PVP formulated fullerene (C60) increases Rho-kinase dependent vascular tissue contractility in pregnant Sprague Dawley rats.

Pregnancy is a unique physiological state, in which C60 fullerene is reported to be distributed in both maternal and fetal tissues. Tissue distribution of C60 differs between pregnant and non-pregnant states, presumably due to functional changes in vasculature during pregnancy. We hypothesized that polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) formulated C60 (C60/PVP) increases vascular tissue contractility during pregnancy by increasing Rho-kinase activity.

Pulmonary instillation of multi-walled carbon nanotubes promotes coronary vasoconstriction and exacerbates injury in isolated hearts.

The growing use of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) across industry has increased human exposures. We tested the hypothesis that pulmonary instillation of MWCNTs would exacerbate cardiac ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. One day following intratracheal instillation of 1, 10 or 100 μg MWCNT in Sprague-Dawley rats, we used a Langendorff isolated heart model to examine cardiac I/R injury.

Changes in cardiopulmonary function induced by nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles (NP) are highly applicable in a variety of technological and biomedical fields because of their unique physicochemical properties. The increased development and utilization of NP has amplified human exposure and raised concerns regarding their potential to generate toxicity. The biological impacts of NP exposures have been shown to be dependent on aerodynamic size, chemical composition, and the route of exposure (oral, dermal, intravenous, and inhalation), while recent research has demonstrated the cardiovascular (CV) system as an important site of toxicity.