Carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotubes induce an inflammatory response in human primary monocytes through oxidative stress and NF-κB activation

A mechanistic understanding of interactions between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and living systems has become imperative owing to the growing nanomedicine applications and the mounting societal concerns on nanosafety. The addition of different chemical groups leads to a significant change in the properties of CNTs, and the resulting functionalized CNTs are generating great interest in many biological applications, such as biosensors and transporters. This study aimed to assess the toxicity exhibited by carboxylic acid functionalized single-walled CNTs (SWCNTs) (with a diameter of 1–2 nm and mean length of 500 nm) and to elucidate possible molecular mechanisms underlying the biological effects of carboxylated SWCNTs in human primary monocytes. The results demonstrated that carboxylated SWCNTs were cytotoxic, triggering apoptosis and G₂/M phase arrest in human primary monocytes. Flow cytometric and confocal microscopic analysis indicated that internalized carboxylated SWCNTs were mainly accumulated in the cytoplasm. Exposure of human primary monocytes to carboxylated SWCNTs led to interleukin-8 (IL-8) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation in human primary monocytes. Pretreatment of human primary monocytes with antioxidants or NF-κB-specific inhibitor before exposure to carboxylated SWCNTs significantly abolished carboxylated SWCNTs-induced IL-8 and IL-6 expression. These results provide novel insights into the carboxylated SWCNTs-mediated chemokine induction and inflammatory responses in vitro.