Omics approaches in environmental effect assessment of engineered nanomaterials and nanoplastics

Khosrovyan, Alla (author), Vodovnik, Maša (author), Mortimer, Monika (author)

In light of the increasing application of omics technologies, such as transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, in chemical safety evaluations and interest in using these advanced tools for regulatory toxicity testing, this review critically discusses the findings from omics studies involving engineered nanomaterials and nanoplastics in aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, unicellular organisms (cyanobacteria, fungi, microalgae and protozoa), aquatic vertebrates (fish) and crop plants. The studies published over the past nine years were analyzed based on the nanomaterial types, organism groups, and the omics approaches used, with a focus on extracting information about toxicity mechanisms. Many of these studies highlighted the role of dissolved metal ions in the toxicity of soluble metal NPs such as Ag, ZnO, Cu- and Fe-based NPs. The results generally indicate that these NPs and respective released metal ions perturb different molecular pathways, particularly in the organisms or cells that internalize NPs by endocytic mechanisms. In contrast, non-soluble metal NPs (TiO2, CeO2, and SiO2 NPs) have proven relatively less acutely ecotoxic, but omics studies have revealed molecular pathway modulations, initiated by membrane interactions and cellular internalization. Overall, a common outcome of exposure to metal-based NPs is the disruption of energy metabolism. On the other hand, polymeric NPs, such as nanoplastics (primarily polystyrene NPs) tend to induce molecular-level events mainly by inducing oxidative stress. While a substantial amount of mechanistic data related to environmental nanotoxicity has been generated using omics methods, adverse outcome pathways (AOP) in ecotoxicology model organisms have only been proposed for Ag and polystyrene NPs. This indicates that new approach methodologies (NAMs) hold great potential for the safety assessment of nanomaterials in the environment, yet this potential has not been fully realized.

• Language: English
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 20.03.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 2551–2579
• Numbering: Vol. 12, issue 5
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-176269
• UDC: 504
• ISSN on article: 2051-8161
• DOI: 10.1039/D4EN01169D
• COBISS.SI-ID: 229927939
• Publication date in RUL: 26.11.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Environmental science : Nano
• Shortened title: Environ. sci., Nano
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• ISSN: 2051-8161
• COBISS.SI-ID: 520516121

Licences

• License: CC BY 2.0, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
• Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
• Description: You are free to reproduce and redistribute the material in any medium or format. You are free to remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: varstvo okolja, nanomateriali, nanoplastika, omike