Long Zheru, Wu Yan-Ping, Gao Hua-Ying, Zhang Jun, Ou Xianfeng, He Rong-Rong, Liu Mingxian
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
J Mater Chem B. 2018 Nov 28;6(44):7204-7216. doi: 10.1039/c8tb01382a. Epub 2018 Jul 23.
Because of their outstanding properties, increasing numbers of research studies and emerging applications for manufacturing products are currently in progress for halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). Therefore, the impact of HNTs on the environment and human health should be taken into consideration. In order to clearly show the cell uptake of HNTs and the biodistribution of HNTs in zebrafish, HNTs are labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC-HNTs). The cytotoxicity assays showed that the cell viabilities of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7) cells were above 60% after being treated with different concentrations of HNTs (2.5-200 μg mL) for 72 h. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) results showed the uptake of HNTs by HUVECs and MCF-7 cells. The in vivo toxicity of HNTs was then investigated in the early development of zebrafish embryos. The percent survival of zebrafish embryos and larvae showed no significant changes at different developmental stages (24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hpf) when treated with various concentrations of HNTs (0.25-10 mg mL). Besides, HNTs could promote the hatchability of zebrafish embryos and did not affect the morphological development of zebrafish at a concentration of ≤25 mg mL. HNTs could also be ingested by zebrafish larvae and accumulated predominantly in the gastrointestinal tract. The fluorescence intensity of FITC-HNTs decreased gradually with time, which suggested that HNTs could be excreted by zebrafish larvae through the gastrointestinal metabolism. Therefore, it can be concluded that HNTs are relatively biocompatible nanomaterials, which can be utilized in many fields.
由于其优异的性能，目前针对埃洛石纳米管（HNTs）的研究和制造产品的新兴应用越来越多。因此，应考虑HNTs对环境和人类健康的影响。为了清楚地显示HNTs在斑马鱼中的细胞摄取和生物分布，用异硫氰酸荧光素（FITC-HNTs）标记HNTs。细胞毒性试验表明，人脐静脉内皮细胞（HUVECs）和人乳腺腺癌（MCF-7）细胞在不同浓度（2.5-200μg/mL）的HNTs处理72小时后，细胞活力均高于60%。共聚焦激光扫描显微镜（CLSM）结果显示HUVECs和MCF-7细胞摄取了HNTs。然后在斑马鱼胚胎的早期发育中研究了HNTs的体内毒性。用不同浓度（0.25-10mg/mL）的HNTs处理时，斑马鱼胚胎和幼体在不同发育阶段（24、48、72、96和120hpf）的存活率没有显著变化。此外，HNTs在浓度≤25mg/mL时可促进斑马鱼胚胎的孵化率，且不影响斑马鱼的形态发育。HNTs也可被斑马鱼幼体摄取，并主要积聚在胃肠道。FITC-HNTs的荧光强度随时间逐渐降低，这表明HNTs可被斑马鱼幼体通过胃肠道代谢排出。因此，可以得出结论，HNTs是相对生物相容性的纳米材料，可用于许多领域。
