Abstract
Considerable progress has been made in various fields of applied research on the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Because CNTs are fibrous nanomaterials, biosafety of CNTs has been discussed. The biokinetic data of CNTs, such as using the radioisotope of carbon and surface labeling of CNTs, have been reported. However, the use of radioisotopes requires a special facility. In addition, there are problems in the surface labeling of CNTs, including changes in surface properties and labels eliminating over time. In order to solve these problems and properly evaluate the biokinetics of CNTs, the authors synthesize peapods with platinum (Pt) encapsulated within the hollow region of Double-Walled CNTs (DWCNTs) and develop a new system to evaluate biokinetics using widely available imaging equipment. In the cell assay, no significant difference is observed with and without Pt in CNTs. In animal studies, radiography of the lungs of rats that inhaled Pt-peapods show the detectability of Pt inside the CNTs. This new method using Pt-peapods enables image evaluation with a standard radiographic imaging device without changing the surface property of the CNTs and is effective for biokinetics evaluation of CNTs.
Highlights
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely available and commercialized over 10 years [1,2,3]
The CNTs used must be open at both ends and the hollow structure of the CNTs must be free of knots
We developed a technique for evaluating the biokinetics of CNTs using peapods, in which labeled compounds are encapsulated in the hollow structure of multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs)
Summary
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely available and commercialized over 10 years [1,2,3]. While several studies report the distribution of inhaled CNTs to organs other than the lungs [8,9], others do not suggest their migration to other systemic organs [10]. The differences in biokinetics between reports may have resulted from the fact that the biological effect of CNTs depends on the types, size, functionalization methods, and dispersant [11,12,13,14]. Biomedical applications of CNTs have been widely researched for potential uses such as a drug delivery system (DDS) [15,16], therapeutic agents that utilize its thermal effects induced by microwaves, light, or radio frequencies [17], and tissue scaffolds for engineering [18]. The reason for the slow commercial implementation is due to the safety of CNTs, which has not yet been clarified
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