Abstract:
Titanium dioxide nanoparticles(TiO
2 NPs) possess unique characteristics and have found many practical applications in industry and daily life. A wide use of TiO
2 NPs raises the question about their safety to the environment, humans and biota. Once exposed to TiO
2 NPs, they could be absorbed and easily enter the body, cross blood-brain barrier and then accumulated in the brain regions, especially in the cortex and hippocampus, leading to dysfunctions of central nerve system.
In vivo and
in vitro studies have demonstrated that the morphology and function of glial or neuronal cells could be damaged by TiO
2 NPs. It is summarized the previous studies that the neurotoxic mechanisms mainly consist of oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, genotoxicity, and autophagy. Meanwhile, other factors such as disrupted signaling pathways, depleted neurotransmitters and direct impaired cell components have also been seen in neurotoxicity of TiO
2 NPs. In short, this review aims at understanding the potential neural risks of TiO
2 NPs fully and improving its bio-safety for applications in the near future.