Toxicological profile of lipid-based nanostructures: are they considered as completely safe nanocarriers?

Abstract

Nanoparticles are ubiquitous in the environment and are widely used in medical science (e.g. bioimaging, diagnosis, and drug therapy delivery). Due to unique physicochemical properties, they are able to cross many barriers, which is not possible for traditional drugs. Nevertheless, exposure to NPs and their following interactions with organelles and macromolecules can result in negative effects on cells, especially, they can induce cytotoxicity, epigenicity, genotoxicity, and cell death. Lipid-based nanomaterials (LNPs) are one of the most important achievements in drug delivery mainly due to their superior physicochemical and biological characteristics, particularly its safety. Although they are considered as the completely safe nanocarriers in biomedicine, the lipid composition, the surfactant, emulsifier, and stabilizer used in the LNP preparation, and surface electrical charge are important factors that might influence the toxicity of LNPs. According to the author’s opinion, their toxicity profile should be evaluated case-by-case regarding the intended applications. Since there is a lack of all-inclusive review on the various aspects of LNPs with an emphasis on toxicological profiles including cyto-genotoxiciy, this comprehensive and critical review is outlined.

Keywords:

• Nanotechnology
• lipid-based nanomaterials
• genotoxicity
• epigenicity
• cytotoxicity
• nanomaterials exposure routs

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the time and efforts of the reviewers selected by the Editor and their valuable comments which, as ever, promote balanced scientific discussion. The comprehensive review process helped improve the final manuscript.

Declaration of interest

This work was funded by Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Health Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Faculty of Pharmacy, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors participated in the development of the paper as individual professionals and have sole responsibility for the writing and content of the paper. None of the authors have been involved in the last 5 years with regulatory or legal proceedings related to the contents of the paper.