Redox active Double Wall Carbon Nanotubes show intrinsic anti-proliferative effects and modulate autophagy in cancer cells

Silvana Fiorito (1, 2) , Emmanuel Flahaut (3) , Stefania Rapino (4) , Francesco Paolucci (4) , Federica Andreola (2) , Noemi Moroni (2) , Eugenia Pittaluga (2) , Manuela Zonfrillo (2) , Giovanni Valenti (4) , Arianna Mastrofrancesco (5) , Flavia Groppi (6) , Enrico Sabbioni (7) , Evangelos Bakalis (4) , Francesco Zerbetto (4) , Annalucia Serafino (2)

1 UNIROMA - Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" = Sapienza University [Rome]
2 CNR - National Research Council of Italy | Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
3 CIRIMAT - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche et d'ingenierie des matériaux
4 UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna
5 Clinical and Behavioral Neurology - Neuroscienze e riabilitazione, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia [Roma]
6 UNIMI - Università degli Studi di Milano = University of Milan
7 Fondazione Università Gabriele d’Annunzio (ITALY)

In Double-Walled-Carbon-Nanotubes (DWCNTs) the outer shell screens the inner one from the external environment. As a consequence, the electronic properties of the smaller tube are enhanced and DWCNTs have therefore been advocated for a number of uses. In their raw form theymay contain small metallic clusters, left over from the catalytic process, that can give them a redox activity characterized by redox potentials in the range of one hundred millivolts and able to affect biological systems. Indeed, we find that redox active raw-DWCNTs inhibit rat colorectal cancer cell proliferation by blocking cells in the G2 phase through ROS generation by tumor cells. We show that raw-DWCNTs could also modulate autophagy in tumor cells through induction of intracellular acidification. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that DWCNTs have been found to inhibit proliferation and modulate autophagy in cancer cells. Our work further supports previous studies that provided promising results on the possibility of future applications of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) in nanomedicine.

Mots clés: Double Wall carbon nanotubes; Cancer cells

Domaines: Matériaux

Silvana Fiorito, Emmanuel Flahaut, Stefania Rapino, Francesco Paolucci, Federica Andreola, et al.. Redox active Double Wall Carbon Nanotubes show intrinsic anti-proliferative effects and modulate autophagy in cancer cells. Carbon, 2014, vol. 78, pp. 589-600. ⟨10.1016/j.carbon.2014.07.046⟩. ⟨hal-01465877⟩