The first study addressing the experimental convergence between in vitro spiking neurons and spiking memristors was attempted in 2013 (Gater et al., 2013). A few years later, Gupta et al. (2016) used TiO2 memristors to compress information on biological neural spikes recorded in real time. In these in vitro studies electrical communication with biological cells, as well as their incubation, was investigated using multielectrode arrays (MEAs). Alternatively, TiO2 thin films may serve as an interface material in various biohybrid devices. The bio- and neurocompatibility of a TiO2 film has been demonstrated in terms of its excellent adsorption of polylysine and primary neuronal cultures, high vitality, and electrophysiological activity (Roncador et al., 2017). Thus, TiO2 can be implemented as a nanobiointerface coating and integrated with memristive electronics either as a planar configuration of memristors and electrodes (Illarionov et al., 2019) or as a functionalization of MEAs to provide good cell adhesion and signal transmission. The known examples are electrolyte/TiO2/Si(p-type) capacitors (Schoen and Fromherz, 2008) or capacitive TiO2/Al electrodes (Serb et al., 2020). As a demonstration of the state of the art, an attempt at memristive interlinking between the brain and brain-inspired devices has been recently reported (Serb et al., 2020). The long-term potentiation and depression of TiO2-based memristive synapses have been demonstrated in relation to the neuronal firing rates of biologically active cells. Further advancement in this area is expected to result in scalable on-node processors for brain–chip interfaces (Gupta et al., 2016). As of 2017, the state of the art of, and perspectives on, coupling between the resistive switching devices and biological neurons have been reviewed (Chiolerio et al., 2017).
As a food additive, titanium dioxide and its nanoparticles in particular have been associated with DNA damage and cell mutations, which in turn, have potential to cause cancer. When used as a food coloring, it is known as E171.
While IARC listed titanium dioxide as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” they also add that “there is inadequate evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of titanium dioxide.” Of the four human studies that they reviewed, only one showed a potential risk for occupational workers inhaling titanium dioxide particles and lung cancer, while the other three showed no risk for cancer at all. And it’s key to note that IARC did not assess the effects of titanium dioxide found in foods.
Market Dynamics
Topical Exposure
Topical Exposure
ROS were detected through the colorimetric assay employing the nitro-blue tetrazolium salt (NBT salt) by reading the absorbance of the reduced blue molecule.