The aim of this study was to find out whether ingested titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO(2)) cause cell membrane damage by direct contact or by lipid peroxidation. We assessed lipid peroxidation and digestive gland cell membrane stability of animals fed on food dosed with nano-TiO(2). Conventional toxicity measures were completed to determine if cellular effects are propagated to higher levels of biological complexity. An invertebrate model organism (Porcellio scaber, Isopoda, Crustacea) was fed with food containing nanosized TiO(2) and the result confirmed that at higher exposure concentrations after 3 d exposure, nano-TiO(2) destabilized cell membranes but lipid peroxidation was not detected. Oxidative stress as evidenced by lipid peroxidation was observed at longer exposure durations and high exposure doses. These data suggest that cell membranes are destabilized by direct interactions between nanoparticles and cell membrane, not solely via oxidative stress.
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