With regard to the debate on the toxic effects of carbon nanotubes , researchers from the United States and China launched an investigation into the toxicity of carbon nanotubes in the reproductive system of male mice . The investigation showed that carbon nanotubes cause damage to the testicles , but the damage is reversible and does not affect fertility.
The team administered up to five intravenous doses multilayer carbon nanotubes soluble in water to mice for a period of 13 days. At 24 hours , the nanotubes were found in the testis . By day 15, the nanotubes have caused oxidative stress and tissue damage, but on days 60 and 90 , the damage had been repaired with no observed effects on hormone levels, sperm health or fertility.
Our work paves the way for the safe of numerous medicinal applications of carbon nanotubes in terms of male reproductive security, “said Yan Bing, one of the charge of the investigation.
However, the toxicology expert James Bonner of the State University in Raleigh North Carolina , United States, still has concerns about the use of carbon nanotubes for drug delivery. “The authors clearly showed cell stress and damage to cells in the testes, and while this effect was repaired and , ultimately, does not affect fertility , the study suggests to me that the longer exposures , as would be used to deliver drugs, ultimately, could affect fertility. ”
Yan acknowledges that higher doses and more frequent dosing regimen might be a cause of worry in terms of reproductive toxicity , adding that further studies on reproductive toxicity of nanomaterials is urgently needed .
