title: In vitro and in vivo toxicity studies of copper sulfide nanoplates for potential photothermal applications.
abstract: Copper sulfide (CuS) has emerged as a promising photothermal agent. However, its potential toxic effects still remained poorly understood. Herein, CuS nanoplates were synthesized for toxicity assessment. The in vitro study indicated that the cell viability decreased when CuS nanoplate concentration was higher than 100 μg/mL. CuS nanoplates caused apparent toxicity to HUVEC and RAW 264.7 cells. For acute toxicity, maximum tolerated dose and lethal dose 50 were 8.66 and 54.5 mg/kg, respectively. Furthermore, the sub-chronic toxicity test results indicated that there was no obvious effect at tested doses during the test period. The biodistribution study showed that intravenously administrated CuS nanoplates were mainly present in the spleen, liver and lung. Taken together, our results shed light on the rational design of CuS nanomaterials to minimize toxicity, thus providing a useful guideline in selecting CuS as the photothermal agent for cancer therapy.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Photothermal ablation therapy is a promising new treatment modality for cancer. One of the potential photothermal agents is copper sulfide (CuS). In this article, the potential toxic effects of CuS nanoplates were studied. The authors showed that further modification on the design of CuS nanomaterials was needed to minimize toxicity.
authors: College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Feng
authors: College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Nie
authors: State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yanhua
authors: Y
authors: Cheng
authors: State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors: Xiaojun
authors: X
authors: Zhou
authors: College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors: Liang
authors: L
authors: Chen
authors: State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors: Kexin
authors: K
authors: Qiu
authors: State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: zgchen@dhu.edu.cn.
authors: Zhigang
authors: Z
authors: Chen
authors: State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors: Meifang
authors: M
authors: Zhu
authors: College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: hcl@dhu.edu.cn.
authors: Chuanglong
authors: C
authors: He
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D061307:Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D051379:Mice; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010789:Phototherapy / Q000379:methods*; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D013440:Sulfides; D003300:Copper
keywords: Biocompatibility; Biodistribution; Copper sulfide nanoplates; Photothermal therapy; Toxicity