Abstract
This book is the first edition of a well-written and clearly stated treatise in 138 pages that provides a fundamental background on an increasingly important area for understanding the interactions of nanomaterials with biologic systems. 1,2 Billed by the publisher as a reference text for toxicologists, materials scientists, and regulators, it also would be useful for environmental scientists, biologists, clinical scientists, and medical product researchers who need to quickly gain a basic familiarity with this significant topic.
The immunologic interactions and effects of nanoparticles must be appreciated in order to fundamentally understand important aspects of toxicity as well as biomedical utility of these materials. 3 This subject is scientifically increasing so rapidly in the area of nanotoxicology that future editions of this work may be necessary within a few years to keep up with the rate of scientific progress.
The book is presented in 8 concise chapters written by the principal authors as well as 4 additional authors that first describe the fundamentals of immune system function and then the key issues of interaction of nanomaterials with the immune systems of both invertebrate and vertebrate animals including man. While there aren’t many tables and figures, those that are included are useful and well-placed, with good quality color photographs where necessary. Each chapter cites numerous references supporting its content and there is a glossary of terms at the end of the book. Surprisingly, there is no index at the end of this book, but one may find the eBook version with the ability to search the text electronically more desirable than a print version.
Chapter 1 describes innate and adaptive immunity and gives a basic understanding of how nanoparticles interact with the immune system in a general sense. This chapter provides the fundamental background for the second and third chapters of the book.
The second chapter continues to further elaborate the importance of the innate immune system and how this system detects or “senses” nanoparticles. The possibility that nanoparticles may directly interact with toll-like receptors (TLRs) is introduced. There are useful tables in this chapter that present the TLRs in human leukocytes as well as the major soluble innate immunity factors in humans. This chapter includes a very good discussion regarding the inflammatory effects of nanoparticles that provides practical and interesting perspectives on phagocyte and tissue responses to nanoparticles and nanofibers.
The third chapter covers adaptive immunity and its differences with, as well as cooperation with, innate immunity. This chapter introduces the nature of protein corona formation on nanoparticles as well as the significance of the protein corona to the immune system processing of nanoparticles. The interaction of nanoparticles with dendritic cells is particularly well described in this chapter. The chapter author notes, interestingly, that in conjunction with the dose making the poison in toxicology, with effects on immunity the “circumstances make the poison” as well.
Chapter 4 presents the subject of nanoparticles and allergy and describes how nanoparticles having allergic qualities could have differential biologic significance and utility. They may influence the sensitization phase of an allergy, may exacerbate the reaction phase of an allergic reaction to affect the severity of the reaction, or may be useful as carriers or adjuvants in the development of new therapeutic principles. There is also a compelling discussion as to how some nanoparticles may be useful in reducing the release of allergic mediators.
Chapter 5 discusses nanoparticles and immunological frailty. Even though this area of nanoparticle effects is emerging, the perspectives are rational and are reasonably well referenced. There is a good table in the chapter listing population groups at risk, which is informative and may be of value for other immunotoxic exposures as well as those involving nanoparticles.
Chapter 6 is on the subject of nanoparticles in medicine and covers the topic of engineering-targeted nanoparticles to avoid immune system recognition using different approaches. The discussion of the therapeutic application of macrophage-targeted nanoparticles in different pathophysiological conditions should be interesting and of value to anyone interested in developing nanoparticle drug delivery systems. While not a comprehensive discourse on this topic, the chapter does provide a reasonably thorough picture of the fundamentals such that the reader would likely find this a useful place to begin a more thorough understanding of the growing literature on the subject.
Initially, it seemed that the topic of nanoparticles and the invertebrate immune system presented in chapter 7 was divergent from the main theme of the book but on further reading and consideration, the subject matter in this chapter is vitally important to understanding an important but likely an overlooked area of the potential environmental effects of nanoparticles. The discussion on invertebrate immunity and how it may be a target for some nanoparticles is quite interesting and should be an excellent source for stimulation of further investigations by environmental toxicologists, biologists, and zoologists.
Chapter 8 provides a brief summary and outlook on the book topic that discusses the role of immunity on nanosafety and presents challenges for further study in the field and the understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying nanotoxicity and applications of nanotechnology in immunology.
Overall, this book presents important topics and issues on the subject of nanotechnology and the immune system that toxicologists, biologists, medical product scientists, and regulators should find interesting and informative. The subject matter is well referenced, but the lack of an index in the printed version might make the eBook format more desirable for those wishing to search for specific content and subject matter. Anyone working in the field of nanotoxicology should read this book to gain a fundamental comprehension of this important topic that cannot be understated in any understanding and assessment of nanoparticle safety and risk. The book is also recommended for those interested in the use of nanoparticles in the development of new therapeutics as well as environmental scientists who need to better understand important interactions between nanoparticles and invertebrates that may help to explain observed environmental effects that may have yet to be fully elucidated.
There is discussion on the identification of end points that are relevant for assessing hazard, evaluating impact on immunologically frail populations, and how to evaluate chronic/cumulative effects. In addition, the book addresses the possibility of turning the immunomodulating properties of certain nanomaterials to our advantage for amplifying immune responses in certain diseases or preventive strategies (eg, vaccination).
This book raises the awareness of the importance of knowing the effects of the new nanomaterials on our immune system. This book is targeted for toxicologists, material scientists, and regulators working in the field of nanosafety. Some key references used in the book are provided below to help the reader get an idea of the types of information presented in the text.
This book is informative, reasonably up-to-date, and would be a useful addition to the library of anyone seriously seeking to gain a more complete understanding of nanomaterial interactions with biological systems for toxicological, environmental, or therapeutic purposes.