An insight into the toxicological impacts of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on human health: A review

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have gained significant attention due to their unique mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. These exciting properties of CNTs make them productive in various applications, from electronics to optics to therapeutics. However, concerns about the potential toxicity of carbon nanotubes have also been raised, prompting extensive research to understand their effects on human health and the environment. Several studies have investigated the toxicity of carbon nanotubes, and the results vary depending on factors such as size, shape, surface chemistry, and the route of exposure. This review highlights the toxicological aspects of CNTs with a special focus on the major consequences of CNT toxicity. The study unfolds the prospects on how the toxicity of CNTs causes adverse effects on the central nervous system, kidney, spleen, eye, cardiac, etc., and thus can influence numerous applications covering from clinical to environmental. Moreover, the report offers an imperative deliberation over the curing or remedies of CNT toxicity, which can provide collective insights for the researchers. Thus, this review report provides the developments, implications, and different approaches to CNT toxicity so that the readers can clearly understand the wide-ranging forecasts of CNT toxicity.

Keywords

• CNT
• In vivo toxicity
• In vitro toxicity
• Inflammation
• Cardiovascular disease