Viability studies of pure carbon- and nitrogen-doped nanotubes with Entamoeba histolytica: From amoebicidal to biocompatible structures

Human epidermal keratinocytes (HaCaT) were exposed to single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) to find out the viability of pure carbon and nitrogen doped nanotubes on Entamoeba histolytica. Two different kinds of MWCNT were synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) with organic solvents as the carbon source and ferrocene (FeCp₂) as the catalyst. A solution was made with these two components and placed inside a reservoir and the solution was atomized by an ultrasonic generator, while the generated aerosol was introduced into a quartz tube, which also served as a substrate for growing nanotubes at 800° or 850°C by using a tubular furnace. TEM of thin cross section through a typical ameba from a control experiment showed the presence of vacuoles of different sizes inside the cytoplasm. The results show that trophozoites strongly interact with different types of carbon nanotube, although the uptake process could not be monitored at the time of the ingestion.