Carbon Nanofibers versus Silver Nanoparticles: Time-Dependent Cytotoxicity, Proliferation, and Gene Expression

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are one-dimensional nanomaterials with excellent physical and broad-spectrum antimicrobial properties characterized by a low risk of antimicrobial resistance. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are antimicrobial metallic nanomaterials already used in a broad range of industrial applications. In the present study these two nanomaterials were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential, and dynamic light scattering, and their biological properties were compared in terms of cytotoxicity, proliferation, and gene expression in human keratinocyte HaCaT cells. The results showed that both AgNPs and CNFs present similar time-dependent cytotoxicity (EC 50 of 608.1 µg/mL for CNFs and 581.9 µg/mL for AgNPs at 24 h) and similar proliferative HaCaT cell activity. However, both nanomaterials showed very different results in the expression of thirteen genes (superoxide dismutase 1 ( SOD1 ), catalase ( CAT) , matrix metallopeptidase 1 ( MMP1) , transforming growth factor beta 1 ( TGFB1) , glutathione peroxidase 1 ( GPX1 ), fibronectin 1 ( FN1 ), hyaluronan synthase 2 ( HAS2 ), laminin subunit beta 1 ( LAMB1 ), lumican ( LUM ), cadherin 1 CDH1, collagen type IV alpha ( COL4A1 ), fibrillin ( FBN ), and versican ( VCAN )) treated with the lowest non-cytotoxic concentrations in the HaCaT cells after 24 h. The AgNPs were capable of up-reg

Evidence level

Evidence from laboratory and animal studies provides groundwork for understanding mechanisms and potential before human studies continue.

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