Toxicity of fullerenes
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1
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Pharmacology, Greece
Introduction
Fullerenes are a novel group of molecules composed of carbon. They are spherical (buckyballs), ellipsoidal or cylindrical (carbon nanotubes). They have a wide variety of technological and medical applications. However, their increasing production and use has created a concern over their potential toxicity.
Mechanisms of toxicity
It is essential to realise that fullerenes are a group of molecules, and toxicity among its different members might differ, as it depends on the molecule’s size, composition, surface properties and functionalization. In addition, fullerenes’ toxicity can be attributed to the solvents used and their by-products as well as to metal impurities. Various different toxicity mechanisms have been proposed. Oxidative stress via the generation of reactive oxygen species is one of them and can even cause cell death. Other mechanisms are caspase 3/7 activation, which may lead to apoptosis, lysosomal membrane destabilisation and reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential, membrane and DNA damage. Fullerenes might also up-regulate gene expression related to the inflammatory process, metalloendopeptidase activity and the immune system reaction. Furthermore, frustrated phagocytosis due to the fibrous shape of long carbon nanotubes can lead to further implications.
Toxicity of fullerenes
Nanotubes as compact tangles might lead to lung fibrosis and cancer, whereas as fibres they might also affect the pleura and cause mesothelioma, like asbestos. Nanotubes can also cause reversible testis damage in mice, inhibit growth in some marine organisms and promote allergic immune responses in mice. Multiwall carbon nanotubes might also be associated to the pathogenesis of cardiopulmonary disease induced by particulate mater. Additionally, they induce genotoxicity, cytotoxocity and apoptosis in human dermal fibroblast cells. Buckyballs injected intraperitoneally in mice can lead to embryo death or abnormalities by disrupting the function of the yalk sac and embryo morphogenesis. Furthermore, they inhibit midbrain’s cell differentiation in vitro. However, other studies report lack of lethality after high dose exposure of colloidal fullerenes to human epidermal and bacterial cells, lack of acute or subacute fullerene toxicity and antioxidant properties and lack of genotoxicity, phototoxicity and pro-oxidative activity of water-soluble PVP/fullerenes. Some fullerene derivatives might also have a reversible anti-apoptotic premature senescence effect.
Conclusion
Further research is necessary to outline the exact environmental and human toxicity of each molecule of the group, as their use becomes more and more widespread and current data are inconclusive and contradictory.
Keywords:
Fullerenes,
Carbon nanotubes,
buckyballs,
Toxicity
Conference:
8th Southeast European Congress on Xenobiotic Metabolism and Toxicity - XEMET 2010, Thessaloniki, Greece, 1 Oct - 5 Oct, 2010.
Presentation Type:
Poster
Topic:
Xenobiotic toxicity
Citation:
Makaronidis
I and
Papaioannidou
P
(2010). Toxicity of fullerenes.
Front. Pharmacol.
Conference Abstract:
8th Southeast European Congress on Xenobiotic Metabolism and Toxicity - XEMET 2010.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fphar.2010.60.00157
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Received:
28 Oct 2010;
Published Online:
04 Nov 2010.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Ioannis Makaronidis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Pharmacology, Thessaloniki, Greece, iomakaro@gmail.com
Dr. Paraskevi Papaioannidou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Pharmacology, Thessaloniki, Greece, ppap@auth.gr