Katsumiti Alberto, Tomovska Radmila, Cajaraville Miren P
CBET Research Group, Dept. Zoology and Animal Cell Biology, Faculty of Science and Technology and Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology PIE, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Basque Country, Spain.
POLYMAT and Dept. Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Basque Country, Spain; IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Basque Country, Spain.
Aquat Toxicol. 2017 Jul;188:138-147. doi: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2017.04.016. Epub 2017 Apr 28.
Recently, graphene materials have attracted tremendous research interest due to their unique physicochemical properties that hold great promise in electronics, energy, materials and biomedical areas. Graphene oxide (GO) is one of the most extensively studied graphene derivatives. In order to improve GO electrical properties, nanoplatelets are chemically reduced, thus increasing nanoplatelet conductivity. This reduced GO (rGO) shows different properties and behavior compared to GO. Graphene-based wastes are expected to end up in the marine environment. Here we aimed to assess the potential toxic effects of GO and rGO to marine organisms by using in vitro assays with mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) hemocytes. Cells were exposed to a wide range of concentrations (up to 100mg/L) of GO (with and without polyvinylpyrrolidone-PVP as stabilizing agent: GO and GO-PVP) and rGO with PVP (rGO-PVP) to assess cytotoxicity and cell membrane integrity. Then, cells were exposed to sublethal concentrations of GO and rGO-PVP to assess their subcellular distribution through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and to evaluate their effects on ROS production. GO, GO-PVP and rGO-PVP showed low and concentration-dependent cytotoxicity. rGO-PVP (LC50=29.902 and 33.94mg/L depending on the origin) was more toxic than GO (LC50=49.84 and 54.51mg/L depending on the origin) and GO-PVP (LC50=43.72mg/L). PVP was not toxic to hemocytes but increased bioavailability and toxicity of nanoplatelets. At TEM, GO and rGO-PVP nanoplatelets caused invaginations and perforations of the plasma membrane, which agrees with the observed decrease in cell membrane integrity. Nanoplatelets were internalized, at a higher extent for rGO-PVP than for GO, and found in the cytosol and in endolysosomal vesicles of hemocytes. Both GO and rGO-PVP increased ROS production at the highest sublethal concentration tested. In conclusion, GO, GO-PVP and rGO-PVP are not highly toxic to mussel cells but they cause membrane damage and their toxicity is ROS-mediated. Finally, in vitro assays with mussel hemocytes are sensitive tools to detect toxic effects of graphene-based nanomaterials.
近年来,石墨烯材料因其独特的物理化学性质而引起了巨大的研究兴趣,这些性质在电子、能源、材料和生物医学领域具有广阔的应用前景。氧化石墨烯(GO)是研究最为广泛的石墨烯衍生物之一。为了改善GO的电学性能,对纳米片进行化学还原,从而提高纳米片的导电性。这种还原氧化石墨烯(rGO)与GO相比表现出不同的性质和行为。基于石墨烯的废弃物预计最终会进入海洋环境。在此,我们旨在通过贻贝(Mytilus galloprovincialis)血细胞的体外试验,评估GO和rGO对海洋生物的潜在毒性作用。将细胞暴露于多种浓度(高达100mg/L)的GO(有无聚乙烯吡咯烷酮 - PVP作为稳定剂:GO和GO - PVP)以及含PVP的rGO(rGO - PVP)中,以评估细胞毒性和细胞膜完整性。然后,将细胞暴露于亚致死浓度的GO和rGO - PVP中,通过透射电子显微镜(TEM)评估它们的亚细胞分布,并评估它们对活性氧(ROS)产生的影响。GO、GO - PVP和rGO - PVP表现出低水平且浓度依赖性的细胞毒性。rGO - PVP(LC50 = 29.902和33.94mg/L,取决于来源)比GO(LC50 = 49.84和54.51mg/L,取决于来源)和GO - PVP(LC50 = 43.72mg/L)毒性更大。PVP对血细胞无毒,但增加了纳米片的生物利用度和毒性。在透射电子显微镜下,GO和rGO - PVP纳米片导致质膜内陷和穿孔,这与观察到的细胞膜完整性下降一致。纳米片被内化,rGO - PVP的内化程度高于GO,并且在血细胞的细胞质和内溶酶体小泡中被发现。在测试的最高亚致死浓度下,GO和rGO - PVP均增加了ROS的产生。总之,GO、GO - PVP和rGO - PVP对贻贝细胞的毒性不高,但它们会导致膜损伤,且其毒性是由ROS介导的。最后,贻贝血细胞的体外试验是检测基于石墨烯的纳米材料毒性作用的灵敏工具。