title: A novel electrochemical method to evaluate the cytotoxicity of heavy metals.
abstract: There is an ongoing search to develop techniques for detection of heavy metals which are highly toxic and can cause damaging effects even at very low concentrations. In this present study, we report a label-free electrochemical method based on the direct voltammetric response of human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells on a highly sensitive graphene modified electrode. Five heavy metals were tested with the method and the results were validated by the traditional methyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The results revealed that the most toxic metal was Cr, followed by Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn. A good correlation between the two methods was observed. This work will be beneficial in providing a novel monitoring method to detect hazardous pollutants in the field of environmental toxicology.
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaolin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongwei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: School of Stomatology, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi 154007, PR China.
authors.forename: Jiguang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China.
authors.forename: Zeshi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130117, PR China. Electronic address: yuanx@nenu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Jiamusi University, Jiamusi 154007, PR China. Electronic address: wudmei67@163.com.
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D006108:Graphite; D006367:HeLa Cells; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000633:toxicity*; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts / Q000378:metabolism; D013844:Thiazoles / Q000378:metabolism; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D013778:Tetrazolium Salts; D013844:Thiazoles; D006108:Graphite; C022616:thiazolyl blue
keywords: Cytotoxicity; Electrochemical method; Heavy metals