Cell response to carbon nanotubes: Size-dependent intracellular uptake mechanism and subcellular fate

Abstract

The intracellular uptake and subcellular localization of carbon nanotubes strongly depend on the physical size of the materials. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs; 0.5-2 μm in length, 10-30 nm in diameter) are excluded from the interior of the cell; long single-walled carbon nanotubes (L-SWNTs) of length 100-200 nm (1-3 nm in diameter) are only internalized into cytoplasm, whereas short ones (S-SWNTs) of length 50-100 nm partly reside in the cell nucleus. © 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.