Assessing the pulmonary oxidative stress and histopathological changes in Swiss albino mice following exposure to MWCNT-NPs

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have wide range of usage in industrial applications due to their exceptional characteristics. There have been some concerns regarding their possible negative health impacts, especially in working environment. Present study highlights the effects of dose, exposure duration, and particle size of multi-walled carbon nanotube nanoparticles (MWCNT-NPs) on the histopathology and pulmonary oxidative stress in Swiss albino mice. Experiments were carried out using twenty mice, which were divided into six groups. Two groups were exposed to MWCNT-NPs through oral gavage for seven days at doses of 0.45 μg and 0.90 μg, respectively. A third group served as the control and received only distilled water for the same seven-day period. Other two groups were treated with MWCNT-NPs for fourteen days at the same dosages of 0.45 μg and 0.90 μg. The final group served as the fourteen-day control and received distilled water only. Glutathione (GSH) and glutathione disulfide (GSSG), the two main oxidative stress indicators were evaluated in the study. Comparing the experimental group to the control group, the results showed a substantial decline in GSH levels and an increase in GSSG concentrations at the same time. The histopathology indicated that MWCNT-NPs had a major effect on lung health, including the possibility of Acute Lung Injury (ALI), disruption of respiratory function, pulmonary edema, and enhanced permeability. The redox potential was estimated using the Nernst equation to understand the redox status. The negative value of results indicated an oxidative imbalance. These findings showed that MWCNT-NPs induced pulmonary oxidative stress in response to short term exposure, as indicated by alterations in the levels of GSH and GSSG and the negative redox potential. The study emphasizes the importance of assessing oxidative stress in evaluations of nanomaterial toxicity and provides crucial insights into the respiratory effects of exposure to multi-walled carbon nanotube nanoparticles.