Nanoparticle immunotoxicity using an environmental sentinel as a model

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At the moment, little in known about the possible health and environmental effects of exposure of people and animals to the nanoparticles that are increasingly being used in common household good. One of the fears about nanoparticles is that due to their small size, they may not behave like other chemicals. Most studies on the toxic effects of nanoparticle done so far have looked at effects only on cells maintained outside the body. A few studies with whole animals have been done, but these have mostly looked only at the most severe effects (like death!). From the studies of nanoparticles toxicity conducted, one toxic effect that has been seen is an affect on the efficiency of the immune system that protects the body against disease. In this project we will look in detail at how exposure to metals as nanoparticles, as bulk materials and as the dissolved free metal form impacts on the workings of cells of the immune system of a common UK earthworm species. Our choice to use earthworms is not made merely because these animals are common and easy to keep (although this is true); it is also because the immune system of earthworms work through the activity of free circulating cells that are very similar to those found in humans and other mammals. After exposing collected immune cells and intact worms to zinc and titanium nanoparticles, bulk chemical and dissolved Zn we will measure the activities of immune cell. To understand any changes we see will also conducted further measurement to look at the effects of the different metal forms on the internal workings of the immune cells and use a microscope method to find out in which part of the cells most of the nanoparticles end up in. This will help us have a much clearer picture of what the effects of metal nanoparticle exposure may be for immune cells in earthworm and other species.