Interaction of titanium dioxide nanoparticles with glucose on young rats after oral administration

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO 2 NPs) have a broad application prospect in replace with TiO 2 used as a food additive, especially used in sweets. Understanding the interaction of TiO 2 NPs with sugar is meaningful for health promotion. We used a young animal model to study the toxicological effect of orally administrated TiO 2 NPs at doses of 0, 2, 10 and 50   mg/kg per day with or without daily consumption of 1.8   g/kg glucose for 30   days and 90   days. The results showed that oral exposure to TiO 2 NPs and TiO 2 NPs   +   glucose both induced liver, kidney, and heart injuries as well as changes in the count of white and red blood cells in a dose, time and gender-dependent manner. The toxicological interactions between orally-administrated TiO 2 NPs and glucose were evident, but differed among target organs. These results suggest that it is necessary to limit dietary co-exposure to TiO 2 NPs and sugar. From the Clinical Editor Nanotechnology has gained entrance in the food industry, with the presence of nanoparticles now in many food items. Despite this increasing trend, the potential toxic effects of these nanoparticles to human remain unknown. In this article, the authors studied titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), which are commonly used as food additive, together with glucose. The findings of possible adverse effects on liver, kidney, and heart might point to a rethink of using glucose and TiO2 NPs combination.