Inhibitory Effect of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes on SH-SY5Y Cells

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are widely used in fields as diverse as engineering, physics and medicine. CNTs unique physical properties and strength play a major part in such a wide application. However, there have been concerns on the deleterious effects of CNTs as a delivery tool for therapeutic proteins, peptides and genes in biomedicine. CNTs disturb normal neuronal function, and accumulate and cause brain damage. Unfunctionalized CNTs were reported to cause toxicity in cells rather than functionalized CNTs. Thus, effects of CNTs on cells should be rigorously tested. In the present study, unfunctionalized multiwall CNTs were introduced to human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y) cells to investigate the toxicity effect. The neurotoxicity test showed that cell viability was above 80 % for CNT at 100 pg/ ml 1 mg/ ml. The neuroprotective test revealed that viability of cells was less than 40 % and 50 % at 1 μg/ ml - 1 mg/ ml and 1 pg/ml - 100 ng/ ml concentration range, respectively. The number of viable cells was decreased, with increase in the concentration of CNT using a reactive oxygen species (ROS) test. These findings provide useful information in elucidating the inhibitory effect of CNTs as a tool of drug delivery.