Open AccessDetection of Endotoxin Contamination of Graphene Based Materials Using the TNF-α Expression Test and Guidelines for Endotoxin-Free Graphene Oxide Production
Author(s) -
Sourav P. Mukherjee,
Neus Lozano,
Mélanie Kucki,
Antonio Esaú Del Rio Castillo,
Leon Newman,
Éster Vázquez,
Kostas Kostarelos,
Peter Wick,
Bengt Fadeel
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0166816
Subject(s) - graphene , limulus amebocyte lysate , lipopolysaccharide , polymyxin , polymyxin b , tumor necrosis factor alpha , limulus , monocyte , contamination , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , materials science , nanotechnology , medicine , biology , antibiotics , paleontology , ecology
Nanomaterials may be contaminated with bacterial endotoxin during production and handling, which may confound toxicological testing of these materials, not least when assessing for immunotoxicity. In the present study, we evaluated the conventional Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay for endotoxin detection in graphene based material (GBM) samples, including graphene oxide (GO) and few-layered graphene (FLG). Our results showed that some GO samples interfered with various formats of the LAL assay. To overcome this problem, we developed a TNF-α expression test (TET) using primary human monocyte-derived macrophages incubated in the presence or absence of the endotoxin inhibitor, polymyxin B sulfate, and found that this assay, performed with non-cytotoxic doses of the GBM samples, enabled unequivocal detection of endotoxin with a sensitivity that is comparable to the LAL assay. FLG also triggered TNF-α production in the presence of the LPS inhibitor, pointing to an intrinsic pro-inflammatory effect. Finally, we present guidelines for the preparation of endotoxin-free GO, validated by using the TET.