Characterization of the cytotoxic potential of graphene nanoplatelets in lung cells

• Autor(a) principal: Reis, Débora de Oliveira
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/17465
• topic: Grafeno - Nanopartículas; Ciclo celular; Citotoxicidade; Doenças pulmonares

Graphene is one of the carbon allotropes. Its physical and chemical characteristics provide unique properties: high surface area, exceptional electrical and thermal conductivities, high mechanical strength, ability to bio-functionalization and mass production. All these qualities make graphene widely applicable and, therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly investigate their possible adverse effects in the context of human health. This study evaluated the cytotoxic potential of graphene nanoplatelets in lung cells (cell line A549). The cells were cultured in vitro and exposed to various concentrations of graphene nanoplatelets (5, 10, 25, 50, 100μg/ml) for 24h. Cell viability, assessed by WST-8 assay, did not decrease after exposure to graphene nanoplatelets, however, an increase in cell proliferation for the lowest concentration was observed. ROS production as well as cell cycle dynamics of A549 cells were not affected by graphene nanoplatelets exposure. Cellular uptake of the graphene nanoplatelets, evaluated by changes in light side scatter by flow cytometry, increased significantly for the highest concentration (100μg/ml). In addition, there was no induction of apoptosis in A549 cells after 24 hours of exposure to the graphene nanoplatelets. Overall, these results suggest that graphene nanoplatelets do not induce toxicity in cell line A549.