# Bioaccessibility and cellular transport study of silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles from exposed seaweed and mussels using Caco-2 cells

## TL;DR

This study examines how silver and titanium dioxide nanoparticles from seaweed and mussels are absorbed and transported in human intestinal cells.

## Contribution

The study evaluates nanoparticle bioaccessibility and transport using Caco-2 cells after exposure of seaweed and mussels to nanomaterials.

## Key findings

- AgNP bioaccessibility ranged from 22% to 97% in seaweed and 18% in mussels.
- TiO2NP bioaccessibility was 17% to 81% in seaweed and 76% to 100% in mussels.
- Nanoparticle transport through Caco-2 cells was less than 1% in all cases.

## Abstract

Bioavailability studies on pollution pre-concentrator organisms such as algae and mussels are necessary to ensure food safety, particularly in the case of nanomaterials whose industrial applications have increased in recent years. Thus, the bioaccessibility and the bioavailability of total Ag and Ti and AgNPs and TiO2NPs from raw and cooked seaweed (Palmaria palmata and Ulva sp.) and cooked mussels (Mytilus edulis) exposed to 1.0 mg L−1 of 15 nm PVP-AgNPs, 1.0 mg L−1 of 25 nm citrate-TiO2NPs, or 1.0 mg L−1 5 nm citrate-TiO2NPs, for 28 days, were evaluated. Samples were subjected to an in vitro process simulating human gastrointestinal digestion while cell transport from the intestinal lumen to the bloodstream was mimicked using Caco-2 cell cultures. Total Ag and Ti in the digest samples, the bioaccessible fractions, the apical, and basolateral fractions were determined by ICP-MS, while AgNPs and TiO2NPs were determined by single-particle-ICP-MS (SP-ICP-MS). Finally, the presence of nanoparticles in the Caco-2 cells was verified by single-cell-ICP-MS (SC-ICP-MS). AgNP bioaccessibility ratios were between 22% and 97% for seaweed and 18% for mussels, while for TiO2NPs were between 17% and 81% (seaweed) and 76% and 100% (mussels). Nanoparticle cellular transports were in all cases less than 1%. However, the mass percentages of Ag as NPs and Ti as NPs in the Caco-2 cells for raw and cooked seaweed were 9% and 7% and 20% and 6%, respectively. These results confirm a small transport of the nanoparticles through the Caco-2 cells under the proposed experimental conditions.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00604-025-07066-4.