Examining the Hepatic Effect of TiO₂ Nano Fiber Ingestion in Sprague Dawley Rats

A nanomaterial refers to a material having structures in the nanometer size range. These materials differ from bulk materials in the way in which they behave. That is they exhibit a different scaling property and quantum effects thus affecting the chemical reactivity of materials including their mechanical, optical, electric, and magnetic properties. As a consequence nanomaterials have applications in electronics, transportation and telecommunication, imaging, biomedical applications, pollution remediation, cosmetics, coatings, as insulation materials and as well as nanocomposites. Specifically, titanium dioxide nanomaterials has been widely employed in pigments, sunscrees, pains, ointments, toothpaste and photocatalytic splitting of water. The goal of the present study is to examine hepatic effects associated with the ingestion of TiO2 nanofiber (TDNF). TDNF was fabricated via electrospinning method, followed by dissolution in water through the agitation. Six to seven weeks old male Sprague Dawley rats ingested 0, 10, 15 ppm twice a week for a total of 0 ppm, 40, 60 ppm TDNF for the duration of the study. At the end of the treatment period, animals were euthanized via CO2 asphyxiation. Blood was drawn via cardiac puncture. The liver and other organs were autopsied. Some of the tissues were fixed in neutral buffered saline and the others frozen in liquid nitrogen until analysis. Clinical chemistry assessment of alanine transferase and total protein will be carried out. Histopathological analysis of the liver showed no significant difference between groups, though moderate glycogen accumulation were noted in the exposed animals. Serum total protein levels were dose-de-pendently reduced in treated groups. Additional study will involve proteomic assessment of bulk proteins will be performed to understand and identify health impact associated with exposure to TDNF.