In vivo toxicity evaluation of boron nitride nanosheets in Bombyx mori silkworm model

While the interaction between 2D materials and cells is of key importance to the development of nanomedicines and safe applications of nanotechnology, still little is known about the biological interactions of many emerging 2D materials. Here, an investigation of how hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) interacts with the cell membrane is carried out by combining molecular dynamics (MD), liquid‐phase exfoliation, and in vitro imaging methods. MD simulations reveal that a sharp hBN wedge can penetrate a lipid bilayer and form a cross‐membrane water channel along its exposed polar edges, while a round hBN sheet does not exhibit this behavior. It is hypothesized that such water channels can facilitate cross‐membrane transport, with important consequences including lysosomal membrane permeabilization, an emerging mechanism of cellular toxicity that involves the release of cathepsin B and generation of radical oxygen species leading to cell apoptosis. To test this hypothesis, two types of hBN nanosheets, one with a rhomboidal, cornered morphology and one with a round morphology, are prepared, and human lung epithelial cells are exposed to both materials. The cornered hBN with lateral polar edges results in a dose‐dependent cytotoxic effect, whereas round hBN does not cause significant toxicity, thus confirming our premise.

show abstract

“…[ 40 ] At this point, a fundamental biophysical understanding of how hBN interacts with cell membranes remains largely unexplored. [ 39,41–43 ]…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Boron Nitride Nanosheets Can Induce Water Channels Across Lipid Bilayers Leading to Lysosomal Permeabilization

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Zhang et al [1] studied the toxicity of BN NSs to bacterial membranes, demonstrating that liquid molecules from both outer and inner membranes could be damaged. In our preliminary in vivo study, the results showed that BN NSs, with a thickness at about 200 nm and an average diameter of 1.8 μm, caused no obvious adverse effects on the growth, silk properties or tissues of silkworm [3]. Many factors may have effects on the toxicity, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…In our previous research, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) experiment was carried out to indicate whether BN NSs were absorbed and accumulated in silkworm body. The results showed that despite the continuous intake of BN NSs, it does not induce significant accumulation of B element in silkworm organs but can be easily cleared by silkworm [3]. Some previous researches indicate that BN NSs are thermally and chemically stable for a long time under high temperature conditions as 850℃, so it is impossible to degrade in the silkworm [27][28][29].…”

Section: The Influence Of Two Sized Bn Nss On the Death Rate And Growth Of Silkworm Larvaementioning

confidence: 96%

“…Boron nitride nanosheets (BN NSs) are a kind of novel material, known as white graphene with two-dimensional morphology and sheet-like structure. They have gained particular interest due to their extraordinary physical, chemical, thermal, morphological and electrical conductivity properties [1][2][3], which are widely and commonly used in many areas of industry, as transistors, solid lubricant, thermal conductors, etc. [4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For safer applications of BN NSs, it is essential to evaluate the toxicity which is conducted to protect human health and the environment. Only a few studies are focused on the toxicity evaluation of BN NSs [1,3,7]. Liu et al [7] analyzed the adverse effects of BN NSs on HepG2 cells, the results showed that low exposure concentrations of BN were cytotoxic, which could act as a chemosensitizer and inhibit the transmembrane transporter activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

In vivo toxicity evaluation of boron nitride nanosheets with different sizes by silkworm model

Andoh¹,

Liu²,

Ma³

2021

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Boron nitride nanosheets (BN NSs), a novel material with great potential in biomedical applications, have attracted great attention due to its extraordinary properties. A crucial issue is the toxicity of BN NSs, which depends greatly on various factors, including size. The size may affect viability of cells due to the interactions between BN NSs and cell membranes. In this study, two kinds of silkworms (qiufeng × baiyu, Nistari 7019) were used as models to investigate the toxicity of BN NSs with different sizes (BN NSs-1: thickness of 41.5 nm, average diameter of about 200 nm; BN NSs-2: thickness of 48.2 nm, average diameter of about 500 nm) from the levels of animal entirety (silkworm mortality, silkworm growth, cocoons) and tissues. The results show that exposure to different sized BN NSs causes no obvious adverse effects on the growth or tissues of silkworm. This study has performed size-dependent in vivo toxicity evaluation of BN NSs and provided safety information to enrich the database for better application of BN NSs. Further studies should be carried out to discover the biosafety of diverse sizes and shapes BN NSs.

show abstract

Biocompatibility, toxicity evaluations, environmental and health impact of hexagonal boron nitride

Mane,

Shaishta,

Manjunatha

2024

Hexagonal Boron Nitride

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In vivo toxicity evaluation of boron nitride nanosheets in Bombyx mori silkworm model

Cited by 18 publications

References 41 publications

Boron Nitride Nanosheets Can Induce Water Channels Across Lipid Bilayers Leading to Lysosomal Permeabilization

Boron Nitride Nanosheets Can Induce Water Channels Across Lipid Bilayers Leading to Lysosomal Permeabilization

In vivo toxicity evaluation of boron nitride nanosheets with different sizes by silkworm model

Biocompatibility, toxicity evaluations, environmental and health impact of hexagonal boron nitride

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About