Ill effect of Carbon Nanoparticles

A study by researchers from the schools of science and medicine at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis examines the effects of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) on living cells. This work is among the first to study concentrations of these tiny particles that are low enough to mimic the actual exposure of an ordinary individual.

 The effects on the human body of exposure to CNPs -- minute chemicals with rapidly growing applications in electronics, medicine, and many other fields -- is just beginning to be revealed. Exposure at the level studied by the IUPUI researchers is approximately equivalent to what might be the result of improperly disposing of an item such as a television or computer monitor containing CNPs, living near a CNP producing facility, or working with CNPs.

The research focuses on the effect of low concentration CNP exposure on the cells that line the renal nephron, a tubular structure inside the kidney that makes urine. The investigators found the role of the CNPs in this part of the body to be significant and potentially worrisome.

Unlike many other studies,  low concentrations of CNPs have been used that are typically appear in the body after ingesting them from environmental contamination or even from breathing air with CNPs. These minute particles cause leakage in the cellular lining of the renal nephron.

Breaching this biological barrier cause great concerns because things that should be retained in the forming urine can leak back into the blood stream and things in the blood can leak into the urine. Normal biological substances as well as waste products are dangerous if they go where they are not supposed to be.

These CNPs don't kill cells; so they are not lethal, but they do affect cells, and in this case it's an adverse effect. Biological barriers are very important to human health. The two researchers note that these incredibly strong particles, visible only under an electron microscope, perform useful functions including roles in drug delivery and are responsible for many advances in electronics such as the impressive colors seen on plasma televisions and computer monitors. What they worry about is when CNPs enter the air and the environment and eventually the human body from inappropriate disposal or from manufacture of products containing the particles.

This study is part of the team's larger body of work, which looks at the effect of CNPs on barriers throughout the body including those of the airways and large intestine.

CNPs have many beneficial qualities, but also pose potential risks. These particles are so small that when they get into various organs or systems they can bind to many things. A further study is required for what they look like in various parts of the body, how they affect protein expression, as well as what they do when they cross a barrier or are excreted.