Impact of lung surfactant on wettability and cytotoxicity of nanoparticles

Abstract

The importance of nanoparticle characterization for nanotoxicology has been extensively emphasized and it has been universally agreed that the most important parameters for characterizing nanomaterials are specific surface area and surface properties (chemistry, hydro-philicity/phobicity, charge etc.). This study is proposing the use of enthalpy of wetting which depends on both specific surface area and surface properties, is easily measurable and proves to be highly relevant for predicting nanoparticles' dispersion state and their interaction with the lungs. It also shows the conditioning effect of the lung surfactant main component, DPPC on the surface of particles when used in concentrations which mimic pulmonary exposure more closely.