Abstract
Predictive toxicity and structure–activity relationships (SARs) are raising interest since the number of nanomaterials has become unmanageable to assess their toxicity with a classical case-by-case approach. Graphene-based materials (GBMs) are among the most promising nanomaterials of this decade and their application might lead to several innovations. However, their toxicity impact needs to be thoroughly assessed. In this regard, we conducted a study on 22 GBMs to investigate their potential SARs by performing a complete physicochemical characterization and in vitro toxicity assessment (on RAW264.7 cells). We used GBMs of variable lateral size (0.5–38 µm), specific surface area (SSA, 30–880 m²/g), and surface oxidation (2–17%). We observed that reduced graphene oxides (RGOs) were more reactive than graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), potentially highlighting the role of GBM’s surface chemistry and surface defects density in their biological impact. We also observed that for GNPs, a smaller lateral size caused higher cytotoxicity. Lastly, GBMs showing a SSA higher than 200 m²/g were found to induce a higher ROS production. Mechanistic explanations are proposed in the discussion. In conclusion, pairing a full physicochemical characterization with a standardized toxicity assessment of a large set of samples allowed us to clarify SARs and provide an additional step toward safe-by-design GBMs.
Highlights
The nanotoxicology field emerged almost 20 years ago [1] and the number of nanomaterials has exponentially increased ever since [2,3]
We found that samples showing the highest specific surface area were mostly classified as highly reactive for oxidative stress (ROS production and FRAS effect)
We concluded that graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) with the smallest lateral size were the more cytotoxic whereas largest GNPs were more likely to be non-cytotoxic
Summary
The nanotoxicology field emerged almost 20 years ago [1] and the number of nanomaterials has exponentially increased ever since [2,3]. Many nanomaterials have interesting potential in various industrial fields such as electronics [4], optics [5] and biomedical [6]. Most of these applications are not achieved yet due to the potential hazard of these materials which cause many concerns, especially for occupational exposure [7,8]. Assessing nanomaterials’ risk is an absolute necessity for public health but could lead to numerous avenues of potential scientific and industrial progress. The risk assessment is composed of two major steps: exposure and hazard characterization [9].
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