TY - JOUR
T1 - Critical role of surface chemical modifications induced by length shortening on multi-walled carbon nanotubes-induced toxicity
AU - Bussy, Cyrill
AU - Pinault, Mathieu
AU - Cambedouzou, Julien
AU - Landry, Marion J.
AU - Jegou, Pascale
AU - Mayne-L'hermite, Martine
AU - Launois, Pascale
AU - Boczkowski, Jorge
AU - Lanone, Sophie
PY - 2012/11/27
Y1 - 2012/11/27
N2 - Given the increasing use of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in composite materials and their possible expansion to new areas such as nanomedicine which will both lead to higher human exposure, a better understanding of their potential to cause adverse effects on human health is needed. Like other nanomaterials, the biological reactivity and toxicity of CNT were shown to depend on various physicochemical characteristics, and length has been suggested to play a critical role. We therefore designed a comprehensive study that aimed at comparing the effects on murine macrophages of two samples of multi-walled CNT (MWCNT) specifically synthesized following a similar production process (aerosol-assisted CVD), and used a soft ultrasonic treatment in water to modify the length of one of them. We showed that modification of the length of MWCNT leads, unavoidably, to accompanying structural (i.e. defects) and chemical (i.e. oxidation) modifications that affect both surface and residual catalyst iron nanoparticle content of CNT. The biological response of murine macrophages to the two different MWCNT samples was evaluated in terms of cell viability, pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion and oxidative stress. We showed that structural defects and oxidation both induced by the length reduction process are at least as responsible as the length reduction itself for the enhanced pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidative response observed with short (oxidized) compared to long (pristine) MWCNT. In conclusion, our results stress that surface properties should be considered, alongside the length, as essential parameters in CNT-induced inflammation, especially when dealing with a safe design of CNT, for application in nanomedicine for example. © 2012 Bussy et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
AB - Given the increasing use of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in composite materials and their possible expansion to new areas such as nanomedicine which will both lead to higher human exposure, a better understanding of their potential to cause adverse effects on human health is needed. Like other nanomaterials, the biological reactivity and toxicity of CNT were shown to depend on various physicochemical characteristics, and length has been suggested to play a critical role. We therefore designed a comprehensive study that aimed at comparing the effects on murine macrophages of two samples of multi-walled CNT (MWCNT) specifically synthesized following a similar production process (aerosol-assisted CVD), and used a soft ultrasonic treatment in water to modify the length of one of them. We showed that modification of the length of MWCNT leads, unavoidably, to accompanying structural (i.e. defects) and chemical (i.e. oxidation) modifications that affect both surface and residual catalyst iron nanoparticle content of CNT. The biological response of murine macrophages to the two different MWCNT samples was evaluated in terms of cell viability, pro-inflammatory cytokines secretion and oxidative stress. We showed that structural defects and oxidation both induced by the length reduction process are at least as responsible as the length reduction itself for the enhanced pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidative response observed with short (oxidized) compared to long (pristine) MWCNT. In conclusion, our results stress that surface properties should be considered, alongside the length, as essential parameters in CNT-induced inflammation, especially when dealing with a safe design of CNT, for application in nanomedicine for example. © 2012 Bussy et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
KW - Carbon nanotubes
KW - Length
KW - Macrophages
KW - Surface chemistry
U2 - 10.1186/1743-8977-9-46
DO - 10.1186/1743-8977-9-46
M3 - Article
C2 - 23181604
SN - 1743-8977
VL - 9
JO - Particle and Fibre Toxicology
JF - Particle and Fibre Toxicology
M1 - 46
ER -