Mutagenesis Advance Access published online on April 7, 2009
Mutagenesis, doi:10.1093/mutage/gep010
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Confounding experimental considerations in nanogenotoxicology
Institute of Life Science, School of Medicine 1Multi-disciplinary Nanotechnology Centre, School of Engineering, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, Wales, UK 2Institute for Materials Research, School of Process, Environmental and Materials Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
The development of novel nanomaterials with unique physico-chemical properties is increasing at a rapid rate, with potential applications across a broad range of manufacturing industries and consumer products. Nanomaterial safety is therefore becoming an increasingly contentious issue that has intensified over the past 4 years, and in response, a steady stream of studies focusing on nanotoxicology are emerging. However, it is becoming increasingly evident that nanomaterials cannot be treated in the same manner as chemical compounds with regards to their safety assessment, as their unique physico-chemical properties are also responsible for unexpected interactions with experimental components that generate misleading data-sets. In this report, we focus on nanomaterial interactions with colorimetric and fluorometric dyes, components of cell culture growth medium and genotoxicity assay components, and the resultant consequences on test systems are demonstrated. Thus, highlighting some of the potential confounding factors that need to be considered in order to ensure that in vitro genotoxicity assays report true biological impacts in response to nanomaterial exposure.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +44 1792 295388; Fax: +44 1792 602147; Email: s.h.doak{at}swansea.ac.uk
Received on January 28, 2009; revised on March 11, 2009; accepted on March 15, 2009.