Issue 24, 2023

Preclinical evaluation of modified carbon nanohorns and their complexation with insulin

Abstract

The current study emphasizes the minimal toxicity observed in vitro and in vivo for carbon nanohorns (CNHs) modified with third generation polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers. Initially, we investigated the interactions between CNH–PAMAM and lipid bilayers, which were utilized as representative models of cellular membranes for the evaluation of their toxicity in vitro. We found that the majority of those interactions occur between the modified CNHs and the polar groups of phospholipids, meaning that CNH–PAMAM does not incorporate into the lipid chains, and thus, disruption of the lipid bilayer structure is avoided. This outcome is a very important observation for further evaluation of CNH–PAPAM in cell lines and in animal models. Next, we demonstrated the potential of CNH–PAMAM for complexation with insulin, as a proof of concept for its employment as a delivery platform. Importantly, our study provides comprehensive evidence of low toxicity for CNH–PAMAM both in vitro and in vivo. The assessment of cellular toxicity revealed that the modified CNHs exhibited minimal toxicity, with concentrations of 151 μg mL−1 and 349 μg mL−1, showing negligible harm to EO771 cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), respectively. Moreover, the histological analysis of the mouse livers demonstrated no evidence of tissue necrosis and inflammation, or any visible signs of severe toxicity. These findings collectively indicate the safe profile of CNH–PAMAM and further contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the safe and efficient utilization of CNH-based nanomaterials in drug and protein delivery applications.

Graphical abstract: Preclinical evaluation of modified carbon nanohorns and their complexation with insulin

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 Jun 2023
Accepted
23 Oct 2023
First published
24 Oct 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nanoscale Adv., 2023,5, 6847-6857

Preclinical evaluation of modified carbon nanohorns and their complexation with insulin

C. Stangel, A. Kagkoura, N. Pippa, D. Stellas, M. Zhang, T. Okazaki, C. Demetzos and N. Tagmatarchis, Nanoscale Adv., 2023, 5, 6847 DOI: 10.1039/D3NA00471F

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