#0056 Long-term observation of pulmonary toxicity of toner with external additives following a single intratracheal instillation in rats
Do Toners with Additives Cause Lung Toxicity? Study in Rats Finds out
Printers in homes and offices use toners which forms the printed images and text in a laser printer. To improve the efficiency of toners, recently, nanoparticles like titanium dioxide and silica are being added to the surface of toners. But, some reports have suggested that these new toners with additives release volatile organic compounds and nanoparticles, which are known to cause lung toxicity and persistent inflammation and possibly even lead to cancer.
In a previous study, we investigated the effect of toner with additives on rats for 6 months. We did so by performing intratracheal instillation (direct administration to the trachea) in rats, in order to administer a toner with additives. Our findings, after 6 months, showed persistent inflammation in the windpipe and high levels of DNA damage markers. In the present study, we continued this pursuit and conducted a 24-month observation of rats administered with the toner (maximum 2 mg/rat) to gauge the possibility of formation of tumor.
For our study, we used a toner with titanium dioxide and silica nanoparticles. We aimed to look for inflammatory markers, changes in the lung tissue via histopathological analyses, and DNA damage in the lungs. The results showed signs of persistent inflammation and DNA damage, but these were not considered to be severe. Moreover, no sign of tumor development was observed.
Therefore, our findings suggest that the dosage of toners used in printers may have low toxicity in lungs and not enough potential to form tumors. This hints towards the fact that toners with additives can be safely used in printers, without severe adverse effects.
Link to the original journal article:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/1348-9585.12146
Title of the paper:
Long-term observation of pulmonary toxicity of toner with external additives following a single intratracheal instillation in rats
Authors:
Taisuke Tomonaga, Hiroto Izumi, Yukiko Yoshiura, Takashi Marui, Ke-Yong Wang, Chinatsu Nishida, Kazuhiro Yatera, Yasuo Morimoto
