Effect of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes on the Microelement Status in the Internal Organs of Rats in an Experiment

Abstract

Taunit-M multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs) are orally administered (with water) to male Wistar rats for 100 days at the following doses: 0 (control), 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, and 10 mg/kg body weight (BW). The spleen, brain, and testicle levels of 21 chemical elements (Al, Ba, Be, V, Fe, Cd, Co, Li, Mg, Mn, Cu, As, Ni, Pb, Se, Ag, Sr, Tl, Cr, Cs, and Zn) are determined by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry technique. It is found that the content of a number of toxic elements, including As, Cd, Pb, Tl, Ni, Ba, and Be, and the elements whose functions are not well-specified—V, Sr, and Ag—decrease in the organs of animals administered MCNTs. At the same time, the level of Se decreases in most biological substrates and the Al level increases in the liver. The lack of correlation between the observed effects and the dose of nanomaterial or their maximum manifestation at low (0.1 mg/kg BW) and ultralow (0.01 mg/kg BW) doses seems to indicate the systemic nature and complex mechanism of action of MCNTs on element homeostasis.