Influences of acid-treated multiwalled carbon nanotubes on fibroblasts: proliferation, adhesion, migration, and wound healing.

With the increasing applications of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in fields of biomedical engineering and medical chemistry, it is important to understand the response of mammalian cells to the CNTs exposure and treatment. In this study, the influences of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on cellular behavior of human dermal fibroblasts and NIH 3T3 murine fibroblasts were investigated. Results showed that the MWCNTs treatment induced dose-dependent cytotoxicity and arrested the cell cycle in the G1 phase, indicating inhibition of DNA synthesis. The presence of MWCNTs also down regulated the expression level of adhesion-related genes, and simultaneously caused cytoskeleton damage and disturbance of actin stress fibers, thereby inducing dramatically adverse effects on the cell physiological functions such as cell spreading, adhesion, migration, and wound healing ability.