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Biochemical Toxicity of Nano-anatase TiO2 Particles in Mice

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An Erratum to this article was published on 05 June 2014

Abstract

Previous research on the biological and toxic effects of nano-TiO2 particles on animals only limit to a single dose. However, the toxicity caused by single dose nano-TiO2 does not truly represent ecological and health effects of nano-TiO2 retained in the environment. In order to further evaluate the toxicity of nano-TiO2 particles, nano-anatase TiO2 (5 nm) was injected into the abdominal cavity of ICR mice everyday for 14 days and the coefficients of organs and serum biochemical parameters were investigated. The results showed that, with increasing doses of nano-anatase TiO2, the coefficients of liver, kidney, and spleen increased gradually, while the coefficients of lung and brain decreased gradually, and the coefficient of heart had little change. The order of the titanium accumulation in the organs was liver > kidneys > spleen > lung > brain > heart. The serum biochemical parameters with lower dose of nano-anatase TiO2 showed little difference compared with the control mice, while with higher dose of nano-anatase TiO2, the indicators of liver function, such as alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase, leucine acid peptide, pseudocholinesterase, total protein, and albumin level, were enhanced significantly; the indicators of kidney function, such as uric acid and blood urea nitrogen, were decreased; the activities of aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, and alpha-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, indicator of the myocardium function, were increased. The contents of triglycerides, glucose, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were significantly elevated. Taken together, nano-anatase TiO2 in higher dose caused serious damage to the liver, kidney, and myocardium of mice and disturbed the balance of blood sugar and lipid in mice. The accumulation of titanium in the organs might be closely related to the coefficients of organs and the inflammatory responses of mice.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 20671067) and by the Medical Development Foundation of Suzhou University (grant no. EE120701) and by the National Innovation Foundation of Student (grant no. 57315427).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, People’s Republic of China

    Huiting Liu, Linglan Ma, Jinfang Zhao, Jie Liu, Jingying Yan, Jie Ruan & Fashui Hong

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  1. Huiting Liu
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  2. Linglan Ma
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  3. Jinfang Zhao
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  4. Jie Liu
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  5. Jingying Yan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fashui Hong.

Additional information

Huiting Liu, Linglan Ma, Jinfang Zhao, and Jie Liu contributed equally to this work.

An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12011-014-0011-y.

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Liu, H., Ma, L., Zhao, J. et al. Biochemical Toxicity of Nano-anatase TiO2 Particles in Mice. Biol Trace Elem Res 129, 170–180 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-008-8285-6

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