Microorganisms: A Versatile Model for Toxicity Assessment of Engineered Nanoparticles

An exponential increase in the production and consumption of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) has aroused concern about their adverse environmental impact. Microorganisms are the most important components of all known ecosystems and play pivotal roles in biogeochemical cycles, food webs, degradation of pollutants, and soil health. Furthermore, the advancements in molecular biology and recombinant DNA technology have created numerous possibilities of manipulating the microorganisms to study the ENP(s)-induced cellular and molecular responses. The short doubling time, cost effective culture, and easy handling are the additional benefits that make microorganisms an ideal test model. Also, due to their uncomplicated genome, different ‘omic’ approaches can be used to gather information about the cellular responses to ENPs and help in understanding the mechanism of toxicity in higher organisms. This chapter deals with the possible approaches, advantages and versatility of microbial systems for toxicity assessment of ENPs. Additionally, the knowledge gaps, problems in the experimentation and the possible ways to overcome the gaps have also been addressed. A systematic study design using microorganisms has been discussed to obtain relevant information regarding the behavior and toxicity of ENPs used in consumer and therapeutic products.