In vitro and in vivo genotoxicity tests on fullerene C60 nanoparticles

There are several conflicting reports on the genotoxicity of fullerene C-60 in the literature. To determine the genotoxic potential of C-60 nanoparticles, we prepared stable nano-sized C-60 suspensions using 0 1% carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC-Na) or 0 1% Tween 80 aqueous solution We conducted a bacterial reverse mutation test with Ames Salmonella typhimurium TA98, TA100, TA1535. and TA1537 strains and Escherichia coli strain and a chromosomal aberration test with cultured Chinese hamster CHL/IU cells in the presence and absence of metabolic activation under dark conditions and visible light irradiation using a stable C-60 nanoparticle suspension with CMC-Na. In addition. we performed a bone marrow micronucleus test using a stable C-60 nanoparticle suspension with Tween 80 on ICR mice. C-60 nanoparticle did not show a positive mutagenic response up to the maximum dose of 1000 mu g/plate with any tester strain in the bacterial reverse mutation test regardless of metabolic activation and irradiation, although a slight but not significant increase in the number of revertants was observed in TA100 and WP2 uvrA/pKM101 No increase in the incidence of chromosomal aberrations was observed at any C-60 nanoparticle dose regardless of metabolic activation and irradiation in the chromosomal aberration test up to the maximum doses of 100 and 200 mu g/mL In addition, the micronucleus test showed that the in vivo clastogenic ability of the C-60 nanoparticles was negative up to the maximum dose of 88 mg/kg x 2. Therefore, we concluded that the stable and well-characterized C-60 nanoparticles did not have genotoxic ability in the bacterial reverse mutation assay, in vitro chromosome aberration assay, nor in vivo micronucleus assay (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved