Pilot in vivo toxicological investigation of boron nitride nanotubes

Gianni Ciofani¹, Serena Danti², Giada Graziana Genchi^1,3, Delfo D'Alessandro², Jean-Luc Pellequer⁴, Michaël Odorico⁴, Virgilio Mattoli¹, Mario Giorgi^5
1Italian Institute of Technology, Center of MicroBioRobotics c\o Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, ²Department of Neuroscience, University of Pisa, ³The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy; ⁴Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Institut de Biologie Environnementale et Biotechnologie, Department of Biochemistry and Nuclear Toxicology, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France; ⁵Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Veterinary Clinics Department, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

Abstract: Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have attracted huge attention in many different research fields thanks to their outstanding chemical and physical properties. During recent years, our group has pioneered the use of BNNTs for biomedical applications, first of all assessing their in vitro cytocompatibility on many different cell lines. At this point, in vivo investigations are necessary before proceeding toward realistic developments of the proposed applications. In this communication, we report a pilot toxicological study of BNNTs in rabbits. Animals were injected with a 1 mg/kg BNNT solution and blood tests were performed up to 72 hours after injection. The analyses aimed at evaluating any acute alteration of hematic parameters that could represent evidence of functional impairment in blood, liver, and kidneys. Even if preliminary, the data are highly promising, as they showed no adverse effects on all the evaluated parameters, and therefore suggest the possibility of the realistic application of BNNTs in the biomedical field.

Keywords: boron nitride nanotubes, in vivo testing, toxicology