Single-walled carbon nanotubes induce cytotoxicity and DNA damage via reactive oxygen species in human hepatocarcinoma cells

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are gradually used in various areas including drug delivery, nanomedicine, biosensors, and electronics. The current study aimed to explore the DNA damage and cytotoxicity due to single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) on human hepatocarcinoma cells (HepG2). Cellular proliferative assay showed the SWCNTs to exhibit a significant cell death in a dose- and time-dependent manner. However, SWCNTs induced significant intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and elevated lipid peroxidation, catalase, and superoxide dismutase in the HepG2 cells. SWCNTs also induced significant decrease in GSH and increase caspase-3 activity in HepG2 cells. DNA fragmentation analysis using the alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis showed that the SWCNTs cause genotoxicity in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Therefore, the study points towards the capability of the SWCNTs to induce oxidative stress resulting cytotoxicity and genomic instability. This study warrants more careful assessment of SWCNTs before their industrial applications.