title: Toxicity of boehmite nanoparticles: impact of the ultrafine fraction and of the agglomerates size on cytotoxicity and pro-inflammatory response.
abstract: Boehmite (γ-AlOOH) nanoparticles (NPs) are used in a wide range of industrial applications. However, little is known about their potential toxicity. This study aimed at a better understanding of the relationship between the physico-chemical properties of these NPs and their in vitro biological activity. After an extensive physico-chemical characterization, the cytotoxicity, pro-inflammatory response and oxidative stress induced by a bulk industrial powder and its ultrafine fraction were assessed using RAW264.7 macrophages. Although the bulk powder did not trigger a significant biological activity, pro-inflammatory response was highly enhanced with the ultrafine fraction. This observation was confirmed with boehmite NPs synthesized at the laboratory scale, with well-defined and tightly controlled physico-chemical features: toxicity was increased when NPs were dispersed. In conclusion, the agglomerates size of boehmite NPs has a major impact on their toxicity, highlighting the need to study not only raw industrial powders containing NPs but also the ultrafine fractions representative of respirable particles.
authors.affiliation: LINA , Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire d'étude des Nanoparticules Aérosolisées, EA4624, Saint-Etienne , France .
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Forest
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pailleux
authors.forename: Jérémie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pourchez
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boudard
authors.forename: Maura
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tomatis
authors.forename: Bice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fubini
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sennour
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Hochepied
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grosseau
authors.forename: Michèle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cottier
mesh_terms: D000536:Aluminum Hydroxide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D007249:Inflammation; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects; D010316:Particle Size; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D000536:Aluminum Hydroxide; C069471:aluminum oxide hydroxide; D000537:Aluminum Oxide
keywords: Agglomerate size; boehmite nanoparticles; manufactured nanopowders; toxicity; ultrafine fraction