Radioanalytical methods in nanotoxicology studies

With the rapid development of nanotechnology and its applications, the potential interactions of nanomaterials with living systems and environment have attracted increasing attention from the public, manufacturers of nanomaterial-based products, academic researchers and policymakers. Nanotoxicology is emerging as an important subdiscipline of nanotechnology as well as toxicology. Nanotoxicology studies rely on many analytical methods for the characterization of nanomaterials and detection of nanomaterials in living systems. In this case, radioanalytical methods play an important role due to their intrinsic merits such as high sensitivity, good accuracy, ability to distinguish the endogenous or exogenous sources of materials, and ability of in situ and in vivo analysis. This article reviews recent progress of applications of radioanalytical methods in nanotoxicology studies, with emphasis on radiolabeling methods of nanomaterials.