Biodistribution and clearance of instilled carbon nanotubes in rat lung.
BACKGROUND
Constituted only by carbon atoms, CNT are hydrophobic and hardly detectable in biological tissues. These properties make biokinetics and toxicology studies more complex.


METHODS
We propose here a method to investigate the biopersistence of CNT in organism, based on detection of nickel, a metal present in the MWCNT we investigated.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results in rats that received MWCNT by intratracheal instillation, reveal that MWCNT can be eliminated and do not significantly cross the pulmonary barrier but are still present in lungs 6 months after a unique instillation. MWCNT structure was also showed to be chemically modified and cleaved in the lung. These results provide the first data of CNT biopersistence and clearance at 6 months after respiratory administration.
Elgrabli
Dan
D
Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Verneuil en Halatte, France. dan.elgrabli@ineris.fr.
Floriani
Magali
M
Abella-Gallart
Steve
S
Meunier
Laurent
L
Gamez
Christelle
C
Delalain
Patrice
P
Rogerieux
Françoise
F
Boczkowski
Jorge
J
Lacroix
Ghislaine
G