[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Skip to Main Content

Latest News

October 27, 2009

Inhaled Nanotubes Reach Lung Lining In Mice

Nanotoxicology: Carbon structures cause unique physiological effects, study shows

Bethany Halford

James C. Bonner and Jeanette K. Shipley-Phillips View Enlarged Image
DAMAGING Inhaled multiwalled carbon nanotubes (shown expanded) travel to and become embedded in the pleural tissue (left) and are encapsulated by phagocytes (right).
  • Print this article
  • Email the editor

Latest News



October 28, 2011

Speedy Homemade-Explosive Detector

Forensic Chemistry: A new method could increase the number of explosives detected by airport screeners.

Solar Panel Makers Cry Foul

Trade: U.S. companies complain of market dumping by China.

Novartis To Cut 2,000 Jobs

Layoffs follow similar moves by Amgen, AstraZeneca.

Nations Break Impasse On Waste

Environment: Ban to halt export of hazardous waste to developing world.

New Leader For Lawrence Livermore

Penrose (Parney) Albright will direct DOE national lab.

Hair Reveals Source Of People's Exposure To Mercury

Toxic Exposure: Mercury isotopes in human hair illuminate dietary and industrial sources.

Why The Long Fat?

Cancer Biochemistry: Mass spectrometry follows the metabolism of very long fatty acids in cancer cells.

Text Size A A

If inhaled, multiwalled carbon nanotubes can travel to the lung lining of mice and cause scarring, according to a paper from James C. Bonner of North Carolina State University and coworkers (Nat. Nanotech., DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2009.305). The results suggest extra caution should be exercised to avoid inhaling carbon nanotubes when handling the material.

"This is the first published study to demonstrate that inhaled carbon nanotubes reach" the lung lining, also known as the pleura, note Ken Donaldson and Craig A. Poland of the University of Edinburgh's Center for Inflammation Research, in Scotland, in a commentary that accompanies the paper. Nanotoxicologists are particularly concerned with the pleural region because the rare cancer mesothelioma, which is frequently associated with asbestos exposure, develops there. Scientists have expressed concern that nanotubes may behave like asbestos because of their fiberlike shape.

To see how far multiwalled carbon nanotubes travel when inhaled, Bonner's team subjected mice to a single inhalation exposure to the tubes at a concentration of 30 mg/m3. They then collected lung tissue after one day, as well as after two, six, and 14 weeks of exposure. The researchers found that the nanotubes traveled to just beneath the pleura, where scarring developed after two, six, and 14 weeks of exposure. The team observed no mesothelioma but notes that the slow-growing cancer is unlikely to show up in their experimental time frame. Similar experiments carried out with carbon black nanoparticles produced no scarring.

"The take-home message is that we should be careful in the way we handle carbon nanotubes because based on our mouse study, these fiberlike structures will reach the outer lining of the lung and remain there for weeks or months," Bonner tells C&EN.

"This is an important paper because it demonstrates that inhaled multiwalled carbon nanotubes" move from airspace to the regions that line the lungs of mice, comments nanotoxicology expert David B. Warheit of the DuPont Haskell Laboratory for Health & Environmental Sciences, in Newark, Del. However, "the effects were manifested following an extremely high exposure concentration of carbon nanotubes," he adds. "It will be important to ascertain whether the observed potency occurs at relevant occupational exposure levels."

Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2011 American Chemical Society
  • Print this article
  • Email the editor

Services & Tools

ACS Resources

ACS is the leading employment source for recruiting scientific professionals. ACS Careers and C&EN Classifieds provide employers direct access to scientific talent both in print and online. Jobseekers | Employers

» Join ACS

Join more than 161,000 professionals in the chemical sciences world-wide, as a member of the American Chemical Society.
» Join Now!