Nanomechanical mechanism for lipid bilayer damage induced by carbon nanotubes confined in intracellular vesicles.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the behavior of low-dimensional nanomaterials confined in intracellular vesicles has been limited by the resolution of bioimaging techniques and the complex nature of the problem. Recent studies report that long, stiff carbon nanotubes are more cytotoxic than flexible varieties, but the mechanistic link between stiffness and cytotoxicity is not understood. Here we combine analytical modeling, molecular dynamics simulations, and in vitro intracellular imaging methods to reveal 1D carbon nanotube behavior within intracellular vesicles. We show that stiff nanotubes beyond a critical length are compressed by lysosomal membranes causing persistent tip contact with the inner membrane leaflet, leading to lipid extraction, lysosomal permeabilization, release of cathepsin B (a lysosom

SUBMITTER: Zhu W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5098676 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature