Toxicity determinants of multi-walled carbon nanotubes: The relationship between functionalization and agglomeration.

ABSTRACT: The elucidation of toxicity determinants of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) is still incomplete. Functionalization with carboxyl groups is, however, commonly used to mitigate MWCNT toxicity, although the rationale for the mitigating effect has not been fully clarified yet. In this work, two optimized chemical vapor deposition methods were employed to obtain MWCNT of comparable length but different diameter, which were subsequently functionalized. For MWCNT of diameter larger than 40 nm, no detrimental effects on cell viability of macrophages were observed, while mild cytotoxicity was recorded for diameters between 15 and 40 nm, with a mitigating effect of functionalization. To investigate the factors responsible for the mitigation, we used the thinnest MWCNT preparation on different

SUBMITTER: Allegri M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5615827 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature