PILOT IN VIVO TOXICOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF BORON NITRIDE NANOTUBES

Boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) have attracted a huge attention in many different research fields thanks to their outstanding chemical and physical properties. During the latest 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 towards realistic developments of the proposed applications. In this communication, we report about a pilot toxicological study about BNNTs in rabbits. Animals were injected with a 1 mg/kg BNNT solution and blood tests were performed up to 72 h after injection. The analyses aimed at evaluating any acute alteration of haematic 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 realistic applications of BNNTs in the biomedical field