Titanium Dioxide and Its Effect on Human Health and Environment- An in vitro Study

This work focuses on understanding the in-vitro effects of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) led in the environment on human health, algae, and agriculture. Human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) from juvenile foreskin and human red blood cells (HRBC) were taken as a model to study the effect of TiO2 on human health in vitro. The study intended to define the toxic effect of TiO2 at 50 ppm, 100 ppm, and 200 ppm. The effect of TiO2 on the algae cyanobacterium as a model to analyze the algal toxicity effect i.e. was checked for freshwater toxicity at the concentration of TiO2 at 100 and 200 ppm was studied. The effect of TiO2 on the growth of microorganisms in wastewater was studied to determine its biodegradation in-vitro for 5 days using dissolved oxygen determination and the biological oxidation demand (BOD).  Finally, phytotoxicity was monitored by observing the effect of TiO2 on wheat seed germination. It was found that TiO2 had no effect on HDF and HRBC at the tested concentrations as no cell death and hemolysis were observed when the cells were treated with TiO2. However, a statistically significant algal toxicity of 32.14 % was observed at 100 ppm and a 42.86 % (p<0.01) decrease in biomass was observed at 200 ppm. Additionally, there was no effect found on BOD of wastewater in the presence or absence of TiO2. The TiO2 had a positive effect on wheat seed germination in a dose-dependent manner. There was an increase in root length from 3.4 cm to 4.3 cm and 4.6 cm at 100 and 200 ppm of TiO2, respectively. Also, a slight increase in shoot length was observed at 100 ppm and 200 ppm. However, visible root thinning was a drawback observed. Hence, the present study gives an elaborative insight into the effects of Titanium Dioxide on human health and the environment.