Oxidative Stress as a Screening Metric of Potential Toxicity by Nanoparticles and Airbourne Particulate Matter

Oxidative stress as a screening metric of potential toxicity by nanoparticles and airbourne particulate matter was investigated. Biological oxidative stress had been shown in many studies to be a mediator of many acute and chronic diseases. Complexities suggested that only a real biological sample could give a realistic assessment of biological oxidative stress incurred. It was found that human blood serum, used in vitro, might be a candidate physiological reaction medium. It was concluded that using this type of physiological fluid, especially when combined with an assay that could monitor the decrease in total antioxidant capacity in the particle-exposed serum, might be an attractive approach to best assess the total extent of the biological stress elicited by the material being tested.