Toxicological Aspects of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Iron oxide nanoparticles (ION), with unique magnetic properties, have attracted huge scientific attention for a wide variety of uses, mostly in the biomedical field, due to their high biocompatibility, ability to cross biological membranes, appropriate surface architecture and easy conjugation with targeting ligands. Their current applications include diagnostic imaging, cell labelling, site-directed drug delivery and anticancer hyperthermia therapy. The ION surface may be modified by coating...

Bioconcentration, Bioaccumulation, and Biomagnification of Volatile Methylsiloxanes in Biota

Volatile methylsiloxanes (VMS) are synthetic chemicals that have been extensively used in the manufacture of many industrial and consumer products and in the formulation of personal and health-care products. Due to their extensive use, VMS have been found in a diversity of abiotic media (air, soil, water, sediments) and in a wide range of aquatic and terrestrial organisms. The ubiquitous presence of VMS has raised concerns regarding whether these chemicals are prone to accumulate in aquatic a...

Cellular and Molecular Toxicity of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Iron oxide nanoparticles (ION) have attracted much attention because of their particular physico-chemical properties, including superparamagnetism. These features make them suitable for many purposes and several interesting biomedical applications, such as to increase contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as drug delivery systems and as hyperthermia agents. However, they have also shown to be easily accumulated in diverse tissues and induce toxicity at different levels. This chapter r...

Healthier and Sustainable Food Systems: Integrating Underutilised Crops in a ‘Theory of Change Approach’

Increasingly, consumers are paying attention to healthier food diets, “healthy” food attributes (such as “freshness”, “naturalness” and “nutritional value”), and the overall sustainability of production and processing methods. Other significant trends include a growing demand for regional and locally produced/supplied and less processed food. To meet these demands, food production and processing need to evolve to preserve the raw material and natural food properties while ensuring such susten...