In vitro cardiotoxicity evaluation of graphene oxide

Author(s)

Arbo, Marcelo Dutra ^{[1, 2]} ; Altknecht, Louise F. ^[2] ; Cattani, Shanda ^[2] ; Braga, V, Wesley ; Peruzzi, Caroline P. ^{[1, 3]} ; Cestonaro, V, Larissa ; Goethel, Gabriela ^{[4, 5]} ; Duran, Nelson ^[6] ; Garcia, Solange Cristina ^{[4, 5]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Fac Farm, Programa Posgrad Ciencias Farmaceut, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Fac Farm, Dept Anal, Lab Toxicol, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[3] Braga, Wesley, V, Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Fac Farm, Dept Anal, Lab Toxicol, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[4] Cestonaro, Larissa, V, Braga, Wesley, V, Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Fac Farm, Dept Anal, Lab Toxicol, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[5] Cestonaro, Larissa, V, Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Fac Farm, Programa Posgrad Ciencias Farmaceut, Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[6] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Quim UNICAMP, Lab Nacl Nanotecnol LNNano, Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: MUTATION RESEARCH-GENETIC TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENESIS; v. 841, p. 8-13, MAY 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

Graphene is a two-dimensional (2D) monolayer of carbon atoms, tightly packed, forming a honey comb crystal lattice, with physical, chemical, and mechanical properties greatly used for energy storage, electrochemical devices, and in nanomedicine. Many studies showed that nanomaterials have side-effects on health. At present, there is a lack of information regarding graphene and its derivatives including their cardiotoxic properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the toxicity of nano-graphene oxide (nano-GO) in the rat cardiomyoblast cell line H9c2 and the involvement of oxidative processes. The cell viability was evaluated with the fluorescein diacetate (FDA)/propidium iodide (PI) and in the trypan blue exclusion assay, furthermore mitochondrial membrane potential and production of free radicals were measured. Genotoxicity was evaluated in comet assay and low molecular weight DNA experiment. Reduction of cell viability with 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 mu g/mL nano-GO was observed after 24 h incubation. Besides, nano-GO induced a mitochondrial hyperpolarization and a significant increase of free radicals production in the same concentrations. DNA breaks were observed at 40, 60, 80, and 100 mu g/mL. This DNA damage was accompanied by a significant increase in LMW DNA only at 40 mu g/mL. In conclusion, the nano-GO caused cardiotoxicity in our in vitro model, with mitochondrial disturbances, generation of reactive species and interactions with DNA, indicating the importance of the further evaluation of the safety of nanomaterials. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/50928-2 - INCT 2014: Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology: a transdisciplinary approach
• Grantee: Maria Vitória Lopes Badra Bentley
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants