Physicochemical Characterization and Pulmonary In Vitro Toxicity Screening of Different Categories of Two-Dimensional (2D) Nanomaterials

Details

• Personal Author:
  Fraser K ; Kodali VK ; Roach KA ; Roberts, Jennifer R. ; Stefaniak, Aleksandr B. ; Stueckle, Todd A. ; Xin X
• Description:
  Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials are a large class of engineered nanoparticles with a multitude of applications in electronics, biosensors, and more. Increased demand for these materials, including graphene, nanoclay, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), such as WS2 and MoS2, and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), has elevated the potential for occupational exposures during manufacturing, notably respiratory exposure. Although graphene has been well investigated, there are relatively few toxicity studies of this class of materials as a whole. Existing studies indicate these materials may have the propensity to induce inflammation and cytotoxicity; however, some results are contradictory and comparison across the entire highly variable class remains difficult. The goal of the current study was to conduct a comparative toxicity study of representative 2D materials for the different categories listed above using high throughput in vitro screening assays. The five materials were thoroughly characterized for size, density, surface area, hydrodynamic diameter, and more. A battery of toxicity assays was performed using human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and human THP-1 monocytes in doses ranging from 1-100 µg/ml. Cytotoxicity and cell proliferation were assessed using WST-1 and Alamar blue for each cell type. Significant reduction in cell viability was found to occur with graphene at doses ≥ 12.5 µg/ml. Nanoclay and hBN had significant changes at doses ≥ 25 µg/ml, while little to no changes were seen, even at the highest doses (100 µg/ml) for TMDs. Inflammasome activation was assessed in THP-1 cells. IL-1b was found to be significantly increased at an average of 3.6 (6.25 µg/ml) and 4.8 (25 µg/ml) times the control level following nanoclay exposure, and a significant 1.8-fold change occurred following hBN (6.25 µg/ml) exposure. A 4-fold change in Caspase-1 also resulted from exposure to 25 µg/ml nanoclay. In BEAS-2B cells, there was a trend for cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 following the 25 µg/ml exposure to nanoclay. These initial findings suggest that the TMD category is relatively less toxic than the other classes of 2D materials and nanoclay may be of greater toxicological concern overall. Future work will further screen these materials for genotoxicity, oxidative stress, and inflammatory effects, as well as conduct statistical analyses of the relationship of material properties to these outcomes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cytotoxins Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Cellular Effects Cytotoxicity In Vitro Studies Nanoclays Nanomaterials Nanoparticles Toxic Effects
• ISSN:
  1096-6080
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  HELD - Health Effects Laboratory Division ; RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  192
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20067235
• Citation:
  Toxicologist 2023 Mar; 192(S1):500-501
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  The Toxicologist. Society of Toxicology 62nd Annual Meeting & ToxExpo, March 19-23, 2023, Nashville, Tennessee
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2217dff74f732b2499a1d9cab449ab8c5b0694ce6f1b292324e1c2e71cef220cbf2a937b4c3a5a026627eaa3feb9513d922ff263c2b8665836abd9100a10e86e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231358/cdc_231358_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.11 MB ]