title: Toxicology Study of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes and Reduced Graphene Oxide in Human Sperm.
abstract: Carbon-based nanomaterials such as single-walled carbon nanotubes and reduced graphene oxide are currently being evaluated for biomedical applications including in vivo drug delivery and tumor imaging. Several reports have studied the toxicity of carbon nanomaterials, but their effects on human male reproduction have not been fully examined. Additionally, it is not clear whether the nanomaterial exposure has any effect on sperm sorting procedures used in clinical settings. Here, we show that the presence of functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT-COOH) and reduced graphene oxide at concentrations of 1-25 μg/mL do not affect sperm viability. However, SWCNT-COOH generate significant reactive superoxide species at a higher concentration (25 μg/mL), while reduced graphene oxide does not initiate reactive species in human sperm. Further, we demonstrate that exposure to these nanomaterials does not hinder the sperm sorting process, and microfluidic sorting systems can select the sperm that show low oxidative stress post-exposure.
authors.affiliation: Demirci BAMM Labs, Department of Radiology, Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto 94304, CA.|Department of Computer Engineering &Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton 33432, FL.
authors.forename: Waseem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Asghar
authors.affiliation: Demirci BAMM Labs, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge 02139, MA.
authors.forename: Hadi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shafiee
authors.affiliation: Demirci BAMM Labs, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge 02139, MA.|Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Louisville, Louisville 40292, KY.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Velasco
authors.affiliation: Demirci BAMM Labs, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge 02139, MA.
authors.forename: Vasu R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Sah
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Riverside 92521, CA.
authors.forename: Shirui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Demirci BAMM Labs, Department of Radiology, Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto 94304, CA.
authors.forename: Rami
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: El Assal
authors.affiliation: Demirci BAMM Labs, Department of Radiology, Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto 94304, CA.
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Inci
authors.affiliation: Demirci BAMM Labs, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge 02139, MA.
authors.forename: Adhithi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rajagopalan
authors.affiliation: Demirci BAMM Labs, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge 02139, MA.
authors.forename: Muntasir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jahangir
authors.affiliation: Center for Infertility and Reproductive Surgery, Department of Obstetrics Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, MA.
authors.forename: Raymond M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Anchan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02115, MA.
authors.forename: George L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Mutter
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Riverside 92521, CA.
authors.forename: Mihrimah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Riverside 92521, CA.
authors.forename: Cengiz S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.affiliation: Demirci BAMM Labs, Department of Radiology, Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto 94304, CA.|Demirci BAMM Labs, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge 02139, MA.
authors.forename: Utkan
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Demirci
mesh_terms: D018070:Biological Specimen Banks; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D015925:Cryopreservation; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006108:Graphite / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000633:toxicity*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000819:agonists / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010087:Oxides; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D013481:Superoxides / Q000819:agonists* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon; D010087:Oxides; D013481:Superoxides; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D006108:Graphite