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It is well documented that various particulate matter — either incidental or engineered — are known to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in living cells. In circumstances where these reactive species are generated, antioxidant production is often increased. This balance in the biological reduction/oxidation (a.k.a. redox) state within the cell has not been thoroughly studied in exposures involving engineered nanoparticles. However, nanoparticle exposure has been postulated to induce a DNA damage cascade. In this study, we examined primary human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) exposed to three different, but commonly used engineered nanoparticles (i.e., cerium dioxide (CeO₂), titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and zinc oxide (ZnO)) in an attempt to determine the potential DNA damaging effects through the analysis of ROS generation, relevant protein upregulation response and single and double DNA strand breaks. Cell death was most elevated with exposure to ZnO, followed by TiO₂ and CeO₂. ROS generation was measured at 1 h, 6 h and 24 h after exposure to particles via a cell-based DCFH-DA (2′, 7′-dichlorfluorescein-diacetate) assay and indicated that ZnO generated the most significant amount of ROS. ZnO also caused upregulation of oxidative stress protein, heme oxygenase-1 and phosphorylation of p38; whereas CeO₂ caused upregulation of superoxide dismutase. Results from the comet assay indicated that ZnO triggered significant DNA damage in cells at relatively low dosing concentrations (20 ppm). Immunocytochemistry with ZnO-treated cells revealed notable DNA double strand breaks evidenced by a marked increase in the presence of γ-H2AX foci. This finding was also indicated by western blot, as well as cell cycle arrest by the phosphorylation of cyclin-dependent kinase 1. These data suggest that the three particle-types induce different degrees of DNA damage. And, of the three particle-types tested, exposure to ZnO nanoparticles may cause the most significant DNA damage.