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Localization and Relative Quantification of Carbon Nanotubes in Cells with Multispectral Imaging Flow Cytometry
Published on: December 12, 2013
Intercellular carbon nanotube translocation assessed by flow cytometry imaging
Iris Marangon1, Nicole Boggetto, Cécilia Ménard-Moyon
1CNRS/Université Paris Diderot, PRES Sorbonne-Paris Cité, Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes (MSC), UMR7057, 75205 Paris cedex 13, France.
Nano Letters
|August 30, 2012
Summary
Carbon nanotubes can move between cells via microvesicles, a novel finding in nanotoxicology. This intercellular translocation highlights potential risks of nanomaterial dissemination within organisms.
Area of Science:
- Nanotoxicology
- Cell Biology
- Materials Science
Background:
- The distribution and fate of carbon nanotubes within biological systems remain poorly understood.
- Previous studies have not definitively shown how carbon nanotubes move between cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for localizing and quantifying functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes in cells.
- To investigate the potential for intercellular transfer of carbon nanotubes.
Main Methods:
- A statistical, high-throughput imaging approach was employed.
- Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes were tracked within cellular environments.
Main Results:
- The study provides the first experimental evidence of carbon nanotube intercellular translocation.
- This transfer was observed to be stress-induced and longitudinal.
- Cell-released microvesicles were identified as mediators of this transfer.
Conclusions:
- Carbon nanotubes can be transferred between cells through microvesicle-mediated communication.
- This intercellular translocation mechanism has significant implications for nanotoxicology and understanding nanomaterial biodistribution.
- The findings suggest that circulating extracellular vesicles could disseminate carbon nanotubes throughout an organism.
