title: A comprehensive biological evaluation of ceramic nanoparticles as wear debris.
abstract: Patients are exposed internally to nanoparticles (NPs) by wear mechanisms associated with total joint arthroplasty. This tissue-specific retention implies that the biological evaluation of NPs shall be integrative and niche targeting. Here, we report that ceramic zirconia and silicon nitride NPs interfere with MG63 cells' function and remarkably stimulate the secretion of TNF-α in RAW264.7 cells. However, alumina NPs significantly promote the alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of MG63 cells at low concentration and do not show irritation to macrophages. In this study, we prove that ceramic materials at nanoscale are bioactive to cells. These findings also suggest that a more rational paradigm for the biosafety evaluation of NPs than is currently in place is needed before their clinical applications.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  In this study, the authors demonstrate that ceramic nano materials associated with normal wear-and-tear of joint prostheses at nanoscale are bioactive to cells.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex System and Department of Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Y F
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Y F
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qin
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival; D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007595:Joint Prosthesis; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D017655:Silicon Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000276:immunology; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D017655:Silicon Compounds; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D015040:Zirconium; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase; C032734:silicon nitride; C028541:zirconium oxide