Toxicity of Raw and Purified Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes in Rat's Lung Epithelial and Cervical Cancer Cells

The increased applications of carbon nanotubes in the field of drug delivery, bioimaging and biosensors demand nanotubes to be of highest purity, free from metallic impurities and amorphous carbon. All of these sectors require a profound investigation about the toxic effects on human and the environment. Many attempts have been made to purify and surface modify the carbon nanotubes, however a detailed study on the raw and purified material has yet to be conducted. Here we present the toxicity studies of raw and the purified single-walled carbon nanotubes in rat's lung epithelial cell and cervical cancer cells (He La). These cells were treated with increasing concentration of 0.5 mu g/mL to 50 mu g/mL and the various biocompatibility assays were performed. The results showed an increased cell death with purified single-walled carbon nanotubes followed by the depletion of antioxidant levels and activation of the caspase cascade at a rapid rate compared to raw single-walled carbon nanotubes. This suggests that purified single walled carbon nanotubes are more toxic to the cells and exhibit ultra-fine particulate matter like toxicity.