Desbalance del sistema antioxidante causado por la exposición a nanopartículas de óxido de zinc y óxido de cobre

Abstract

Nanomaterials (NM) synthesized from metal oxides, such as zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), are one of the most widely used in the food industry in coatings for food packaging and excipients and in the cosmetics industry for the manufacture of creams, sunscreens, makeup, and other beauty products. As their use increases, so do the exposure scenarios, thus the interest in studying their possible toxic effects on health and the environment. The route of exposure and the physicochemical properties of NMs define their molecular interactions and toxicity. NMs entering the cell interact with different organelles, inducing oxidative stress and increasing the production of highly reactive oxygen species (ROS), one of the most common mechanisms of nanotoxicity. Furthermore, although there are many studies on the generation of ROS by NPs, little attention has been devoted to whether NPs can alter the antioxidant system of the cell. In this work, we show some examples of how ZnO and CuO NPs alter the antioxidant functions of hepatocytes to provide elements to help explain the molecular mechanisms of NPs-induced cellular toxicity.