nanoparticles, comet assay, trypan blue viability assay, A549 cells

The aim of the study was to compare the impacts of the normal-sized (>100 nm) metal oxides, the metal oxides nanoparticles (ZnO, TiO2) and the metal nanoparticles/kaolinite composites on the DNA damage in mammalian cells. The oxidative DNA damage was determined by the Comet assay in combination with the DNA repair enzymes (FPG, ENDO III). The percentage of DNA in the tail of the comet was applied as the parameter for the DNA damage quantification. Human lung adenocarcinomic cell line (A549) was used as an experimental model. Cytotoxicity was assessed by the trypan blue viability assay. The assessment of antibacterial effects of the samples was also conducted. The results indicated that the metal nanoparticles/kaolinite composites induced lower levels of the DNA damage than the the metal oxides nanoparticles (ZnO, TiO2) and normal-sized metal oxides, respectively.