AN IN-VIVO COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CERIUM TOXICITY IN BULK FORM AND IN NANOPARTICULATE FORM

Scope: In recent years, governments and industries worldwide have invested billions of dollars in nanotechnology research and development, and proponents predict that it will offer numerous benefits to society. Objectives: To evaluate the toxicity of Cerium in nanomaterials and in bulk form in rats by repeated daily oral treatment for 28 days by monitoring the effects on animal and also to assess the hematological and various biochemical parameters in serum and targeted biochemical parameters. Results and discussion: The 28 days repeated dose oral toxicity showed CeO₂-NM and CeO₂-Bulk did not affect the body weight gain and feed intake of the treated rats. Further, CeO₂-NM significantly inhibited some of the hematological parameters like platelets count, granulocytes, % hematocrit and biochemical parameters in both male and female rats in dose dependent manner. However, CeO₂-Bulk could not induce any significant alterations in these parameters and the changes were near to control in both male and female treated rats. Conclusion: These results suggested that as particle size decreases, showed increased toxicity, even though the same material is relatively inert in bulk form. These studies highlight the need for further experimentation to fully elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the behavior of nanomaterials specifically to develop a comprehensive evaluation, of the human health implications, from exposure to nanoscale materials.