Preparation of boron nitride nanotubes aqueous dispersions for biological applications

While in the last years applications of carbon nanotubes in the field of biotechnology have been largely proposed, biomedical applications of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) are yet totally unexplored. BNNTs have very interesting physical properties that should be exploited in the biomedical field. At this date, studies on their biocompatibility are completely missing and the first issue behind this investigation is the dispersion of BNNTs in aqueous solutions. In this paper the authors propose, for the first time, a technique for obtaining BNNT stable dispersions suitable for biological applications, based on polyethyleneimine (PEI) water solutions. Based on authors' knowledge, in vitro testing performed on human neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y) is the first study of interaction between BNNTs and living material. Experimental results showed a satisfactory cell viability up to a concentration of 5.0 microg/ml PEI-BNNTs in the cell culture medium.