Toxicity of Nanomaterials-Physicochemical Effects

Nanomaterials involve the structures with at least one dimension of <100 nm. Recently, development in nanotechnology has led to the use of nanomaterials in many different fields. On the other hand, increasing use of nanomaterials has resulted in release of these materials to the environment. Therefore, before employing these materials in biological and living systems, they should be evaluated in terms of biocompatibility and distribution. Although the toxic effects of nanomaterials on living organisms, human health and the environment have been studied by some researchers, there are too much uncertainty regarding the effects and mechanisms of toxicity of nanomaterials. Therefore, understanding the toxicity effects of nanomaterials is highly desirable. Cellular uptake mechanisms and dispersion of nanomaterials in biological environments depend on their physicochemical properties. Therefore, knowledge of the unique characteristics of nanomaterials and the interactions of nanomaterials with biological systems, are important criteria for the safe use of nanomaterials. Properties of nanomaterials such as size, shape, aspect ratio, density, surface and structural defects and dissolving rate are the main causes of cytotoxicity and side effects of these materials in the body. Exposure to nanomaterials may cause a range of acute and chronic effects, including inflammation, exacerbation of asthma, metal fume fever, fibrosis, chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. The present paper, reviews the previous studies aiming at the investigation of the relation between the physiochemical properties of nanomaterials and their toxicity.