Biopersistence and potential adverse health impacts of fibrous nanomaterials: what have we learned from asbestos?

Human diseases associated with exposure to asbestos fibers include pleural fibrosis and plaques, pulmonary fibrosis (asbestosis), lung cancer, and diffuse malignant mesothelioma. The critical determinants of fiber bioactivity and toxicity include not only fiber dimensions, but also shape, surface re...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Nanomedicine and nanobiotechnology 2009-09, Vol.1 (5), p.511-529
Main Authors: Sanchez, Vanesa C., Pietruska, Jodie R., Miselis, Nathan R., Hurt, Robert H., Kane, Agnes B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Asbestos - pharmacokinetics
Asbestos - poisoning
Asbestos - toxicity
Humans
Lung Diseases - chemically induced
Lung Diseases - metabolism
Mice
Nanostructures - poisoning
Nanostructures - toxicity
Nanostructures - ultrastructure
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Human diseases associated with exposure to asbestos fibers include pleural fibrosis and plaques, pulmonary fibrosis (asbestosis), lung cancer, and diffuse malignant mesothelioma. The critical determinants of fiber bioactivity and toxicity include not only fiber dimensions, but also shape, surface reactivity, crystallinity, chemical composition, and presence of transition metals. Depending on their size and dimensions, inhaled fibers can penetrate the respiratory tract to the distal airways and into the alveolar spaces. Fibers can be cleared by several mechanisms, including the mucociliary escalator, engulfment, and removal by macrophages, or through splitting and chemical modification. Biopersistence of long asbestos fibers can lead to inflammation, granuloma formation, fibrosis, and cancer. Exposure to synthetic carbon nanomaterials, including carbon nanofibers and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), is considered a potential health hazard because of their physical similarities with asbestos fibers. Respiratory exposure to CNTs can produce an inflammatory response, diffuse interstitial fibrosis, and formation of fibrotic granulomas similar to that observed in asbestos‐exposed animals and humans. Given the known cytotoxic and carcinogenic properties of asbestos fibers, toxicity of fibrous nanomaterials is a topic of intense study. The mechanisms of nanomaterial toxicity remain to be fully elucidated, but recent evidence suggests points of similarity with asbestos fibers, including a role for generation of reactive oxygen species, oxidative stress, and genotoxicity. Considering the rapid increase in production and use of fibrous nanomaterials, it is imperative to gain a thorough understanding of their biologic activity to avoid the human health catastrophe that has resulted from widespread use of asbestos fibers. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. This article is categorized under: Toxicology and Regulatory Issues in Nanomedicine > Toxicology of Nanomaterials
ISSN:1939-5116
1939-0041
1939-0041
DOI:10.1002/wnan.41