Abstract
Due to their excellent biocompatibility, carbon nanoparticles have been widely investigated for prospective biomedical applications. However, their impact on an organism with prolonged exposure is still not well understood. Here, we performed an experiment investigating diamond, graphene oxide and graphite nanoparticles, which were repeatedly administrated intraperitoneally into Wistar rats for four weeks. Some of the animals was sacrificed after the last injection, whereas the rest were sacrificed twelve weeks after the last exposure. We evaluated blood morphology and biochemistry, as well as the redox and inflammatory state of the liver. The results show the retention of nanoparticles within the peritoneal cavity in the form of prominent aggregates in proximity to the injection site, as well as the presence of some nanoparticles in the mesentery. Small aggregates were also visible in the liver serosa, suggesting possible transportation to the liver. However, none of the tested nanoparticles affected the health of animals. This lack of toxic effect may suggest the potential applicability of nanoparticles as drug carriers for local therapies, ensuring accumulation and slow release of drugs into a targeted tissue without harmful systemic side effects.
Highlights
Carbon is the most widespread element in all living organisms and carbon nanoparticles, due to their excellent biocompatibility, are an attractive alternative to traditionally used anticancer drugs and may be applicable in drug delivery systems.We studied the biological properties of three different forms of carbon nanoparticles—diamond (DN), graphene oxide (GO) and graphite (GR)
Different in vitro studies showed that graphene has anticancer and antiproliferative properties [17,18], and may have cytotoxic effect on normal, healthy cells [19], it depends on the form of used graphene, as well as on the production method
Chowdhury et al [20] reported that GO functionalized with dextran had no adverse effect on hematological components in vitro, and did not induce endothelial dysfunction during in vivo studies with the hamster model
Summary
Carbon is the most widespread element in all living organisms and carbon nanoparticles, due to their excellent biocompatibility, are an attractive alternative to traditionally used anticancer drugs and may be applicable in drug delivery systems.We studied the biological properties of three different forms of carbon nanoparticles—diamond (DN), graphene oxide (GO) and graphite (GR). The excellent biocompatibility of DN was demonstrated has been in vivo studies on mice and rats, showing no toxic effects and no impact on the immune system [4,5]. Different in vitro studies showed that graphene has anticancer and antiproliferative properties [17,18], and may have cytotoxic effect on normal, healthy cells [19], it depends on the form of used graphene, as well as on the production method. Chowdhury et al [20] reported that GO functionalized with dextran had no adverse effect on hematological components in vitro, and did not induce endothelial dysfunction during in vivo studies with the hamster model. Longer exposure (30 days) showed only a negligible presence of GO in examined organs, suggesting removal and extraction through the feces
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