Cytotoxicity of carbon nanotubes

With large-scale production and application at large scale, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) may cause adverse response to the environment and human health. Thus, study on bio-effects and safety of CNTs has attracted great attention from scientists and governments worldwide. This report briefly summarizes the main results from the in vitro toxicity study of CNTs. The emphasis is placed on the description of a variety of factors affecting CNTs cytotoxicity, including species of CNTs, impurities contained, lengths of CNTs, aspect ratios, chemical modification, and assaying methods of cytotoxicity. However, experimental information obtained thus far on CNTs’ cytotoxicity is lacking in comparability, and sometimes there is controversy about it. In order to assess more accurately the potential risks of CNTs to human health, we suggest that care should be taken for issues such as chemical modification and quantitative characterization of CNTs in cytotoxicity assessment. More importantly, studies on physical and chemical mechanisms of CNTs’ cytotoxicity should be strengthened; assaying methods and evaluating criteria characterized by nanotoxicology should be gradually established.