Nanotoxicity Assessment toward the Applications of Carbon Nanotubes as a Small Biomolecule Carrier in Drug Delivery Systems

Abstract

Carbon Nanotube (CNT) materials has superior properties in electric current carrying capacity, thermal conductivity, and thermal stability. Due to their structure with high aspect ratio, they have structural unusual toxicity and complicate safety issue in a target tissue. In optimized quantities with limited functionality, special type of CNT assembly such as "buckyball" can be used as a potential drug carrier of bioactive molecules and display with increased circulating time and acceptable functionality. We analyzed cytoxicity and inflammatory response following exposure of CNTs. Slow damaging effects of CNT to epidermis and dermis of rat skin was shown using microimaging. Physiological perturbation of lung barrier function was observed by measuring transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) during the exposure of different concentrations of CNTs to human lung epithelial cell monolayers in the presence of fibroblast-embedded collagen. The mechanisms of CNTs' toxicity may be closely related to their structure, functional group, and surface charge on the molecule. Further studies are required to probe the mechanisms of cytotoxic and inflammatory responses. We also established the nanoscale toxicity of fullerenes of CNTs.

C60 Fullerene Derivatized Nanoparticles and their Application to Therapeutics

“…The biological behavior of fullerene derivatives shows their potential applications to various medical fields. Fullerenes are promising carriers of bioactive molecules and demonstrate increased circulation time and acceptable functionality [28]. Kirpatrick et al, (2011) [29] complexed fullerene compositions with multiple bioactive agents.…”

“…Typically, the skin cell membrane, made of phospholipids, cholesterol and lipoproteins plays an active role in controlling the ion transport into, out of and across the channels or ion pores using active energy against the concentration gradient. The small size of C 60 nanoparticles, can keep the bound drug molecules safe while passing across the membrane and can later release them to a suitable pH to act at the tissue target site [28]. The mechanisms used to achieve alternative routes for drug delivery typically unite one or more biologic, polymer, silicon-based, and carbon-based materials as well as metals.…”

“…The concept of C 60 hybridizing a biologically active moiety dyad that utilizes a synergistic effect is consistent with our previous report that the C 60 fulleropyrrolidine moiety with the xanthine moiety is more efficient in suppressing inflammation in LPS-stimulated macrophages than is the fulleropyrrolidine moiety alone. A C 60 fullerene derivative incorporating poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), PEG-C 60 -3, reducedamyloid (A ) 25-35 -induced cytotoxicity and increased cell viability in cells co-treated with C 60 and A [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] . Moreover, intracellular ROS accumulation caused by A -treated Neuro-2A cells was reduced by PEG-C 60 -3 co-treatment.…”