Biological Responses of Onion-Shaped Carbon Nanoparticles

Nanodiamonds are emerging as new nanoscale materials because of their chemical stability, excellent crystallinity, and unique optical properties. In this study, the structure of nanodiamonds was engineered to produce carbon nano-onion particles (CNOs) with multiple layers. Following a series of physicochemical characterizations of the CNOs, various evaluations for biological responses were conducted for potential biotechnological applications of the CNOs. The possibility of biological applications was first confirmed by assessment of toxicity to animal cells, evaluation of hemolysis reactions, and evaluation of reactive oxygen species. In addition, human immune cells were evaluated for any possible induction of an immune response by CNOs. Finally, the toxicity of CNOs to Escherichia coli present in the human colon was evaluated. CNOs have the chemical and physical properties to be a unique variety of carbon nanomaterials, and their toxicity to animal and human cells is sufficiently low that their biotechnological applications in the future are expected.