Scientists from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden, the University of Pittsburgh and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), both in the United States, have shown, for the first time, that carbon nanotubes can be broken down by an enzyme found in white blood cells, contradicting the widespread belief that carbon nanotubes are not broken down in the body or in nature. The enzyme, myeloperoxidase (MPO), converts carbon nanotubes into water and carbon dioxide - biologically harmless components. Research in recent years has shown that exposure to carbon nanotubes has led to severe inflammation, impaired lung function, and even cancer, in laboratory mice. This new research represents a breakthrough, according to the article, in nanotechnology and nanotoxicology, because it shows endogenous MPO can break down carbon nanotubes, and, furthermore, the broken down nanotubes no longer cause inflammation in mice. Bengt Fadeel, an associate professor at the Karolinska Institutet, says "[T]his means that there might be a way to render carbon nanotubes harmless, for example in the event of an accident at a production plant. But the findings are also relevant to the future use of carbon nanotubes for medical purposes." The scientists' discoveries have been published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. The article can be viewed online at the link below.
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