Neurodegenerative diseases currently affect over 1.6% of the European population, with dramatically rising incidence that is likely (in part) due to the increase in the average age of the population. There are persistent claims, based on the epidemiology, that pollution may be a cofactor in Alzheimer's disease, although the evidence is controversial. The risk that engineered nanoparticles could introduce unforeseen hazards to human health is now a matter of deep and growing concern in regulatory bodies, governments and industry. However, at present there is only circumstantial evidence that nanoparticles could impact on such diseases. The 'bloodbrain barrier' (BBB) is a protective mechanism that separates the bloodstream from brain tissue while allowing passage of essential nutrients to the brain. Due to their small size and large surface area that is rapidly coated with proteins, which thereby confer on them a biological identity, nanoparticles have unique access to the cellular machinery and can potentially cross biological barriers such as the BBB, offering extraordinary hope for treatment of diseases such as HIV and Alzheimer?s disease, but also raising significant concerns regarding their safety. This report presents the work of an EPA STRIVE Fellowship of almost 2¼ years that aimed to establish and validate an in vitro model for assessment of the human BBB, and to use this to screen nanoparticle transport through the BBB and correlate nanoparticle access to the brain with the nanoparticle physico-chemical characteristics and their protein corona. Specifically, the project intended to develop a rational framework within which to understand which properties of nanoparticles lead to them reaching the brain, and the mechanism(s) by which nanoparticles cross the BBB. Based on the large quantity of uptake and localisation data generated within the project, a preliminary risk assessment of the potential for silicon dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles to induce neurotoxicity was performed. The low potential of the SiO2 nanoparticles to reach the brain via the BBB (less than 5% of the applied dose of 50 nm SiO2 nanoparticles was transcytosed in 4 hours), coupled with the low hazard of these nanoparticles (no cytotoxicity observed at 100 µg/mL after 48 hours of exposure), implies a very limited potential for these nanoparticles to induce neurotoxicity. However, these are only very short-term acute exposure tests, and additional longer-term, chronic and repeat-dose experiments are required urgently. The recommendations of the report for policy makers include the need to consider nanomaterials as biological entities as distinct from chemicals, and as such to develop a strategy to monitor the likely environmental exposure to nanomaterials, and to fund additional research into the environmental and human health impacts of nanomaterials.

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Raghnaill, N.M.   "Nanotechnology: Environmental and Human Health Impacts". Associated datasets and digitial information objects connected to this resource are available at: Secure Archive For Environmental Research Data (SAFER) managed by Environmental Protection Agency Ireland https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/resource?id=aae85058-6b03-102f-8c70-b53a025bc1b8 (Last Accessed: 2025-01-20)

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SAFER-Data Display URL	https://eparesearch.epa.ie/safer/iso19115/display?isoID=244
Resource Keywords	Neurodegenerative diseases bloodbrain barrier Alzheimer Nanotechnology Health
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Code	2007-FS-EH-7-M5-2
EPA/ERTDI/STRIVE Project Theme	Environmental Technologies
Resource Availability:	Public-Open
Limitations on the use of this Resource	Any attached datasets, data files, or information objects can be downloaded for further use in scientific applications under the condition that the source is properly quoted and cited in published papers, journals, websites, presentations, books, etc. Before downloading, users must agree to the "Conditions of Download and Access" from SAFER-Data. These appear before download. Users of the data should also communicate with the original authors/owners of this resource if they are uncertain about any aspect of the data or information provided before further usage.
Number of Attached Files (Publicly and Openly Available for Download):	2
Project Start Date	Monday 1st January 2007 (01-01-2007)
Earliest Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects	Monday 1st January 2007 (01-01-2007)
Most Recent Recorded Date within any attached datasets or digital objects	Thursday 30th December 2010 (30-12-2010)
Published on SAFER	Monday 28th November 2011 (28-11-2011)
Date of Last Edit	Monday 28th November 2011 at 11:19:19 (28-11-2011)
Datasets or Files Updated On	Monday 28th November 2011 at 11:17:39 (28-11-2011)

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Description of Geographical Characteristics of This Project or Dataset
This was laboratory/desk-based and therefore has no geographical extent.

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