Italian Institute of Technology, Center of Micro-BioRobotics c\o Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera (Pisa), Italy.
Int J Nanomedicine. 2012;7:19-24. doi: 10.2147/IJN.S28144. Epub 2012 Jan 4.
Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have attracted huge attention in many different research fields thanks to their outstanding chemical and physical properties. During recent years, our group has pioneered the use of BNNTs for biomedical applications, first of all assessing their in vitro cytocompatibility on many different cell lines. At this point, in vivo investigations are necessary before proceeding toward realistic developments of the proposed applications. In this communication, we report a pilot toxicological study of BNNTs in rabbits. Animals were injected with a 1 mg/kg BNNT solution and blood tests were performed up to 72 hours after injection. The analyses aimed at evaluating any acute alteration of hematic parameters that could represent evidence of functional impairment in blood, liver, and kidneys. Even if preliminary, the data are highly promising, as they showed no adverse effects on all the evaluated parameters, and therefore suggest the possibility of the realistic application of BNNTs in the biomedical field.
氮化硼纳米管（BNNTs）由于其出色的化学和物理特性，在许多不同的研究领域引起了极大的关注。近年来，我们小组率先将 BNNTs 用于生物医学应用，首先评估了它们在许多不同细胞系上的体外细胞相容性。在这一点上，在进行拟议应用的实际开发之前，有必要进行体内研究。在本通讯中，我们报告了 BNNTs 在兔子体内的毒理学研究初步结果。动物被注射 1mg/kg 的 BNNT 溶液，并在注射后 72 小时内进行血液测试。分析旨在评估任何可能代表血液、肝脏和肾脏功能损伤的血液参数的急性变化。尽管初步的，但这些数据非常有希望，因为它们没有对所有评估的参数产生不良影响，因此表明 BNNTs 在生物医学领域的实际应用是可能的。
