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84th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

08.05. - 12.05.2013, Nürnberg

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Cellular viability of epithelial cells after zirconium and zinc oxide nanoparticle exposure

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  • corresponding author presenting/speaker Kai Fruth - HNO Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • author Eva Felder - HNO Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • author Wolfgang Tremel - Institut für Anorganische Chemie und Analytische Chemie der Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • author Jürgen Brieger - HNO Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • author Wolf J. Mann - HNO Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz, Mainz, Germany

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. 84th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery. Nürnberg, 08.-12.05.2013. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2013. Doc13hno30

doi: 10.3205/13hno30, urn:nbn:de:0183-13hno309

Published: July 30, 2013

© 2013 Fruth et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.

Outline

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Introduction: Zinc oxide (ZnO) and zirconium oxide (ZrO2) nanoparticles are increasingly contained in everyday products like wall paint, sunscreen and are released within car exhaust fumes. The pathologic impact of these particles on the respiratory epithelium is not well investigated so far. It remains unclear if nanoparticles are ingested into the cells, potentially followed by cell damage.

Methods: The epithelial cell line A549 was exposed to ZnO and ZrO2 nanoparticles (8-15 nm) in three different concentrations (0.1, 10, 100 µg/ml) and incubated for 4, 24, 48 and 72h. Cell viability was analysed by flow cytometry and electron microscope particle tracking was performed.

Results: A time- and concentration- dependent reduction of cell viability after exposure to ZnO but not to ZrO2 nanoparticles was observed. Electron microscope particle tracking showed intracellular accumulation of ZrO2, but not of ZnO nanoparticles.

The decrease of cell viability after ZnO nanoparticle exposure could be prevented by diethylentriaminpentaacetic acid (DTPA).

Conclusion: ZrO2 nanoparticles are ingested into epithelial cells but do not influence cell viability. In contrast, ingested ZnO nanoparticles and their decay products result in decreased cell viability. These data show that particle ingestion is not necessarily toxic but rather that particle processing is essential to develop toxic potential.