Center for Nanotechnology and Nanotoxicology

Xiaoqiong Cao

Title and Affiliation

Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Environmental Health
Center for Nanotechnology and Nanotoxicology

Contact Info

Phone:617-432-1590
Email: xicao@hsph.harvard.edu
Office: SPH1-1307

Short Bio

Xiaoqiong completed her Ph. D study at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in April 2018. Her doctoral study focused on interactions of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) (inorganic nanomaterials presented in food) with food components and mechanistic studies of adverse effects induced by TiO2 NPs.

She joined Dr. Philip Demokritou’s group in July 2018 as a postdoctoral fellow to study the applications and implications of ingested engineered nanomaterials.

Research Interests

  • Cellular interactions of ingested engineered nanomaterials and nutrients
  • Toxicity of ingested engineered nanomaterials

Selected Publications

  • Bitounis D, Parviz D, Cao X, Amadei CA, Vecitis CD, Sunderland E, Thrall B, Fang M, Strano MS, Demokritou P. Synthesis and physicochemical transformations of size-sorted graphene oxide during simulated digestion and its toxicological assessment against an in vitro model of the human intestinal epithelium. Small. 2020 Mar 20. 1907640.
  • Guo Z, Cao X, DeLoid G, Sampathkumar K, Ng KW, Loo SC, Demokritou, P. Physicochemical and morphological transformations of chitosan nanoparticles across the gastrointestinal tract and cellular toxicity in an in vitro model of the small intestinal epithelium. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 2019 Dec 9. 68(1):358-368.
  • Cao X, Zhang T, DeLoid GM, Gaffrey MJ, Weitz KK, Thrall BD, Qian W, Demokritou P. Evaluation of the cytotoxic and cellular proteome impacts of food-grade TiO2 (E171) using simulated gastrointestinal digestions and a tri-culture small intestinal epithelial model. 2019 Dec 6. 17:100202.
  • Cao X, DeLoid G, Bitounis D, De La Torre-Roche R, White JC, Zhang Z, Guan Ho C, Ng KW, Eitzer BD, Demokritou P. Co-exposure to the food additives SiO2 (E551) or TiO2 (E171) and the pesticide boscalid increases cytotoxicity and bioavailability of the pesticide in a tri-culture small intestinal epithelium model: potential health implications. Environmental Science: Nano. 2019 Aug 8; 6(9):2786-2800.
  • Deloid G, Cao X, Molina R, Silva DI, Bhattacharya K, Ng KW, Loo SCJ, Brain J, Demokritou P. Toxicological effects of ingested nanocellulose in in vitro interstinal epithelium and in vivo rat models. Environmental Science:Nano. 2019 June 14; 6(7):2105-2115.