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Visani de Luna LA, Loret T, He Y, Legnani M, Lin H, Galibert AM, Fordham A, Holme S, Del Rio Castillo AE, Bonaccorso F, Bianco A, Flahaut E, Kostarelos K, Bussy C. Pulmonary Toxicity of Boron Nitride Nanomaterials Is Aspect Ratio Dependent. ACS Nano 2023; 17:24919-24935. [PMID: 38051272 PMCID: PMC10753895 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c06599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 11/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Boron nitride (BN) nanomaterials have drawn a lot of interest in the material science community. However, extensive research is still needed to thoroughly analyze their safety profiles. Herein, we investigated the pulmonary impact and clearance of two-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets and boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) in mice. Animals were exposed by single oropharyngeal aspiration to h-BN or BNNTs. On days 1, 7, and 28, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids and lungs were collected. On one hand, adverse effects on lungs were evaluated using various approaches (e.g., immune response, histopathology, tissue remodeling, and genotoxicity). On the other hand, material deposition and clearance from the lungs were assessed. Two-dimensional h-BN did not cause any significant immune response or lung damage, although the presence of materials was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. In addition, the low aspect ratio h-BN nanosheets were internalized rapidly by phagocytic cells present in alveoli, resulting in efficient clearance from the lungs. In contrast, high aspect ratio BNNTs caused a strong and long-lasting inflammatory response, characterized by sustained inflammation up to 28 days after exposure and the activation of both innate and adaptive immunity. Moreover, the presence of granulomatous structures and an indication of ongoing fibrosis as well as DNA damage in the lung parenchyma were evidenced with these materials. Concurrently, BNNTs were identified in lung sections for up to 28 days, suggesting long-term biopersistence, as previously demonstrated for other high aspect ratio nanomaterials with poor lung clearance such as multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Overall, we reveal the safer toxicological profile of BN-based two-dimensional nanosheets in comparison to their nanotube counterparts. We also report strong similarities between BNNTs and MWCNTs in lung response, emphasizing their high aspect ratio as a major driver of their toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Augusto Visani de Luna
- Nanomedicine
Lab, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science
Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
- National
Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, U.K.
- Lydia
Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, Faculty of Biology,
Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester,
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
| | - Thomas Loret
- Nanomedicine
Lab, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science
Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
- National
Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, U.K.
- Lydia
Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, Faculty of Biology,
Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester,
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
| | - Yilin He
- CNRS,
Immunology, Immunopathology and Therapeutic Chemistry, UPR 3572, University
of Strasbourg, ISIS, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Morgan Legnani
- CIRIMAT,
Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, Toulouse INP, CNRS, Université
de Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Hazel Lin
- CNRS,
Immunology, Immunopathology and Therapeutic Chemistry, UPR 3572, University
of Strasbourg, ISIS, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Anne Marie Galibert
- CIRIMAT,
Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, Toulouse INP, CNRS, Université
de Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Alexander Fordham
- Nanomedicine
Lab, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science
Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
- National
Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, U.K.
- Lydia
Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, Faculty of Biology,
Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester,
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
| | - Sonja Holme
- Nanomedicine
Lab, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science
Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
- National
Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, U.K.
- Lydia
Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, Faculty of Biology,
Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester,
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
| | | | - Francesco Bonaccorso
- BeDimensional
S.p.A., Lungo Torrente
Secca 30r, 16163 Genoa, Italy
- Istituto
Italiano di Tecnologia, Graphene Laboratories, Via Morego 30, 16163 Genoa, Italy
| | - Alberto Bianco
- CNRS,
Immunology, Immunopathology and Therapeutic Chemistry, UPR 3572, University
of Strasbourg, ISIS, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - Emmanuel Flahaut
- CIRIMAT,
Université Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, Toulouse INP, CNRS, Université
de Toulouse, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France
| | - Kostas Kostarelos
- Nanomedicine
Lab, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science
Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
- National
Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, U.K.
- Catalan
Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), CSIC and BIST,, Campus UAB, Bellaterra, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Cyrill Bussy
- Nanomedicine
Lab, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science
Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
- National
Graphene Institute, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, U.K.
- Lydia
Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, Faculty of Biology,
Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester,
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K.
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