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Recent analyses of food-grade TiO₂ samples have found that a significant portion of particles may be within the nanoscale. These particles (also known as nanoparticles) range in size from 1 to 100 nm, where 1 nm equals 1 billionth of a metre (the width of a typical human hair is 80,000 to 100,000 nm).

Nano-sized TiO₂ generally shows low or no acute toxicity in both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, exposure of Daphnia magna to 20 ppm TiO₂ for 8 consecutive days was found to cause 40 % mortality. Zhu et al. showed minimal toxicity to D. magna after 48 h exposure, while upon chronic exposure for 21 days, D. magna suffered severe growth retardation and mortality. A significant amount of nano-sized TiO₂ was found also accumulated in the body of the animals. Similar findings with coated nano-sized TiO₂ (T-Lite™ SF, T-Lite™ SF-S and T-Lite™ MAX; BASF SE) were reported by Wiench et al. Biochemical measurements showed that exposure to TiO₂ NPs induces significant concentration-dependent antioxidant enzyme activities in D. magna. Lee et al. showed that 7 and 20 nm-sized TiO₂ induced no genotoxic effect in D. magna and in the larva of the aquatic midge Chironomus riparius.