Carbon nanotubes and central nervous system: environmental risks, toxicological aspects and future perspectives

Publication date: Available online 22 November 2018Source: Environmental Toxicology and PharmacologyAuthor(s): Alessio Facciolà, Giuseppa Visalli, Sebastiano La Maestra, Manuela Ceccarelli, Francesco D’Aleo, Giuseppe Nunnari, Giovanni Francesco Pellicanò, Angela Di PietroAbstractDue to their morphological and physicochemical properties, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) enhance the structural properties of several materials and are produced in great volumes. The production and the manufacturing of CNTs-incorporated products can lead to the potential environmental release of CNTs. For these reasons, CNTs can represent a serious concern for human health. Humans are exposed to nanoparticles through inhalation, ingestion and skin uptake. After their entrance, the particles can reach the Central Nervous System (CNS) through three different pathways: the systemic, olfactory and trigeminal pathways. In the first, through systemic blood circulation, nanoparticles cross both the blood-brain and blood-spinal cord barriers, which are highly selective semipermeable barriers that protect the CNS compartments. The second is the step from the nose to brain route and occurs along axons and via nerve bundles that cross the cribriform plate to the olfactory bulb. In the third, the compounds diffuse through the nasal cavity mucosa to reach the branches of the trigeminal nerve in the olfactory and respiratory regions, and they reach brain stem via axonal transport. After their entrance, CNTs reach the...
Source: Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research