Toxicity of multi-wall carbon nanotubes inhalation on the brain of rats

摘要

This study was designed to investigate the brain toxicity following the respiratory contact with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in male Wistar rats. Rats were exposed to 5?mg/m3 MWCNT aerosol in different sizes and purities for 5?h/day, 5?days/week for 2?weeks in a whole-body exposure chamber. After 2-week exposure, mitochondrial isolation was performed from different parts of rat brain (hippocampus, frontal cortex, and cerebellum) and parameters of mitochondrial toxicity including mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) collapse, mitochondrial swelling, and cytochrome c release, ATP level, mitochondrial GSH, and lipid peroxidation were evaluated. Our results demonstrated that MWCNTs with different characteristics, in size and purity, significantly (P?