Safety and Toxicity of Nanomaterials in Medicine

Abstract

Nanomaterials' unique physicochemical features make them suitable for biological applications such medication delivery, imaging, and tissue engineering. However, there is growing concern regarding their safety and toxicity due to their small size and high surface area, which can result in unanticipated interactions with biological systems. Studies have demonstrated that cationic nanoparticles exhibit a propensity to interact with cellular membranes and elicit oxidative stress, while anionic nanoparticles have a tendency to accumulate within lysosomes and trigger inflammatory responses. Numerous methods have been developed to evaluate the safety and toxicity of nanomaterials, such as in-vitro, in-vivo assays, computational modeling, etc. Nanomaterials in medical sciences are subject to regulatory scaffolds that give guidelines/ policies for safety assessment and risk management, nonetheless more research is required to entirely comprehend the possible long-term effects or interactions of nanoparticles with other environmental elements.