Evaluation of cytotoxic, genotoxic and inflammatory response in human alveolar and bronchial epithelial cells exposed to titanium dioxide nanoparticles

The toxicity of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs), used in several applications, seems to be influenced by their specific physicochemical characteristics. Cyto-genotoxic and inflammatory effects induced by a mixture of 79% anatase/21% rutile TiO2-NPs were investigated in human alveolar (A549) and bronchial (BEAS-2B) cells exposed to 1–40 µg ml–1 30 min, 2 and 24 h to assess potential pulmonary toxicity.