In Vitro and In Vivo Toxicity of Black Phosphorus Nanosheets

As a new kind of two-dimensional nanomaterial, black phosphorus (BP) nanosheets have attracted significant interests in diverse bioapplications due to their unique structure and physicochemical properties. Despite BP nanosheets' advantages in cancer diagnosis and therapy applications, their biosafety issues are still unclear. Herein, we report a systematic study on the In Vitro and In Vivo toxicity of BP nanosheets. In Vitro experiments showed that BP nanosheets decrease the viability of human bronchial epithelial cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The mechanism study showed that BP nanosheets interfere with mitochondrial membrane potential, leading to an increase in intracellular ROS. These responses further initiated the activation of the caspase-3 and ultimately dictated cells to undergo apoptosis. Then, the In Vivo experiments of BP nanosheets revealed that single injection of BP nanosheets does not cause toxicity to mice in a short period of time, whereas multiple injections of BP nanosheets exert adverse effects on liver and renal function of mice. Interestingly, the liver and renal function of the mice returned to normal after a recovery period. Our findings provide insights into the rational design of BP nanosheets and guide their applications in biomedical fields.