Translocation of Engineered Nanomaterials across the Placenta-on-a-chip (TENAP)

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Given the widespread use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in cosmetics and personal care products, and the fact that animal testing of cosmetics ingredients has been banned since 2009, there are legitimate concerns about the potential adverse effects of ENMs on public heath, especially for vulnerable risk groups including pregnant women and their developing foetuses. Recent epidemiological studies have linked higher particulate matter exposure during pregnancy to increased incidences of perinatal mortality, preterm birth and low birth weight. The potential for foetal toxicity partly depends on the passage of particles from the mother to the foetus, determined by the placental barrier (PB). However, esearch on transport of ENMs across the PB and their effects on the growing foetus is very much in its infancy. Currently, three key questions pertain to this uncertainty: (1) What conditions favour ENMs crossing the PB? This is most likely related to the physicochemical properties of the ENMs but the current understanding is limited and inconclusive, primarily due to insufficient ENM characterization data, incomplete study descriptions, or different experimental conditions, among others. (2) What is the fate of ENMs within and beyond the PB (i.e. the deposition, translocation, and transformation of ENMs after crossing the PB)? (3) Can translocated ENMs potentially cause foetotoxic effects? Given the possibility that the accumulation of ENMs in PB might be low, localizing the ENMs in the system would be a challenging task, especially for ENMs with high elemental backgrounds in the PB. Thus, novel approaches are urgently needed to enable a breakthrough in our understanding of the ability of ENMs to cross the PB and trace their effects beyond. The project TENAP proposes combining novel labelling techniques with a placenta-on-a-chip model enabling a uniquely novel approach to assess the PB-penetration ability of ENMs and effects of translocated ENMs on the foetuses.