Due to their novel physico‑chemical properties, nanoparticles (NPs) have gained a prominent position in a variety of industrial and consumer applications. The increased production of medical NPs has sparked interest for new therapeutic applications, specifically for pulmonary drug delivery. As the lungs represent an excellent entry portal for aerosolized NPs due to their high surface area, thin epithelial barriers and extensive vasculature, the ability of NPs to translocate into the systemic circulation may be promising for medical purposes. However, nanomedicine and nanotoxicology currently lack precise information about the actual deposited dose after NP inhalation, their fate in the human body and their ability to induce unwanted biological effects such as oxidative stress. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the fate and oxidative stress effects of inhaled NPs in human volunteers. A controlled human inhalation study was designed and the preliminary phases were implemented. Two case studies are detailed in this manuscript. The first case study presents preliminary evidence from aerosolized medical nanoparticles, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). The second case study focuses on NPs produced in Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding. Preliminary results show that both aerosolized SPIONs and TIG welding NPs may be interesting experimental NPs for application in a human exposure study. As we lack a full understanding of the chain of events between initial deposition of NPs in the lung to their health effects, this methodology, once fully applied, will allow for a non‑invasive evaluation of the inhaled NP target dose that is important for the development of therapeutic applications as well as for human health risk analysis.