Surface area as a dose metric for carbon black nanoparticles: A study of oxidative stress, DNA single-strand breakage and inflammation in rats

Combustion-derived nanoparticles are characterised by a high surface area (SA) per mass. SA is proposed to regulate the bioreactivity of nanoparticles; however, the dose metric for carbon black remains controversial. To determine the relationships between bioreactivity and SA, male spontaneously hypertensive rats were exposed to carbon black (CB) nanoparticles (15, 51 and 95 nm) via intratracheal instillation for 24 h. Pulmonary exposure to CB resulted in a significant increase in systemic 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), DNA single-strand breakages in peripheral blood cells and pulmonary cell infiltration in rats. The oxidative potential and particularly the corresponding SA of CB were correlated with the level of 8-OHdG, DNA single-strand breakages and pulmonary cell infiltration in rats. We conclude that SA is an important dose metric for CB that can regulate oxidative stress and DNA damage in rats. Furthermore, this observation was more significant for smaller sized CB.