Nanomaterial Interaction and Cellular Damage: Involvement of Various Signalling Pathways

Nanoparticles (NPs) are particulate substances having 1 to 100 nm size. Owing to their extremely small size, NPs exhibit typical structural and biological characteristics, which include a larger reactive surface area and the ability to pass through cell and tissue barriers making them useful for humans in medicine, agriculture, and industrial applications. In addition to beneficial effects, gradually increasing applications and exposure of NPs might lead to harmful effects because of oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, and eventually causing cell death by necrosis or apoptosis. This chapter highlights the interaction of nanomaterials with cellular system and molecular mechanisms involved in NP-mediated adverse effects as well as strategies to overcome NP-mediated toxicity.