Toxicological hazards of inhaled nanoparticles - - potential implications for drug delivery

The medical use of engineered nanoparticles is growing, especially in drug carrier systems. However, with the benefits that come from using this technology also come some potential risks, and this becomes especially apparent when looking at studies done on the toxicological effects of nanoparticles after inhalation. These effects are attributed to their direct effects on the central nervous system, their translocation from the lung to the bloodstream, and their capacity to invoke inflammatory responses in the lung with systemic effects. This article gives a review of the toxicology of inhaled nanoparticles, and recomends a closer interaction between the fields in inhalation toxicology and drug deliver systems to gain insight into the role of nanoparticle size and properties and their mechanisms of acute and chronic interaction with biological systems.