Bioaccumulation and Toxicity of Carbon Nanoparticles Suspension Injection in Intravenously Exposed Mice

Ping Xie, Sheng-Tao Yang, Tiantian He, Shengnan Yang, Xiao-Hai Tang, Ping Xie, Sheng-Tao Yang, Tiantian He, Shengnan Yang, Xiao-Hai Tang

Abstract

Carbon nanoparticles suspension injection (CNSI) has been widely used in tumor drainage lymph node mapping, and its new applications in drug delivery, photothermal therapy, and so on have been extensively investigated. To develop new clinical applications, the toxicity of CNSI after intravenous exposure should be thoroughly investigated to ensure its safe use. Herein, we studied the bioaccumulation of CNSI in reticuloendothelial system (RES) organs and the corresponding toxicity to mice. After the intravenous injection of CNSI, no abnormal behavior of mice was observed during the 28-day observation period. The body weight increases were similar among the exposed groups and the control group. The parameters of hematology and serum biochemistry remained nearly unchanged, with very few of them showing significant changes. The low toxicity of CNSI was also reflected by the unchanged histopathological characteristics of these organs. The injection of CNSI did not induce higher apoptosis levels either. The slight oxidative stress was observed in RES organs at high dosages at day 7 post-exposure. The implication to the clinical applications and toxicological evaluations of carbon nanomaterials is discussed.

Keywords: Raman spectroscopy; biodistribution; biosafety; carbon nanoparticles suspension injection; nanotoxicity.

Conflict of interest statement

Tiantian He and Xiao-Hai Tang are employees of Chongqing Lummy Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image (a) and C1s X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum (b) of carbon nanoparticles suspension injection (CNSI).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bioaccumulations of CNSI in reticuloendothelial system (RES) organs, including the liver, spleen, and lungs. The dark aggregates of CNSI are indicated by white arrows (400×).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Serum biochemical parameters of the mice exposed to CNSI post intravenous exposure. Data represent means ± SD (n = 6). * p < 0.05 compared with the control group.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Histopathological observations of the mice exposed to CNSI at 28 days post intravenous exposure (100×).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Apoptosis analyses of the mice exposed to CNSI at 28 days post intravenous exposure by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method (200×).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Oxidative stress levels of the mice exposed to CNSI post intravenous exposure. Data represent means ± SD (n = 5). * p < 0.05 compared with the control group.

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