Comparative Studies on Dispersion Characters of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Nanoparticles for Rodent Toxicology Studies

Abstract

This research aimed to find a suitable vehicle (media) for dispersing titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) to investigate their toxicity in laboratory rodents.The TiO2 NPs were suspended in different vehicles viz., distilled water, Tween 80 (0.1% v/v), normal saline, normal saline + Tween 80 (0.1% v/v) and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC; 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3% or 0.4% w/v). The hydrodynamic diameters, zeta potential, and polydispersity index were measured by the dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique by employing a zeta sizer. The TiO2 NPs in Tween 80 (0.1% v/v) and CMC (0.2% w/v) showed lesser hydrodynamic diameter compared to other vehicles. Further, TiO2 NPs dispersed in CMC (0.1%, 0.2%, or 0.3% w/v) showed relatively better zeta potential in terms of better stability than other media examined. The polydispersity index of nanoparticles was relatively less for CMC: 0.1% w/v followed by CMC: 0.2% w/v. Thus, it is concluded that CMC (0.2% w/v) can be used as an ideal vehicle among the various media examined for delivery of TiO2 NPs for toxicity testing in laboratory rodents.