School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Occupational Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 May;27(13):15401-15406. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-08036-4. Epub 2020 Feb 19.
Occupational and environmental exposures to carbon-based materials in nano- and micro-size have been reported. There is incomplete information on the impact of size on the toxicity of carbon-based materials. The objective of this study is to compare the toxicity of graphite, short multi-walled carbon nanotubes (S-MWCNTs), and long multi-walled carbon nanotubes (L-MWCNTs) in lung cells (A 549). The physicochemical properties of MWCNTs were determined using analytical instruments. The fibers of MWCNTs were dispersed in the sterile-filtered 0.05% bovine serum albumin in MilliQ water. Cytotoxicity of graphite and MWCNTs were assessed using the cell viability, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and lipid peroxidation experiments. Results showed that MWCNTs induced cytotoxicity through the generation of oxidative stress in the exposed lung cells. Mean cytotoxicity of S-MWCNTs was statistically more than that of L-MWCNTs. The graphite induced cytotoxicity only at high concentrations. The mean cytotoxicity of both S-MWCNTs and L-MWCNTs was statistically more than that of graphite. The results also indicated that oxidative stress was the probable toxicity mechanism of carbon-based materials. The decreasing size of carbon-based materials could increase their toxicity. Because of the toxicity of MWCNTs, it is imperative to consider health and safety issues in working with nanomaterials.
已有研究报告指出，纳米级和微级的碳基材料在职业和环境中的暴露情况。关于粒径对碳基材料毒性的影响，信息尚不完全。本研究旨在比较石墨、短多壁碳纳米管（S-MWCNTs）和长多壁碳纳米管（L-MWCNTs）在肺细胞（A549）中的毒性。使用分析仪器确定了 MWCNTs 的物理化学性质。MWCNTs 的纤维分散在无菌过滤的 0.05%牛血清白蛋白-MilliQ 水中。使用细胞活力、活性氧（ROS）和脂质过氧化实验评估石墨和 MWCNTs 的细胞毒性。结果表明，MWCNTs 通过在暴露的肺细胞中产生氧化应激诱导细胞毒性。S-MWCNTs 的平均细胞毒性明显高于 L-MWCNTs。石墨仅在高浓度时才诱导细胞毒性。S-MWCNTs 和 L-MWCNTs 的平均细胞毒性明显高于石墨。结果还表明，氧化应激可能是碳基材料的毒性机制。碳基材料粒径的减小会增加其毒性。由于 MWCNTs 的毒性，在使用纳米材料时必须考虑健康和安全问题。
