) and of the NPs "toxicity factor". Such a strategy was applied to a well determined scenario, i.e., the ingestion of citrate-capped gold NPs (AuNPs) of different sizes by the model system Drosophila melanogaster. Using these AuNPs as a reference toxicity standard, we were able to define different regions in the multiparametric space of toxicity, enabling the classification of the toxic levels of other nanomaterials, such as quantum dots and pegylated AuNPs. This approach may pave the way to a systematic classification of nanomaterials, leading to important developments in risk assessment and regulatory approval, as well as in a wide range of nanomedicine applications.
authors.affiliation: Center for Bio-Molecular Nanotechnology, Italian Institute of Technology, Via Barsanti 1, 73010 Arnesano, Lecce, Italy. pierpaolo.pompa@iit.it
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Pompa
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vecchio
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galeone
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brunetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Maiorano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabella
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cingolani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019343:Citric Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000187:drug effects; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D005260:Female; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D045663:Quantum Dots; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D019343:Citric Acid; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D006046:Gold