Nanotitanium dioxide toxicity in mouse lung is reduced in sanding dust from paint

Mice received a single intratracheal instillation of 18, 54 and 162 μg of NanoTiO2 or 54, 162 and 486 μg of the sanding dust from paint with and without NanoTiO2. DNA damage in broncheoalveolar lavage cells and liver, lung inflammation and liver histology were evaluated 1, 3 and 28 days after intratracheal instillation. Printex 90 was included as positive control.There was no additive effect of adding NanoTiO2 to paints: Therefore the toxicity of NanoTiO2 was reduced by inclusion into a paint matrix. NanoTiO2 induced inflammation in mice with severity similar to Printex 90. The inflammatory response of NanoTiO2 and Printex 90 correlated with the instilled surface area. None of the materials, except of Printex 90, induced DNA damage in lung lining fluid cells. The highest dose of NanoTiO2 caused DNA damage in hepatic tissue 1 day after intratracheal instillation. Exposure of mice to the dust from paints with and without TiO2 was not associated with hepatic histopathological changes. Exposure to NanoTiO2 or to Printex 90 caused slight histopathological changes in the liver in some of the mice at different time points.Pulmonary inflammation and DNA damage and hepatic histopathology were not changed in mice instilled with sanding dust from NanoTiO2 paint compared to paint without NanoTiO2. However, pure NanoTiO2 caused greater inflammation than NanoTiO2 embedded in the paint matrix.Paints and lacquers represent a product group in which nanomaterials are increasingly used due to improvement of characteristics of the products [1]. One example is the addition of nanosized titaniumdioxide (TiO2) to paints [1]. Whereas bulk sized TiO2 has been used for decades as a whitening agent in paints, nanosized TiO2 is added to paints for example as UV-filters or to improve their rheology, for providing self-cleaning properties or for removing odours from air [1]. It is estimated that the global use of TiO2 for paint and surface applications exceeds 2.5 million tonnes annually (2005)