Genotoxicity Of Plant Mediated Synthesis Of Copper Nanoparticles Evaluated Using In Vitro Mammalian Cell Micronucleus Test

Objective: Nanotechnology is an emerging technology which has wide applications in many fields. Prime concern of research in nanotechnology is the synthesis of nano-material with the controlled size and shape. Recently, biosynthesis of metallic nano-particles has gained popularity owing to its eco-friendliness. The increasing use of copper nanoparticles (CNPs) in medicine and industry demands an understanding of their potential toxicities.Methods: Genotoxicity of CNPs was assessed using the in vitro micronucleus assay which is standard genotoxicity assay. In this study, CNP was tested in the absence and presence of the metabolic activation (2% v/v S9 mix). Human peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures were exposed to CNPs, at 5 dose-levels between 0.125 to 2 mu L/mL of culture medium in absence and presence of the metabolic activation system.Results: Required level of cytotoxicity (55 +/- 5% reduction in replicative index, i.e., cytostasis) was observed in absence of the metabolic activation at the test concentration of 2 mu L/mL. Therefore, dose levels selected for scoring of binucleated cells containing micronuclei were: 0.5, 1, and 2 mu L/mL. From the obtained data of MNBN cells (Binucleated cells with micronuclei) for all three selected test concentration was found in the range of negative and vehicle control.Conclusion: Our results concluded that, CNPs did not induce statistically significant or biologically relevant increase in number of binucleated cells with micronuclei in absence and presence of the metabolic activation.