title: Pilot in vivo toxicological investigation of boron nitride nanotubes.
abstract: Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have attracted huge attention in many different research fields thanks to their outstanding chemical and physical properties. During recent years, our group has pioneered the use of BNNTs for biomedical applications, first of all assessing their in vitro cytocompatibility on many different cell lines. At this point, in vivo investigations are necessary before proceeding toward realistic developments of the proposed applications. In this communication, we report a pilot toxicological study of BNNTs in rabbits. Animals were injected with a 1 mg/kg BNNT solution and blood tests were performed up to 72 hours after injection. The analyses aimed at evaluating any acute alteration of hematic parameters that could represent evidence of functional impairment in blood, liver, and kidneys. Even if preliminary, the data are highly promising, as they showed no adverse effects on all the evaluated parameters, and therefore suggest the possibility of the realistic application of BNNTs in the biomedical field.
authors.affiliation: Italian Institute of Technology, Center of Micro-BioRobotics c\o Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Viale Rinaldo Piaggio 34, Pontedera (Pisa), Italy. g.ciofani@sssup.it
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ciofani
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Danti
authors.forename: Giada Graziana
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Genchi
authors.forename: Delfo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: D'Alessandro
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pellequer
authors.forename: Michaël
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Odorico
authors.forename: Virgilio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mattoli
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giorgi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood / Q000187:drug effects; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D001896:Boron Compounds / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects; D007677:Kidney Function Tests; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011817:Rabbits; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D001896:Boron Compounds; C017282:boron nitride