Open Access Nano Review

Exploring the Immunotoxicity of Carbon Nanotubes

Yanmei Yu1, Qiu Zhang1, Qingxin Mu1,2, Bin Zhang1 and Bing Yan1,2*

Author Affiliations

1 School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China

2 Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 332 North Lauderdale Street, Memphis, TN, 38105, USA

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Nanoscale Research Letters 2008, 3:271-277 doi:10.1007/s11671-008-9153-1

Published: 20 August 2008

Abstract

Mass production of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their applications in nanomedicine lead to the increased exposure risk of nanomaterials to human beings. Although reports on toxicity of nanomaterials are rapidly growing, there is still a lack of knowledge on the potential toxicity of such materials to immune systems. This article reviews some existing studies assessing carbon nanotubes’ toxicity to immune system and provides the potential mechanistic explanation.

Keywords:
Nanotube; Nanoparticle; Nanomaterial; Immunity; Cytokine; Macrophage; Animal study; Cell culture; Nano-combinatorial chemistry; Nanotoxicity