Bioanalytical strategies for in-vitro and in-vivo evaluation of the toxicity induced by metallic nanoparticles

The increasing use of metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) in a wide variety of applications has led to an urgent need to evaluate the impact of these new materials on human health and the environment. To date, the potential toxicity of MNPs and their interaction mechanisms with cells and living organisms have not been fully addressed.In this article, we discuss the different bioanalytical strategies that have been used for this purpose. We consider different methods aiming to evaluate cellular uptake and localization in cells and tissues, and in-vitro methods for the study of the toxicity induced by MNPs, considering different toxicity markers and high-throughput approaches for the identification of specific targets involved in the cell-MNP interaction. We also discuss special strategies related to the use of animal models to assess in-vivo toxicity of MNPs.

► A review on the different methods for evaluating the toxicity of MNPs is presented.
► Methods for cellular uptake and localization are discussed.
► In-vitro cytotoxicity assays for assessing the toxicity of MNPs are described.
► Characteristics of the in-vivo models used for toxicity assays are reviewed.