• Carbon-based nanomaterials cause toxicity by oxidative stress to the liver and brain in Sprague–Dawley rats

    分类: 核科学技术 >> 辐射物理与技术 提交时间: 2024-05-11

    摘要: Carbon-based nanomaterials have important research significance in various disciplines, such as compositematerials, nanoelectronic devices, biosensors, biological imaging, and drug delivery. Recently, the human andecological risks associated with carbon-based nanomaterials have received increasing attention. However, thebiosafety of carbon-based nanomaterials has not been investigated extensively. In this study, we used differenttypes of carbon materials, namely, graphene oxide (GO), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and multiwalledcarbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), as models to observe their distribution and oxidative damage in vivo.The results of Histopathological and ultrastructural examinations indicated that the liver and lungs were the mainaccumulation targets of these nanomaterials. SR-μ-XRF analysis revealed that SWCNTs and MWCNTs mightbe present in the brain. This shows that the three types of carbon-based nanomaterials could cross the gas–bloodbarrier and eventually reach the liver tissue. In addition, SWCNTs and MWCNTs could cross the blood–brainbarrier and accumulate in the cerebral cortex. The increase in ROS and MDA levels and the decrease in GSH,SOD, and CAT levels indicated that the three types of nanomaterials might cause oxidative stress in the liver.This suggests that direct instillation of these carbon-based nanomaterials into rats could induce ROS generation.In addition, iron (Fe) contaminants in these nanomaterials were a definite source of free radicals. However,these nanomaterials did not cause obvious damage to the rat brain tissue. The deposition of selenoprotein inthe rat brain was found to be related to oxidative stress and Fe deficiency. This information may support thedevelopment of secure and reasonable applications of the studied carbon-based nanomaterials.