Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Assessment of Silicon Dioxide Nanoparticles by Allium and Comet Tests.

Silicon nanoparticles gained a great interest due to its use in biomedical research. It is considered as safe and has been used in nanomedicine. But literature still states its toxicity depending upon the size and dose of silicon nanoparticles. So, current study was aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiONPs) by Allium anaphase-telophase and Comet tests. Characterization of SiONPs showed the particle size as 16.12 ± 3.07 nm. The mean diameter of SiONPs was having range of 404.66 ± 93.39 nm in solution. Highest total anomalies (18.80 ± 0.45) were observed at 100 µg/mL, whereas least (11.2 ± 0.84) were observed by the 12.5 µg/mL concentration. There was concentration-response association in increased CAs and DNA damage. The highest concentration (100 µg/mL) of SiONPs induced the significant DNA damage (149.67 ± 1.15), whereas the least was observed by the negative control (2.67 ± 0.58). The current study revealed the cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of SiONPs on the root meristem cells of A. cepa.