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Table 1 Toxicity of GFNs in organs

From: Toxicity of graphene-family nanoparticles: a general review of the origins and mechanisms

Graphene family nanomaterials

Physiochemial properties and functionalization

Animals

Dose and time incubation

Effects

Reference

Nanoscale graphene oxide (NGO)

No information

C57BL/6 mice

0, 1, 5, 10 mg/kg, intratracheal instillation

0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 1 week

Result in acute lung injury (ALI) and chronic pulmonary fibrosis

[30]

Few layer graphene (FLG)

No information

ICR mice

0.1, or 1 mg/mL, oral gavage or intratracheal instillation 3 or 28 days

Intratracheally instilled FLG resulted in acute lung injury and pulmonary edema, FLG didn’t show detectable absorption through the gastrointestinal tract by oral gavage.

[61]

Graphene platelets (GPs)

No information

Mice

inhalation exposure, 1 day-6 weeks

GP caused acute inflammation in lung at 1 day, and alleviated inflammation in lung after 6 weeks

[48]

Graphene nanoplatelets (GPs)

Thickness of 10 nm

Size of 5–30 μm

Female C57BL/6 strain mice

50 μg per mouse, pharyngeal aspiration or intrapleural installation, 24 h- 7 days

Large GP were inflammogenic in both the lung and the pleural space

[24]

GO

Thickness of 0.93 nm

Size of 150–250 nm

Sprague-Dawley rats

0.5 or 4 mg/m3, inhalation exposure, single 6 h

The single inhalation exposure to GO induce minimal toxic responses in rat lungs

[235]

GO

Thickness of 0.9 nm

size of l-GO: 1–5 μm

size of s-GO:100–500 nm

Male ICR mice

1.0 mg/kg, intravenous injected, 24 h

Accumulated mainly in the liver and lungs

[78]

GO

Thickness of < 4 nm

size of l-GO:237.9 ± 79.3 nm; size of s-GO: 54.9 ± 23.1 nm

Male and female ICR-strain mice

24 mg/kg, tail vein injected, 5 days

Didn’t effect pup numbers, sex ratio, weights, pup survival rates or pup growth, low toxicity for male reproduction

[66]

GO

Thickness of ~1.0 nm

sizes of 10–800 nm

Kun Ming mice

1,10 mg/ kg, intravenous injection 14 days

Led to high accumulation, long-time retention, pulmonary edema and granuloma formation

[49]

NGO-PEG

Thickness of 1 nm

size of 10–800 nm

Male Kunming mice

5 mg/kg, tail intravenous injection

10 min-24 h

NGO-PEG alleviated acute tissue injuries, decreased the early weight loss

[81]

GO

GO-PEG

RGO-PEG

nRGO-PEG

Thickness of 0.94,1.22, 4.43 and 5.66 nm,

size of 450, 25, 50 and 27 nm

Balb/c mice

4 mg/kg, intraperitoneal injection

1, 7 and 30 days

Accumulated in the reticuloendothelial (RES) system including liver and spleen over a long time

[31]

GO

Graphene quantum dots

(GQD)

Thickness of GO, GQD: 0.5–1 nm

sizes of GO, GQD: 3–5 nm

Balb/c mice

20 mg/kg intravenous injection or intraperitoneal injection 14 days

GO appeared toxic and caused death

GQD revealed no accumulation in organs and caused low cytotoxicity

[176]

Purified graphene oxide (pGO)

Thickness of 1–2 nm,

lateral dimension of 100–500 nm

Female C57Bl/6 mice

50 μg/animal, intraperitoneal injection

24 h, 7 days,

Induced moderate inflammation and granuloma formation following

[99]

GO

Thickness of 3.9 and 4.05 nm,

size of 350 nm and 2 μm

C57BL/6 male mice

Series concentrations, subcutaneous injection21 days

The micro-size of GO induced much stronger inflammation responses than the nanosized GO

[34]

GO

Size of 1110 to 16 200 nm

C57BL/6 J mice

2 or 20 mg/kg, subcutaneous and intraperitoneal injection

Both GO and a reduction of GO result in immune cell infiltration, uptake, and clearance.

[84]

RGO-iron oxide nanoparticles (rGO-IONP)

Thickness of ˂10 nm

Size of 15.0 ± 2.0 nm

Female Balb/c mice

400 μg, subcutaneous injection,

RGO–IONP can effectively inactivate multiple-drug-resistant bacteria in subcutaneous abscesses

[236]

GO

GO-PEG

Thickness of 0.94, 1.22, 4.43 and 5.66 nm,

size of 450, 25, 50 and 27 nm

Female balb/c mice

100 mg/kg, Oral administration; 50 mg/kg, intraperitoneal injection, 1, 7 and 30 days

No obvious tissue uptake via oral administration, indicating the rather limited intestinal adsorption of those nanomaterials

[237]

RGO

sizes of small rGO: 87.97 ± 30.83,

sizes of large rGO:472.08 ± 249.17 nm

Male C57black/6 mice

60 mg/kg, oral gavage, 5 days

RGO affected general locomotor activity, balance, and neuromuscular coordination, but showed little change in exploratory, anxiety-like, or learning and memory behaviors.

[31]