An Overview of Biomaterial Toxicity and Excretion

Abstract

Biomaterial is a growing family of materials with specific physicochemical properties. Significant studies have been made to characterize the potential in vivo and in vitro toxicity of biomaterials. The cytotoxicity may be attributed to variations in the physicochemical properties, target cell types, particle dispersion methods, etc. The reported cytotoxicity effects mainly include the impact on the biological system and organ-specific toxicity such as CNS toxicity, lung toxicity, cardiac toxicity, dermal toxicity, gastrointestinal toxicity, etc. Despite cellular toxicity, the immunological effects of biomaterials, such as the activation of pulmonary macrophages and associated inflammation, have been extensively studied. In this chapter, the latest research results on the toxicological profiles of nanomaterials, highlighting both the cellular toxicities and the immunological effects, have been incorporated. This analysis also offers details on the overall status, patterns, and research needs for dealing with the toxicological behavior of biomaterials.