Cytotoxic Effects Caused by Functionalized Carbon Nanotube in Murine Macrophages.

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The development of new nanomaterials has been growing in recent decades to bring benefits in several areas, especially carbon-based nanoparticles, which have unique physical-chemical properties and allow to take on several applications. Consequently, the use of new nanomaterials without previous toxicological studies raises concern about possible harmful health effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic profile of a new multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) functionalized with tetraethylenepentamine called OCNT-TEPA using in vitro assays in murine macrophage cells linage J774 A.1. METHODS: OCNT-TEPA was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high resolution TEM (HR-TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential and dynamic light scattering (DLS), and its cytotoxic effects were evaluated at 24 and 48 hours by cell viability assays (MTT and NR), morphology and cell recovery (optic microscopy and clonogenic assay), formation of reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) species, inflammatory profile (IL-6 and TNF cytokines), mitochondrial membrane potential analysis (MMP), activation of the caspase 3 pathway and cell death (flow cytometry). RESULTS: The data showed a significant decrease in cell viability, increased production of ROS and NO, alteration of mitochondrial membrane potential, increased levels of inflammatory cytokines, alteration of cell morphology, activation of the Caspase 3 pathway and consequently cell death, in the highest concentrations of OCNT-TEPA tested in the periods of 24 and 48 hours. CONCLUSION: The analyses showed that OCNT-TEPA has a dose-dependent cytotoxic profile, which may be harmful to murine macrophages (J774 A.1) and may represent a health risk.

Carbon Black CB-EDA Nanoparticles in Macrophages: Changes in the Oxidative Stress Pathway and in Apoptosis Signaling

“…This increase may be linked to the redox regulation that occurs in cells, that is, the balance between the formation and elimination of ROS, destroying the microenvironment, which can lead to cell death [ 32 , 33 ]. Our data corroborate those of Godoy et al, 2022 [ 21 ], who described an increase in ROS production at the highest concentrations of carbon nanotubes (ONCT-TEPA), in tests also performed on J774.A1 murine macrophages and murine fibroblasts [ 34 ]. The literature indicates that when ROS production is exacerbated and exceeds the limit of the cells’ antioxidant defense capacity, proteins and lipids are totally damaged, which can lead to a pathophysiological condition, an inflammatory process resulting in apoptosis [ 35 ].…”

“…NP and protein corona interactions are crucial to this understanding, because these interactions are related to the mechanism by which NPs enter or do not enter cells. Protein corona formation causes NPs to lose their targeting ability and means that they can be easily phagocytosed by macrophages [ 21 ]. However, the direct relationships between cells and their resulting effects on NPs must be studied in detail [ 22 ].…”

Carbon Nanomaterial Fluorescent Probes and Their Biological Applications

“…Beyond pristine CNMs in the above study, other research has compared the cytotoxicity of carboxylic acid-functionalized CNTs. − One example of this is done by Aminzadeh et al, where they studied the reproductive toxicity of COOH-SWCNTs and COOH-MWCNTs in an in vitro setup on human spermatozoa. The results showed that neither CNTs had caused increased cell death at a concentration range of 0.1–100 μg/mL when incubated with sperms at 37 °C for 5 h as shown by the MTT test.…”