Biosafety assessment of Gd@C82(OH)22nanoparticles on Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Gd@C₈₂(OH)₂₂, a water-soluble endohedral metallofullerene derivative, has been proven to possess significant antineoplastic activity in mice. Toxicity studies of the nanoparticle have shown some evidence of low or non toxicity in mice and cell models. Here we employed Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) as a model organism to further evaluate the short- and long-term toxicity of Gd@C₈₂(OH)₂₂ and possible behavior changes under normal and stress culture conditions. With treatment of Gd@C₈₂(OH)₂₂ at 0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 10 μg ml⁻¹ within one generation (short-term), C. elegans showed no significant decrease in longevity or thermotolerance compared to the controls. Furthermore, when Gd@C₈₂(OH)₂₂ treatment was extended up to six generations (long-term), non-toxic effects to the nematodes were found. In addition, data from body length measurement, feeding rate and egg-laying assays with short-term treatment demonstrated that the nanoparticles have no significant impact on the individual growth, feeding behavior and reproductive ability, respectively. In summary, this work has shown that Gd@C₈₂(OH)₂₂ is tolerated well by worms and it has no apparent toxic effects on longevity, stress resistance, growth and behaviors that were observed in both adult and young worms. Our work lays the foundations for further developments of this anti-neoplastic agent for clinical applications.