|
|
Article: Studies from University of Parma, Medical Department yield new data on experimental toxicology.
- Article from:
- Ecology, Environment & Conservation
- Article date:
- November 13, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 NewsRX. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
"Although carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are increasingly used, their biological effects are only incompletely characterized. However, experimental evidence suggests that the intratracheal instillation of CNTs causes the formation of interstitial granulomas and progressive pulmonary fibrosis in rodents," scientists in Parma, Italy report.
"Using human epithelial Calu-3 cells as a model of airway epithelium in vitro, we have recently reported that the exposure to commercial multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) causes a progressive decrease of the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER), pointing to a CNT-dependent impairment of the epithelial barrier function. To characterize ...