Related topic: Safety evaluation of nanomaterials

Since nanotechnology has become increasingly popular and widely used in medicine and cosmetic products, it is crucial to evaluate the safety of nanomaterials. Nanomaterials can diffuse, aggregate, and precipitate in solution according to their size, shape, surface area density, and physicochemical properties. Therefore, traditional in vitro assays may misrepresent the response and cellular-uptake of nanomaterials in living systems. In this chapter, we summarised the potential toxicity of different types of nanoparticles (NPs), as well as the methodology for assessing toxicity of nanomaterials in a biological system based on linked and quantitative descriptions of biological processes at the biochemical, cellular, organ, and system levels. In addition, intentional or non-intentional exposure routes for evaluating NPs toxicity were described, especially for the dermal exposure route which has been investigated in animal species and in vivo human volunteers for examining NP penetration, distribution, and toxicity. Finally, the relationship between skin penetration and nanotoxicity is reviewed to further emphasize the importance of the research in this field